2002–03 FC Basel season

April 2022 FC Basel 2002–03 FC Basel.png 150 FC Basel Logo Club president Werner Edelmann Head coach Christian Gross Stadium St. Jakob-Park 2002–03 NLA Qualification round 2nd of 12 Championship round 2nd of 8 2002–03 Swiss Cup winners Champions League Second group stage Christian Giménez (20) Christian Giménez (33) 35,000 (vs. Manchester United, 26 November) 16,053 (vs. Servette, 8 March) 26,872 2001–02 2003–04 The 2002–03 season was FC Basel's 110th season of competition, and the club's 9th consecutive season in the Nationalliga A, the top flight of Swiss football. Basel played their home games in the newly constructed St. Jakob-Park complex. René C. Jäggi, who had been the club chairman for the previous six seasons, stood down at the AGM in October, and businessman Werner Edelmann was elected as the new chairman. Stefan Peter http://www.fussballstarbasel.ch/saisons.php Überregionale Meisterschaften, Schweizer und Basler Cup 2020-11-16 The club sought to retain the Swiss Nationalliga A and Swiss Cup titles after winning the double the previous season. They also sought to compete in the Champions League for as long as possible, as well as reach its group stage. Basel ended the domestic league season as runners-up in the league and winners of the Swiss Cup. They also reached the second group stage of the Champions League. 3 Overview Off-season and pre-season Basel started the season with high aspirations as reigning champions and cup holders. Basel and Grasshopper Club Zürich were the favourites to win the domestic championship title. Basel chose winning the championship as their top goal. Their second objective was to defend the Swiss Cup because it would be played at their home stadium, St. Jakob-Park. Basel also entered the 2002–03 Champions League in the second qualifying round and aimed to reach the group stage. Massimo Ceccaroni retired from his professional career prior to the season. Ceccaroni is still considered to be a cult figure in Basel, due to his 25 years total of loyalty towards the club and the fact that he never scored a goal in the top flight of Swiss football. As a result of making very few appearances for the team the previous season, the club decided not to renew his contract at the end of the season, and his professional career came to an end. Ceccaroni played a total of 605 games for Basel from 1987 to 2002. 398 of these games were in the Nationalliga A and Nationalliga B, 34 in the Swiss Cup, 20 in the European competitions (UEFA cup and UIC) and 153 were friendly games. He scored six goals throughout his career, four in the Nationalliga B and two during friendlies. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/spieler?command=detail&id=1320 Massimo Ceccaroni – FCB-Statistik Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2019-11-16 Other players who left the squad included fellow retirees Oliver Kreuzer and Romain Crevoisier, and Miroslav König, who transferred to Zürich. (mro) 21 May 2002 https://www.nzz.ch/newzzD1HW371X-12-ld.208103?reduced=true Eric Rapo zum FCB, Miroslav König zum FCZ Eric Rapo to FCB, Miroslav König to FCZ de 2022-11-16 Soon after the season began, Philippe Cravero moved to Servette, first on loan and then definitively. During his tenure of just over four seasons with the club between 1998 and 2002, Cravero played 185 games for Basel, scoring a total of five goals. 108 of these games were in the Nationalliga A, 8 in the Swiss Cup, 16 in the European competitions (UEFA cup and UIC) and 53 were friendly games. He scored two goals in the domestic league and three in friendly matches. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2002 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/spieler?command=detail&id=86 Philippe Cravero – FCB-Statistik Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2021-11-16 Christian Gross was the first team trainer for the fourth successive season. Knowing the high aspirations for the season, Gross strengthened the team. Alessandro Iandoli advanced to the first team from the U-21 team. Basel's biggest pre-season signings were Bernt Haas, who was loaned in from West Bromwich Albion, Julio Hernán Rossi transferred in from Lugano, goalkeeper Eric Rapo came in from and Antonio Esposito from St. Étienne. 10 July 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0187-0e6a42a90fbd-5bae654b1dbd-1000--esposito-set-for-basel/ Esposito set for Basel UEFA 2022-11-16 Six pre-season test games were planned for June and one for early July. The Nationalliga A season began on 6 July 2002 with an away game against Aarau, and the Champions League qualifying started on 31 July with an away tie against Žilina. In the Swiss Cup, all the league teams had a bye and qualified for the round of 32, which was to take place on 22 February 2003. Winter break During January 2003, George Koumantarakis left the club and transferred to English team Preston North End, who at that time played in the English Championship. Campaign Friendly games Basel started the season off with various warm-up matches. Their opponents included teams from the Swiss lower league, a team from Brazil, and PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands. During the summer, Basel visited a training camp in America and played three matches against teams from the USL Premier Development League and Major League Soccer. Basel entered the Sempione Cup, which was played in Balsthal. The club won the first match against Austrian team SK Rapid Wien 3–0 and the second against Slovak team Inter Bratislava 2–0. Basel were placed second in the final classification. Garin Erik 7 November 2008 https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sempione.html Sempione Cup (Switzerland) The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2020-11-16 Domestic league Qualifying round The Swiss Football Association (ASF-SFV) were changing the format of the domestic league during the season. Since the 1987–88 Nationalliga A season there had been 24 teams in the Nationalliga, 12 in the Nationalliga A and 12 in the Nationalliga B. In the first stage, there was a qualifying phase played as a double round-robin tournament. Three points were given for a victory and one for a draw. In the second phase, the top eight clubs played a further double round-robin for the championship; each team took half of the points and rounded up to complete units from the qualification round into the second stage as bonus. The last eight teams played against relegation to the amateur league and the last four teams from the top-level played a promotion/relegation round for the top tier in the following season. This was to be the last season in this format. The new format would reduce the number of clubs to 20, with ten teams in the top tier and ten in the second tier. Therefore, this year there was an additional relegation. The season started well for Basel and they were undefeated in their first seven matches, winning five and drawing two. FCB lost the two following games and slipped seven points behind the Grasshoppers who in the same period had won eight of their nine games. Despite defeating GC on match day 10 in their own Hardturm stadium the following weekend, the rivals remained clear in the ranking. Gross regrouped his team and they won nine and drew two of the following eleven games, catching and overtaking their rivals in the table. A 1–2 home defeat against GC on match day 21 cost FCB the lead. Grasshoppers ended the league qualifying stage as table leaders at the winter break with 49 points, two points clear. Championship round In the championship playoff round Basel only lost two away games, winning 10 of 14 games. Despite this, because both direct ties against the Grasshoppers were drawn, the Zurich-based club managed to snatch the title by a single point at the end of the season.Swiss Super League 2002/03 table BeSoccer https://www.besoccer.com/competition/table/super_league_switzerland/2003/round22 2022-04-21 besoccer.com en The Grasshoppers remained undefeated in the championship group and ended the season with 57 points. Basel were second with 56, 21 points ahead of third placed Xamax. As champions, GC qualified for the 2003–04 Champions League third qualifying round. As runners-up, Basel qualified for the UEFA Cup first round. Erik Garin https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwit03.html Switzerland 2002/03 RSSSF 2020-11-16 In the home match in St. Jakob-Park on 19 April 2003, Hakan Yakin had a good game and scored a perfect hat-trick during the first half of the game as Basel won 3–0 against Young Boys. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=11192 FC Basel – BSC Young Boys 3:0 (3:0) Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2020-11-16 Yakin showed his other side in the return match in the Stadion Neufeld in Bern one week later. As Young Boys went a goal up, Yakin lost his temper and kicked the ball away, thus collecting a yellow card. Just ten minutes later he committed a rough foul, collecting a second yellow card. By rule, a player that receives two yellow cards in one game is issued a red card and ejected for the remainder of the match, so Yakin was dismissed. https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=11193 BSC Young Boys – FC Basel 2:0 (0:0) Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2020-11-16 Domestic cup As cup holders the club's aim was to defend the trophy, or at minimum to reach the final, because the final would be played in their home stadium St. Jakob-Park. In the cup, all the league teams had a bye for the early rounds and started in the fifth round, which was scheduled for February. Here they were seeded and could not play against each other. In a match, the home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league, if applicable. Basel were drawn against lower league Yverdon-Sport. Yverdon-Sport (22 February 2003) The match was held at Stade Municipal in Yverdon-les-Bains and had an attendance of 2,800 fans. After a foul from Gil Bala on Hervé Tum inside the area, Mario Cantaluppi converted the subsequent spot-kick in the 16th minute. Basel controlled the game and could have gone further ahead in the 29th minute, but Julio Hernán Rossi's shot rebounded from the post. In the fortieth minute, Cantaluppi scored his second goal. Following the goal celebrations Rossi was shown a red card for unsportsmanlike behavior. Despite having one man less on the field, Basel dominated the second period and Carlos Varela had a shot against the cross bar. One minute before time Timothée Atouba scored following a set piece to make the final score 3–0 for the visitors. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 22 February 2003 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=11168 Yverdon-Sport FC – FC Basel 0:3 (0:2) Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2021-11-16 Servette (4 March 2003) In the round of 16, Basel was drawn against Servette and played at home in the St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 10,721 spectators. The match was played on level terms and possession was even for the first half-hour. Basel then increased the tempo and pushed the visitors back, creating two good chances, but Christian Giménez failed with both opportunities. Following a corner-kick Basel was awarded a penalty, which was converted by Mario Cantaluppi in the 35th minute. After the break, FCB pushed forward with Giménez and Julio Hernán Rossi often outrunning the defense. After one such move in the 51st minute, Scott Chipperfield was played into position, and his left footed shot gave the team a two-goal lead. Following this, Basel controlled the game, occasionally using their speed, but content to control the ball and the play. The match ended with a 2–0 win for the home team. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 4 March 2003 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=11203 FC Basel – Servette FC 2:0 (1:0) Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2021-11-16 Young Boys (26 March 2003) In the quarter-finals, FCB were drawn away against Young Boys. The match took place in the sold out Stadion Neufeld in Bern in front of 10,700 spectators. Despite two early goals from Christian Giménez in the 2nd and 28th minute, YB picked up and turned the game and took the lead. Gürkan Sermeter scored his first goal in the 38th minute, and his second in the 42nd. To make things worse for Basel, Varela picked up two yellow cards during the first half and was dismissed. The score was level as the teams went into the interval, but YB had a one-man advantage. After the break, YB continued their forward pressing and Sermeter completed his hattrick in the 55th minute. Basel then created two good chances. The first went wide of Paolo Collaviti's goal and the second, a header from Murat Yakin, was pushed against the cross bar by Collaviti, but Hervé Tum was in place to sink the rebound from close range. The score remained level at 3–3 at the end of regular time. Hakan Yakin scored the deciding goal and Basel won 4–3 after extra time. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 26 March 2003 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=11204 BSC Young Boys – FC Basel 3:4 n.V. (3:3, 2:2) Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2021-11-16 Schaffhausen (15 April 2003) Basel were drawn against lower-league club Schaffhausen in the semi-final. Again, FCB were able to play at home in St. Jakob-Park, which had an attendance of 26,960 spectators. Basel dominated the play from early in the game and the Schaffhausen defence had problems. In the 5th minute Mario Cantaluppi's shot rebounded from the post. In the 7th minute, Julio Hernán Rossi scored, but the goal was disallowed due to a player in an offside position. The Schaffhausen defenders Leu and Fehr were both shown yellow card within the first 23 minutes. In the 26th minute, Antonio Esposito put the home team one goal up. Basel continued to dominate the game but were content to control the ball and play and not to endanger their defense. Yet as the second period ticked away, it became evident that the FCB players were becoming frustrated because they could not add another goal. Scott Chipperfield and Esposito were both shown yellow cards because of this. Jean-Michel Tchouga netted in the 70th minute, but the goal was disallowed due to reckless play. Eventually the team got their second goal in the 90th minute, with Hervé Tum slotting the ball home from the edge of the area. Two minutes later, Esposito netted his second goal and the team's third. Basel advanced as Schaffhausen were defeated. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 15 April 2003 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=11206 FC Basel – FC Schaffhausen 3:0 (1:0) Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2021-11-16 Neuchâtel Xamax (11 May 2003) The 78th cup final was played in St. Jakob-Park. It was sold out with 31,500 spectators. The final was played between FCB and Xamax; it was a one-sided affair. Benjamin Huggel scored the first goal in the 13th minute, initiating the early demise of Xamax. Christian Gimenez scored two goals within eight minutes in the 35th and 43rd minute, effectively deciding the game before the break. In the 65th minute, as Murat Yakin slotted home the fourth, following a rebound out of the area from the completely overwhelmed Xamax defence, any doubts about the outcome of the game were wiped out. Boris Smiljanic scored in the 77th minute and Sébastien Barberis followed suit in the 83rd minute, scoring the last two goals in the highest cup final score since GC's 10–0 win over Lausanne in 1937. FC Basel achieved their seventh cup victory. (si) 11 May 2003 https://www.nzz.ch/newzzDFL5DO0H-12-1.250889 FC Basel ungefährdet zum siebten Cup-Sieg FC Basel safely to their seventh cup victory Neue Zürcher Zeitung 2021-11-16 The win meant FCB achieved qualification to the UEFA Cup first round. Champions League Qualifying rounds Žilina In the second qualifying round of the Champions League, Basel were drawn against Slovak club Žilina, and after a 1–1 draw in the first leg, came away with a 4–1 win on aggregate. The first leg was played in the Štadión pod Dubňom in Žilina on 31 July 2002. Miroslav Barčík put the home team a goal up after just 29 minutes, but Basel then put on the pressure and Marián Klago could not help but score an own goal just nine minutes later. In the return leg in St. Jakob-Park on 7 August 2002 Basel played a better and faster game. Christian Giménez put them a goal ahead after just 11 minutes and Murat Yakin doubled their lead 12 minutes later. Basel then controlled the game. It was again Giménez who netted soon after half-time and, from here on, the game seemed to be settled. Vladimír Staš scored a consolation goal for the visitors ten minutes from time. uefa.com 7 August 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/025a-0eab00242256-96fe7309793a-1000--basel-victory-reaps-celtic-tie/ Basel victory reaps Celtic tie UEFA 2022-11-16 Celtic In the third qualifying round, Basel faced Scottish giants Celtic on 14 August. In the first leg, away at Celtic Park, the home side won 3–1. After just 92 seconds, Christian Giménez stunned the home crowd with a goal for the visitors. Murat Yakin slid a nice pass through to striker Gimenez, who pushed the ball under the advancing goalkeeper Rab Douglas. However, Celtic equalized a few seconds later from the penalty spot. Swedish international Henrik Larsson played a pass between the defenders through to Stilian Petrov, who was fouled by Swiss international Marco Zwyssig. The Swede himself stepped forward and shot his penalty kick past Pascal Zuberbühler into the bottom corner of the goal. The teams were level until, in the second half, Celtic applied more pressure. Chris Sutton missed his first chance, but he put the home team ahead just two minutes later. Basel reacted and had a few chances, but Celtic held their lead and, two minutes from time, Mohammed Sylla hit a fine volley to give Celtic their victory. UEFA 14 August 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/025a-0eaafe58844e-277b8484df8c-1000/ Celtic come back to fight another day UEFA 2020-11-16 The second leg at St. Jakob-Park was on 28 August. Basel started the game at a high tempo and Celtic could have been a goal behind after just three minutes, but midfielder Paul Lambert stretched his leg out to block a close range shot from Ivan Ergic. Celtic was caught out by the pace and a clever move from the home side in the eighth minute. Hakan Yakin had the ball played to him as he ran to the goal line and he then played a left-footed reverse pass to split the visiting defense, allowing Christian Giménez to race through and his right-footed shot passed below goalkeeper Rab Douglas. The Glasgow side could have leveled soon after, but Henrik Larsson's firm header went straight into Basel keeper Pascal Zuberbuhler's arms from just five yards out. Celtic started the match with an unfamiliar back four and with four midfielders. Without the extra width provided by their normal 3-5-2 formation, they lacked their usual threat when going forward. The home team, backed by a noisy capacity crowd, had their heads up and they were soon rewarded with another goal. Murat Yakin jumped higher than both Bobo Baldé and Ulrik Laursen to head home a corner kick after 22 minutes. Celtic made two substitutions at half time, Didier Agathe and Steve Guppy coming on to play on the flanks in their usual formation and the Scots were immediately on the offensive. First a deflected shot from Stilian Petrov went narrowly wide, then Henrik Larsson's shot was blocked. Celtic were denied a goal by the resolute Basel defense. With determination and drive, Celtic were in charge of the game for long periods in the second half. However, they struggled to create good goal-scoring chances. Chris Sutton's header made at the near post was easily saved by goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler and a wide range shot from Mohammed Sylla was harmless and easily dealt with by the keeper as well. Substitute John Hartson had the best chance in the 71st minute, but Zuberbuhler's right hand blocked the close-range header. In the final minute of added time, a Sutton shot passed just inches wide of the left goalpost, but this was the end of the Celtic siege on the Swiss side's goal. Basel were able to rescue the tie in the return match, coming away with a 2–0 victory, to draw 3–3 on aggregate. Basel thus proceeded to the group stage on the away goals rule. Basel's success saw them become only the second Swiss team ever to play in the modern Champions League. Celtic's defeat meant that they would continue in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, entering in the First round and eventually progressing to the final. First group stage Spartak In the group stage Basel were drawn in Group B along with Valencia, Liverpool and Spartak Moscow. Match day 1 of the group stage gave Basel a home match against Spartak Moscow on 17 September cheered on by a sell-out crowd of close to 30,000. Julio Hernán Rossi gave Spartak their first scare in the 15th minute as he sent a header into the net past Stanislav Cherchesov, but Basel's Argentine striker was ruled offside. In the 23rd minute, Murat Yakin headed the ball against the post after a corner. Thirty seconds later his younger brother, Hakan Yakin, had his first chance, but he headed the ball just wide of Cherchesov's goal. In the 43rd minute, Hakan was again on target with a bicycle kick, but keeper Cherchesov caught it. After the half-time break, Basel were still showing that they were in control. In the 50th minute, Hakan Yakin put FC Basel on the path to victory, latching on to Christian Eduardo Giménez's pass to shoot left-footed into the net. Five minutes later, Rossi was able to dribble around the Spartak defense and place his shot beyond keeper Cherchesov to give his team a two-goal lead. Rossi narrowly missed the goal as his header hit the crossbar in the 70th minute. The visitors were missing their injured captain, Yegor Titov, Basel dominated nearly all the match and had a number of near misses later in the match. UEFA 17 September 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70078--basel-vs-spartak-moskva/ Basel vs Spartak-Moskva UEFA 16 November 2020 SWI 17 September 2002 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fc-basel-overpower-spartak-moscow/2931936 FC Basel overpower Spartak Moscow SWI swissinfo.ch 16 November 2020 Liverpool Basel traveled to Anfield on match day 2 on 25 September to claim a 1–1 draw against Liverpool. Above everything, the noise created by the 3,500 Basel fans among the 37,634 spectators before, during and after the match remains one of the most memorable things about this match. Liverpool were quickly into the game and created two or three good chances in the first quarter of an hour, but they were only warming up the Basel goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler, who was having a good day. The visitors then battled back into the game, but the home team remained in charge. Liverpool's new signing Milan Baroš scored with his first attempt on goal in the 34th minute and this was to be the only time that Zuberbühler was beaten. Julio Hernán Rossi equalized shortly before the break from the only really good chance that the visitors created. Liverpool pressed for the win in the second half, but whenever central defenders Alexandre Quennoz or Murat Yakin made a mistake, keeper Zuberbühler stood firm on the line to save the day for his team. UEFA 25 September 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70080--liverpool-vs-basel/ Liverpool vs Basel UEFA 16 November 2020 Valencia It rained all day on 2 October on Spain's south-eastern coast, and minutes before kick-off in the Valencia-Basel match in the half full Mestalla Stadium, it started to pour. It poured throughout the entire game. The hosts coped better with the conditions, keeping the ball in the air and off the soggy ground. Hardly properly organized and struggling through the countless pools of water spread over the pitch, Basel's game was hopelessly lost and very soon all focus was on damage limitation. It was a thankless and difficult task for the visitors against the rampant Spaniards, who kept the ball and opponents running. John Carew in the 10th and again in the 14th minute put the hosts two goals up. Fábio Aurélio added the third after 17 minutes and Rubén Baraja added the fourth even before the match was half an hour old. Playing without self-confidence, the Basel forwards never threatened goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares throughout the first half. Only after the break and some clear words from coach Christian Gross were the FCB players able to absorb something. Carlos Varela came on for defender Timothée Atouba and he appeared alone in front of Cañizares after just a few seconds. The Spanish International keeper managed to clear, but was powerless against Julio Hernán Rossi's quick reaction second shot. But the locals quickly shifted their attention to the other side. Miguel Ángel Angulo hit the lower edge of the bar in the 49th minute and Mista saw his shot cleared off the goal line by captain Murat Yakin, before it snuck in again behind the powerless Pascal Zuberbühler. Pablo Aimar and Mista made it 6–1 for the home team. The biggest FCB defeat in the European Cup after the 0–5 against Celtic Glasgow 38 years earlier seemed to be on its way. But thanks to the late strike by Hakan Yakin, at least this disgrace was averted. After two good results Basel were brought back down to earth by a 6–2 demolition against Valencia. UEFA 2 October 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70082--valencia-vs-basel/ Valencia 6–2 Basel UEFA 16 November 2020 Valencia return match However, Basel bounced back and held Valencia to a 2–2 draw on match day 4 in St. Jakob-Park three weeks later. Valencia had already qualified for the second group stage and played with a kind of B team and this time the FCB team was ready for the game. Basel controlled the game from the first minutes, not creating too many chances, but pinning the visitors into their own half. Ivan Ergić eventually put the home team a goal up in the 32nd minute. But Valencia reacted immediately and only four minutes later Rubén Baraja leveled the score. In the second half the visitors were more in charge and after 72 minutes Curro Torres put them ahead. This time the home team reacted and played good moves towards captain and keeper Santiago Cañizares who had to deal with a few dangerous shots. However, he was beaten by an Ergić shot in the last minute of regular time and the added injury time passed without a change in the score. UEFA 22 October 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70084--basel-vs-valencia/ Basel 2–2 Valencia UEFA 16 November 2020 Spartak return match Basel had slipped from second place in the group to third, as Liverpool had won both games against Spartak. Basel needed to win at least one of their last two games and needed Liverpool to fail to pick up more than two points. In match day five, Liverpool lost 1–0 to Valencia and Basel played away against Spartak at the Luzhniki Stadium. Basel started well into the match, but had a shock as Antonio Esposito injured himself in the early minutes and was replaced by Timothée Atouba. Nevertheless, they did not lose their concentration and Julio Hernán Rossi put them one up after 18 minutes. Spartak then had more of the game pressing forward but not really troubling the Basel back four. In total they had five corner kicks and 12 attempts at goal. Basel played looking for counter-attacks, but were caught off-side 11 times. Two minutes before the end of time the counter-attack was well played and Christian Giménez went clear to put the ball past keeper Maksym Levytskyi to secure the 2–0 victory. UEFA 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70086--spartak-moskva-vs-basel/ Spartak-Moskva 0–2 Basel UEFA 16 November 2020 Liverpool return match Basel were in second place in the group table, but their place in the last 16 was all but secured - all they had to do was to make sure they did not lose to Liverpool in the last game of the first group stage. Basel prepared themselves for this match with a training camp in the Black Forest, where the schedule was composed of videos, lectures and quizzing of the players. The team must have felt they were being introduced into a cult and if so, they emerged from this with enthusiasm and eagerness of true believers. Liverpool, on the other hand, were initially engulfed by a crisis of faith. The Liverpool coach Gérard Houllier's strategy proved to be founded on a slight misconception and knowing that he had to win, he persuaded himself that he could afford to leave out the calm player Salif Diao in the interests of fielding a more expressive line-up from the beginning. The game began for Liverpool in the worst possible manner. In the second minute, Danny Murphy lost the ball to Antonio Esposito, who immediately beat the offside trap with a well played diagonal pass to Hakan Yakin. Yakin's low, but fast cross ball bounced inconveniently in the middle of the penalty area, but the quick thinking Julio Hernan Rossi, who had also scored at Anfield, converted Yakin's pass perfectly. The only Liverpool effort to be remembered in the first half was a good drive by Emile Heskey that Pascal Zuberbühler tipped over the crossbar after 10 minutes. A superb move resulted in Basel's second goal. Rossi moved to the right and then played a square pass towards Christian Giménez. The Liverpool back four just watched in awe as Giménez burst through to take the ball and nip it past keeper Jerzy Dudek. In the 29th minute, Dudek parried Yakin's free-kick, only for Timothée Atouba to net the rebound. The home supporters were singing loudly before the goal and after it the noise was deafening and never ending. Basel's attacks were damaging Liverpool reputations decisively and the visitors were especially ineffective in the midfield area. Liverpool fought back, but the road to parity was steep. However, Liverpool climbed it well with purpose and strength as the Basel team became tired. Salif Diao came in for a poor Steven Gerrard and he restored the team order and, after an hour, began the build-up that saw Murphy finish accurately after being neatly teed up by midfielder Vladimir Smicer. Smicer then added a goal of his own after 64 minutes, stretching himself to the limit to force home a pass from Milan Baros. As Murat Yakin then handled a low ball on the ground, with Michael Owen swerving past him, there was almost euphoria. Owen himself took the penalty, Zuberbühler blocked it but Owen pushed in the loose ball. Nevertheless, the home crowd were still singing their songs very loud and the score remained at 3–3 right up until the final whistle. Basel thus qualified for the next round. Kevin McCarra Kevin McCarra 13 November 2002 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/nov/13/championsleague.sport2 Liverpool revival comes too late The Guardian 16 November 2020 UEFA 13 November 2002 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70088--basel-vs-liverpool/ Basel-Liverpool – Overview UEFA 16 November 2020 As third placed team in the group, Liverpool continued in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup and entered in the final phase. Here they would advance to the Quarter-finals, where they were drawn against and knocked out by Celtic, who, in their turn, were to advance to the final to play against Porto. Second group stage In the round of 16, Basel was drawn into group D together with Manchester United, Juventus and Deportivo de La Coruña. Basel were now quite renowned for their early pressing and their goals in the opening minutes. They had achieved an early goal against Žilina, one in both games against Celtic, as well as one against Spartak Moscow, before their second-minute goal against Liverpool. In addition to this, they also achieved an early lead in eight of their 20 domestic league matches up until this time, so the opponents were warned. Manchester United As expected the match day 1 game on 26 November 2002 between Manchester United and Basel started extraordinarily fast. Immediately after the kick-off, Basel's Julio Hernán Rossi sprinted into the United penalty area and forced a clearance from Wes Brown, after Basel captain Murat Yakin had played a precise long ball. Hakan Yakin curled in the corner ball and Rossi placed a fine header low, near the goalpost. This was brilliantly headed off the line by Quinton Fortune. But the ball landed by Scott Chipperfield and his fierce shot was deflected in by Christian Giminez past the helpless Fabien Barthez after just 31 seconds. Sir Alex Ferguson looked on in disgust from the sidelines, he had warned his players. Hakan Yakin was denied the second goal after he ran amok, dribbling around the United defenders, turning them inside out. Just one minute later he did it again and set up Rossi, whose shot was saved in extremis by keeper Barthez. Not even one minute later Juan Verón gave the ball away to Gimenez, and didn't make much effort to get it back, and the goal-scorer tried to chip Barthez. As the Frenchman back-pedaled furiously, the ball landed on the roof of the goal. Basel remained in control and Paul Scholes was lucky to get away with just a yellow card after he first fouled Hakan Yakin and then Mario Cantaluppi. Seconds after the booking, Scholes lunged in again with a terribly clumsy tackle on Ivan Ergić and he remained very fortunate not to have been sent off. After the break United were better. A fine cross from Ole Gunnar Solskjær was met nicely by Ruud van Nistelrooy's forehead and the ball ended in the net. One minute later van Nistelrooy struck again. From the narrowest of angles, because he was on the by-line, he slotted the ball past Pascal Zuberbühler in the Basel goal. Six minutes later Solskjaer added his own name to the scorers' list with a low hard shot between Zubi's legs. The game was decided at this moment and Basel suffered a 1–3 defeat. Barry Glendenning 26 November 2002 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/nov/26/minutebyminute.sport FC Basle 1 – 3 Man Utd The Guardian 16 November 2020 BBC 26 November 2002 https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/champions_league/2510275.stm Man Utd win in Basle BBC 16 November 2020 Juventus After heavy snowfall in and around Turin, the day 2 game on 11 December suffered from the poor pitch and in the early stages also from heavy fog. The hosts Juventus took a 1–0 lead after a header relay between Mark Iuliano and David Trezeguet in the 3rd minute. However, the Swiss were able to recover quickly from the early deficit and dominated the game for the next quarter of an hour, but Christian Giménez in particular was unable to take advantage of the chances they had created. The Italians were back almost as if at the push of a button and appeared dangerous time and again in front of the box of Basel goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler. In the 34th minute, just as Basel seemed to be getting the better, Paolo Montero was spot on and dusted off to make it 2–0. Zuberbühler was only able to parry an Alessandro Del Piero free kick. Shortly before the end of the first half, Alessio Tacchinardi's long-range shot meant Juventus went into the break 3-0 up. The second half also saw Basel going forward, but the Italians scored the next goal. Pavel Nedvěd fell in the penalty area, referee Lucílio Batista imposed a disputed penalty, and Del Piero made it 4–0. At least one cannot blame Basel of giving up - The outsider fought continued to look for their chance to get at least a consolation goal. However, their fast counterattacks mostly came to an end at the edge of the penalty area, and the final pass rarely reached its goal with the vigilant Juve defense. Shots from a distance were never a problem for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. The result was an unpleasant 0–4 defeat for Basel. kicker.de https://www.kicker.de/juventus-gegen-basel-2002-champions-league-606540/spielbericht Juve war eine Nummer zu groß Juve was a size too big Kicker 2020-11-16 Deportivo The game on day 3 was after the winter break, on 19 February 2003 with Basel at home in the St. Jakob-Park against Deportivo de La Coruña. Again the match started fast and Christian Gross's Basel team made attempts for an early goal. However, Javier Irureta's Deportivo could have taken the lead twice. Basel captain Murat Yakin together with midfielder Mario Cantaluppi were able to calm things down and Basel took control of the match after about 15 minutes and they pressed forwards. However, it wasn't until the 30th minute that they had their first really good chance, Christian Giménez failed against goalkeeper Juanmi. Only a few seconds later Hakan Yakin also had a chance at goal and he put the hosts 1-0 up. From here on the game was very tactical, neither team wanting to make a mistake. Basel could have increased their lead two or three times, and Deportivo could have equalised, but weren't as commanding. The game ended with victory for the home team and they managed to give themselves hope of reaching the quarter-finals. UEFA https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70468--basel-vs-deportivo/ Basel-vs-Deportivo, 19 February 2003 UEFA 2020-11-16 Deportivo return match The return match was played just six days later on 25 February in Estadio Riazor in A Coruña. Deportivo were again ready for the quick starting visitors, whose first chance in the second minute was blocked. Again Basel came forward, but the chance was foiled early and the hosts had a well played counterattack. Diego Tristán ran clear and was able to put his side a goal up in the fourth minute. Deportivo then controlled their defensive area, allowing Basel freedom in mid-field. The match was played tactically by the home side and the visitors, with their goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler as captain for the injured Murat Yakin, could not find the space that they would have liked against the well defending opponents. During the early minutes of the second period Basel created their best chances, but it soon became apparent that they were tiring. Deportivo controlled the last twenty-odd minutes easily and won the game 1–0, which left them third in the table with four points, above their opponents who had just three points. UEFA 25 February 2003 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70470--deportivo-vs-basel/ deportivo-vs-basel UEFA 2020-11-16 Manchester United return match Arguably two of Basel's greatest ever European games, up until now, came next. First, they held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford on 12 March. Despite having achieved just one victory and having scored only two goals in the first four matches of the second group stage, Basel were only a point behind the duo Deportivo and Juventus. Victory over United, who had already assured their automatic qualification for the knock-out stage, would set up an epic finish as Basel would entertain Juventus for the last match of the group. Head coach Christian Gross had been thorough with his planning before the trip to Manchester. The team flew early to England, on the day after their weekend league win over Servette, to avoid the temptation of a player's visit to the local Fasnacht. Richard Whittle 11 March 2003 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/018f-0e6a5ce22386-923541d51214-1000--basel-prepared-for-united-mission/ Basel prepared for United mission UEFA 2003-03-11 Well over 3,000 Basel fans travelled to support their team in the Theatre of Dreams; 23 charter planes arrived at Manchester airport that day alone. The entire fan block was in their sector, singing and chanting, well over an hour before kick-off. The Basel team, being pushed on by their fans, started fast and furious, creating three early chances before United had their first. In the 14th minute, Christian Giménez controlled a cross with this chest and right footed a volley beyond keeper Roy Carroll, who played in place of regular goalie Fabien Barthez. United tried to react, but failed in their attempt to pressurise the Basel defense, and it was the guests who were dominating the match. Manager Alex Ferguson had also given the regulars David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes a break by leaving them on the Bench, at the same time giving Kieran Richardson his debut for the team. The United manager was getting increasingly irritated by the team's performance and at half time he brought on Giggs. In the 53rd minute, a wide ranged, left-footed shot from captain Gary Neville was unluckily deflected beyond Zuberbühler to level the score. But, despite this, Basel were playing better and closer to taking the lead again. Ferguson reacted in the 73rd minute — he brought on Beckham and Scholes in an attempt to win the match. During the last few minutes Basel had another two or three chances but the final score remained 1–1. UEFA 12 March 2003 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/match/70471--man-united-vs-basel/ Manchester United 1 – 1 Basel – Overview UEFA 2020-11-16 Juventus return match The situation before match day six of this second group stage was clear. United were group winners and Juventus were three points clear of the duo Basel and Deportivo, Basel needed at least a four-goal victory at St. Jakob-Park on 18 March to overtake their match day opponents and go through to the next round. Referee was the German Wolfgang Stark and the stadium was sold-out with over 30,500 spectators. The Italians had the better start and on ten minutes, broke through; Cristian Zenoni fed Alessio Tacchinardi, whose left-footed long range shot gave keeper Pascal Zuberbühler no chance. This only doubled Basel's determination and they reacted well and put on the pressure immediately, having two good chances within a short time. Hakan Yakin, with a clever chip, forced keeper Gianluigi Buffon to tip the ball wide of the post and he also had to save a shot from Scott Chipperfield. After 38 minutes Basel were deservedly level. A sloppy clearance from Mark Iuliano was caught and pushed on by Christian Giménez and Mario Cantaluppi reacted quickly to volley home his first Champions League goal. Hakan Yakin again forced Buffon to make another fine save so that Juventus could hold on before half-time. In the second period Basel continued to dominate the match. Sébastien Barberis' shot, just three minutes into the second half, went narrowly over the bar. Juventus continued to defend their area in numbers, but, at the other end, Pavel Nedved remained a threat. Swiss international Hakan Yakin had a good chance as he pounced on a poor clearance in front of goal from Lilian Thuram, but a quick reacting Iuliano ensured that Yakin could not get full contact. Basel went even closer following a corner after 67 minutes, but a Giménez header hit the crossbar. Juventus looked stronger after this, but in the second and final minute of added time, Basel forced their tenth corner. Cantaluppi's corner kick was flicked on by Chipperfield and Giménez volleyed the ball over the line and his side claimed a 2–1 victory. UEFA 18 March 2003 https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/018f-0e6a5df7fa6b-2647b550f99b-1000--dramatic-win-not-enough-for-basel/ Dramatic win not enough for Basel UEFA 2020-11-16 Conclusion The victory meant that Basel finished the second group stage level on points with Juventus and Deportivo La Coruña. In the six games between the three teams level, Juventus' better points tally meant that they went on to the quarter-finals. The season's Champions League run earned the club well over 20 million Swiss Francs in performance bonuses. This additional revenue is well shy of the finances of teams such as Real Madrid, Juventus or Manchester United. Mark Ledsom 18 March 2003 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/basel-bow-out-of-europe---for-now/3220794 Basel bow out of Europe – for now swissinfo.ch 2020-11-16 Club staff Management Manager Switzerland Christian Gross Assistant manager Switzerland Fritz Schmid Fitness coach Switzerland Harry Körner Goalkeeper coach Switzerland Thomas Grüter Goalkeeper coach Switzerland Romain Crevoisier Team manager Germany Oliver Kreuzer Team administrator Switzerland Gustav Nussbaumer U-21 coach Switzerland Heinz Hermann U-21 co-coach Switzerland Pascal Burger July 2002 FC Basel Marketing AG 2003 Rotblau: FC Basel 1893, Das Magazin Rotblau FC Basel Marketing AG 1660-0878 March 2003 Other information Chairman SUI Werner Edelmann y St. Jakob-Park 33,433 120x80 m Homepage FCB September 2010 Players First team squad The following is the list of the Basel first team squad. It includes all players that were in the squad the day the season started on 6 July 2002 but subsequently left the club after that date and it includes all players that transferred in during the season. 1 SUI GK Pascal Zuberbühler 4 SUI DF Alexandre Quennoz 5 SUI DF Marco Zwyssig 6 SUI MF Benjamin Huggel 7 SUI FW Antonio Esposito 8 SPA FW Carlos Varela 9 South Africa MF George Koumantarakis 10 SUI MF Hakan Yakin 11 CAM FW Hervé Tum 12 SUI MF Sébastien Barberis 13 ARG FW Christian Eduardo Giménez 15 SUI DF Murat Yakin 16 SUI DF Grégory Duruz 17 SUI MF Mario Cantaluppi 18 SUI GK Eric Rapo 19 SUI FW Marco Streller 20 SUI DF Bernt Haas 21 CAM FW Jean-Michel Tchouga 22 SCG MF Ivan Ergić 23 SUI MF Philipp Degen 24 CAM DF Timothée Atouba 26 AUS MF Scott Chipperfield 28 AUS MF Ljubo Miličević 30 SUI DF Boris Smiljanić 33 ARG FW Julio Hernán Rossi SUI Alessandro Iandoli U-21 Players who left club during season 19 Switzerland Marco Streller FW on loan to SUI Thun from 30 Sept. to 31 Dec. 2002 FC Basel 1893 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/3742/27/7/7 Marco Streller leihweise zu Thun FC Basel 1893 2002-09-30 de and 2 April to 30 June 2003 FC Basel 1893 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/5077/27/7/7 Streller nochmals leihweise zu Thun FC Basel 1893 2003-04-02 de Switzerland Philippe Cravero DF loan to Servette for one year with option to buy FC Basel 1893 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/3074/27/7/7 Philippe Cravero ab sofort bei Servette Genf FC Basel 1893 2002-07-20 21 Cameroon Jean-Michel Tchouga FW to FC Lugano Transfers Summer In 18 Switzerland Eric Rapo GK from Wil – n/a 33 Argentina Julio Hernán Rossi FW from Lugano – n/a FC Basel 1893 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/2529/27/7/7 Basel verpflichtet Julio Hernan Rossi FC Basel 1893 2002-04-02 16 Switzerland Grégory Duruz DF from FC Sion – n/a 7 Switzerland Antonio Esposito FW from St. Étienne 20 Switzerland Bernt Haas DF on loan from West Bromwich Albion Weber Dominik 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/3436/27/7/7 Bernt Haas leihweise bis 2003 zum FC Basel FC Basel 1893 2002-08-30 de 23 Switzerland Philipp Degen MF advanced from Basel U-21 Weber Dominik 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/3437/27/7/7 Philipp Degen erhält Profivertrag FC Basel 1893 2002-08-30 de 28 Australia Ljubo Miličević MF om loan from Zürich, loanFC Basel 1893 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/3450/27/7/7 Milicevic leihweise beim FC Basel FC Basel 1893 2002-09-01 de SUI Alessandro Iandoli U-21 Out 1 Slovakia Miroslav König GK to Zürich Weber Dominik 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/2422/27/7/7 König für 4 Jahre zum FCZ FC Basel 1893 2002-03-20 de 2 Switzerland Massimo Ceccaroni DF end of career FC Basel 1893 2002 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/2880/27/7/7 FCB plant Saison ohne Cecca FC Basel 1893 2002-05-14 Winter Out 9 South Africa George Koumantarakis MF to Preston North End – n/a FC Basel 1893 2003 http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID/de-de/-/4592/27/7/7 George Koumantarakis wechselt nach England FC Basel 1893 2003-01-23 de Results Legend #CCFFCC Win 1px solid #AAAAAA #FFFFCC Draw 1px solid #AAAAAA #FFCCCC Loss 1px solid #AAAAAA #CCCCCC Postponed 1px solid #AAAAAA Friendlies Pre-season and first half-season friendlies Pre-season Exhibition game June 2002 19:00 Wil SUI 1–2 FCB summary SUI Basel Lustrinelli 41 1:1 16 0:1 Giménez61 1:2 Rossi69 Barberis Stadion Rüti, Henau SG 2,100 SUI Reto Rutz (Amriswil) W FCB without Zuberbühler, Zwyssig, Murat and Hakan Yakin, and Cantaluppi (all rested), Huggel (injured), and Koumantarakis (with South Africa at the World Cup). 9th minute: a shot from Fabinho hit the crossbar. 18th minute: a shot from Ergic hit the left post. 34th minute: Gimenez left the game with thigh problems. Pre-season 13 June 2002 16:00 D.C. United (Washington) USA 1–4 FCB summary SUI Basel Namoff 61 1:3 1 0:1 Streller7 0:2 H. Yakin60 0:3 Savić67 1:4 Giménez Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown 500 USA Murphy W Playing time 2x 35 minutes. D.C. United without Moreno (unused) and Pope (US national team). Basel without Cantaluppi, Atouba, Huggel (all injured), Meili (unused) and Koumantarakis (with South Africa at the World Cup). Pre-season 15 June 2002 17:30 Chesapeake Dragons USA 2–8 FCB summary SUI Basel Gibbons 16 1:1Pablo Graham 80 2:8 2 0:1 Rossi17 1:2 Giménez45 1:3 Giménez48 1:4 Streller51 1:5 Tum67 1:6 Tum74 1:7 Iandoli75 1:8 Tum RFK Auxiliary Field, Washington, D.C. 60 USA Riesch W FCB without Atouba and Huggel (both injured), Koumantarakis (with South Africa at the World Cup), and Zuberbühler (did not play). 48th minute, a shot from Tum hit the post (Streller converted the rebound). In central midfield, FCB played with Hakan Yakin in an attacking role and Cantaluppi in a defensive role during the first half, while Ergić and Barberis played side-by-side in the second half. Quennoz played as right-back from the 46th minute onwards. Pre-season 19 June 2002 11:30 New England Revolution USA 0–5 FCB summary SUI Basel 14 0:1 Giménez40 0:2 Ergić49 0:3 Tum71 0:4 Tum83 0:5 Tum N.E.R. Practice Field, Boston 60 USA Badea W New England Revolution without Llamosa (US national team), Twellman, Ralston, Heaps, Rooney, and Serna (all unused). FCB without Atouba, Huggel (both injured), and Meili (unused). 12th minute: a shot from Diallo hit the post; 32nd minute: a header from Murat Yakin hit the post. Sempione-CupSemi-final 22 June 2002 20:00 Basel SUI 3–0 FCB summary AUT SK Rapid Wien Rossi 17 1:0Giménez40 2:0Tum 85 3:0 21 Adamski Moos, Balsthal 1,700 SUI Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers) W The Sempione Cup was a club tournament played in summer at Sportanlage Moos, Balsthal, during the years 1987 to 2004. FCB without Koumantarakis (special leave following the World Cup), Chipperfield (Oceania Cup with the Australian national team), and both Huggel and Atouba (injured). 39th minute: Feldhofer deflected a shot from Rossi onto his own goalpost. 39th minute: Varela left the game injured after a blow to his left outer ankle and was taken to the hospital for X-rays. For Basel, Barberis played right-back after coming on, with Degen returning to the position after the break; meanwhile, Hakan Yakin took over central playmaking duties from Ergic until he was substituted. Sempione-CupFinal 24 June 2002 18:30 Basel SUI 2–0 FCB summary SVK Inter Bratislava Tum 2 1:0Cravero 61H. Yakin 70 2:0 Moos, Balsthal 1,900 SUI Markus Nobs, (Wohlen) W The Sempione Cup was a club tournament played in summer at Sportanlage Moos, Balsthal, during the years 1987 to 2004. without Koumantarakis (on holiday following WM), Chipperfield (Australian national team), Huggel, Varela, Hasler, and Atouba (all injured). 25th minute: a shot from Halenar hit the post. Pre-season 2 July 2002 19:30 Basel SUI 2–1 FCB summary BRA Ituano Futebol Clube Streller 45 1:0Tum 54 2:1H. Yakin 69′ 44 Pierre48 1:1 Vincius68 Lucio88 Humberto Rankhof Stadium, Basel 3,480 SUI Claudio Circhetta (Muttenz) W FCB without Huggel, Atouba, Varela, Cravero, and Rossi (all injured), as well as Chipperfield (Australia national team). In the 69th minute, Ituano goalkeeper André Luiz saved the penalty taken by Hakan Yakin following a foul. After the break, Basel played a 3–5–2 formation with Tum up front and Degen in right midfield. Friendly 9 July 2002 19:00 Wangen b. O. SUI 2–2 FCB summary SUI Basel Povigliaro 28 1:0Dannhäuser 90 2:2 31 1:1 Koumantarakis54 1:2 Savić Sportplatz Chrüzmatt, Wangen bei Olten 400 SUI Martin Salm (Veltheim, Aargau) D FCB without Zuberbühler, M. and H. Yakin, Zwyssig, Rossi, Gimenez (all left out of the squad), Huggel and Atouba (both injured). Fair game, no yellow cards. Friendly 23 July 2002 Basel SUI 2–2 FCB summary de NED PSV Eindhoven Rossi 24 1:0Rossi 62 2:1 42 1:1 van Bommel70 2:2 van Bommel Rankhof Stadium, Basel 2,380 SUI Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers) D FCB without Huggel (injured), Savic and Streller (both U-20), and Gimenez, Ergic, Chipperfield and Murat Yakin (all left out of the squad). PSV without 39-year-old Dane Jan Heintze (not in the squad), van der Schaaf, Kezman and de Jong, as well as new head coach Guus Hiddink, who is not expected in Eindhoven until August 2. Fair game, no yellow cards. Winter break and second half-season friendlies Winter break 21 January 2003 1. FC Kaiserslautern GER 2–1 FCB Report SUI Basel Adzic 2 1:0Lokvenc 5 2:0 25′ H. Yakin45 2:1 H. Yakin Betzenberg, Kaiserslautern, Germany 5,000 GER Volker Raquet L Kaiserslautern without Lincoln, Dominguez, and Sforza (all injured). FCB without Ergic (recovering), Esposito (injured), and Koumantarakis (absent). 25th minute, H. Yakin missed the penalty kick awarded for a foul by shooting the ball wide. Fair game, no bookings. Tactical change, FCB switched to a "classic 4-4-2" formation from the 63rd minute. Winter break 24 January 2003 Vitesse Arnhem NED 1–1 FCB Report SUI Basel Amoah 22 1:0 61 1:1 Huggel Rossi Sportpark Ijsselsingel, Rheden, Netherlands 400 NED Rene Temmink D Vitesse without five injured regular players. FCB without the injured Esposito, Ergic, Cantaluppi and Milicevic (on loan to FC Thun?), as well as Gimenez, Rapo and Zwyssig, who did not feature. Gusti Nussbaumer was without his moustache (shaved off "forcibly" by the players). Barberis left the game after taking a blow to the nose. 56th minute, Varela hit the top edge of the crossbar with a volley. Winter break 29 January 2003 Winterthur SUI 1–5 FCB Report SUI Basel Vogt 27 1:2 11 0:1 Rossi13 0:2 Chipperfield53 1:3 H. Yakin34 1:4 Rossi76 1:5 Rossi Belek, Turkey 150 W The match was played as part of a trainings camp in Turkey. For FCB, Zuberbühler, Murat Yakin and Smiljanic were rested. There was torrential rain during the first 30 minutes, yet the pitch remained in excellent condition. Winter break 31 January 2003 Partizan Belgrad FRY 1–1 FCB Report SUI Basel Delbasic 75 1:0 89 1:1 Tum Belek, Turkey 50 SVK Ladislav Gadosi D The match was played as part of a trainings camp in Turkey. FCB without Rossi (thigh contusion), Haas (ankle capsule injury), Esposito, Ergic (both injured and returned to Switzerland), Gimenez, Quennoz, Rapo (unused). – 57th minute, a shot from Tum hit the post. 78th minute, there was a ten-minute match stoppage due to a power cut. Gusty winds throughout the match. Winter break 3 February 2003 Sturm Graz AUT 3–1 FCB Report SUI Basel Szabics 7 1:0Mujiri 8 2:039 BosnarRauter 86 3:1 42 2:1 Giménez Belek, Turkey 80 SVK Ladislav Gadosi L The match was played as part of a trainings camp in Turkey. FCB without Murat Yakin (thigh problems), Duruz (bruise), Hakan Yakin, Rapo (unused), Esposito and Ergic (both injured)- Sturm Graz without Amoah, amongst others. Tactival change, FCB fielded Smiljanic in central defense, Atouba at left-back, and Chipperfield on the left of midfield from the 46th minute. From the 72nd minute, they played with three defenders, with Rossi positioned behind the strikers Gimenez and Tum. 42nd minute: a shot from Gimenez hit the crossbar (he followed up by scoring from the rebound to make it 1–2); 54th minute: Cantaluppi hit the crossbar with a direct free-kick. Winter break 8 February 2003 Basel SUI 4–0 FCB Report SUI Aarau Atouba 32 1:0Rossi 49 2:0Chipperfield 59 3:0Rossi 76 4:0 Leichtathletikstadion St. Jakob, Basel 1,500 SUI Claudio Circhetta (Muttenz) W FCB without M. Yakin (minor knee issues), Ergic and Esposito (both injured). FCA without Skrzypczak (injured). FCA mad eight substitutions at half time. Winter break 11 February 2003 Bellinzona SUI 0–1 FCB Report SUI Basel 4 0:1 Tum Stadio Comunale, Bellinzona 300 SUI Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona) W Bellinzona without Cavin and Gigantelli (both injured). FCB without Zuberbühler, Hakan Yakin, Cantaluppi and Haas (all on Swiss national team duty), Atouba (Cameroon national team), Chipperfield (Australia national team), and Murat Yakin, Ergic and Esposito (all injured), but included Brazilian trialist Edu in the squad. FCB’s roster featured youth players Sebastian Kollar, Petrit Frrokaj, and Bekim Halimi. Following his substitution in the 63rd minute, Frrokaj played as right-back for FCB, with Degen operating on the right side of mid-field and Barberis in the center. 70th minute, a shot from Gimenez hit the crossbar. Winter break Exhibition game 15 February 2003 14:30 Basel SUI 0–3 FCB summaryFCZ sunnary SUI Zürich 42 0:1 Bastida70 0:2 Yasar74 0:3 Guerrero Stadion Rankhof, Basel 2,000 SUI Nicole Petignat (Courgenay) L FCB without Quennoz, Esposito and Ergic (all injured). FCZ without König (Slovakia national team), Nef, Pallas, and Keller (all injured). 46th minute: Tactical change by FCB, Barberis moved to right-back following Varela’s substitution; Varela played in right midfield. 75th minute: Degen played in right midfield after coming on and FCB switched to a 4-4-1-1 formation. 78th minute: Yasar left the pitch with a foot injury following a foul by M. Yakin. Mid-season Exhibition game 1 April 2003 19:00 SV Muttenz SUI 1–4 FCB summary SUI Basel Ulli 75 1:4 25 0:1 Huggel43 0:2 Tum56 0:3 Huggel63 0:4 Huggel Sportplatz Margelacker, Muttenz 812 SUI Claudio Circhetta (Muttenz) W Muttenz without Oeczan, Palazzoni, Babicic, Stohler, and Schmidiger (all injured), as well as Heimoz, Gotsch, and Weber (all absent). Basel without Zuberbühler, M. Yakin, Haas, H. Yakin, Cantaluppi, and Zwyssig (all with the Swiss national team), Rossi and Gimenez (both carrying minor foot knocks), and Ergic (injured). No bookings. Corners: 3–9 (1–6). Nationalliga A 2002–03 Nationalliga A Qualification phase The qualification round to the 2002–03 league season was contested by twelve teams. This phase began with one match on 3 July 2002, the others on 6 July, and was completed on 7 December. The eight teams at the top of the table at the end of the qualification stage were then to compete in the championship play-off round. The teams in ninth to twelfth position competed with the top four teams of the NLB in a promotion/relegation group to decide which two teams would play top tier next season, because the top-tier was to be reduced from twelve to ten clubs. Round 1 6 July 2002 17:30 Aarau 0–1 FCB summaryFCA summary Basel Chassot 16 19 0:1 Giménez27 Tum58 Cantaluppi83 Koumantarakis Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau 10,100 SUI Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona) W FCA without Baldassarri (injured) and Mamadou Diarra (not yet eligible to play). FCA without Atouba, Huggel, Varela (all injured) and Chipperfield (Australian national team). Round 2 13 July 2002 19:30 Basel 1–1 FCB summary Xamax Barberis 14 1:0 Cantaluppi 20Giménez 30 15 Wiederkehr32 Chiquinho65 Portillo72 1:1 Leandro St. Jakob-Park, Basel 23,465 SUI Florian Etter D FCB without Atouba and Huggel (both injured) and Chipperfield (national team duty), as well as Esposito and Duruz (not yet eligible to play). Xamax without Khlifi (injured). Round 3 17 July 2002 19:30 Young Boys 1–1 FCB summary Basel Rochat 4Chapuisat 47 1:0Chapuisat 52Petrosyan 56Descloux 62Sermeter 89 4' M. Yakin23 Esposito32 Cantaluppi33 Barberis36 Rossi42 Cravero90 1:1 Giménez Stadion Neufeld, Bern 10,700 SUI René Rogalla (Wallisellen) D The Young Boys played their home games in the Stadion Neufeld after the Wankdorf Stadium was demolished in 2001 and the new Stadion Wankdorf was constructed on the same site. YB without Patrick, Mioc and Coubadja (all injured), and Rotanzi, Geiser, Fryand and Heverton (surplus foreign players). Basel without Varela, Hakan Yakin, Huggel, and Atouba (all injured), and Savic (surplus foreign player). 4th minute: Murat Yakin hit the crossbar with his penalty kick. 74th minute: a shot from Magnin hit the post. Round 4 20 July 2002 19:30 Basel 1–0 FCB summary Delémont Ergić 24Giménez80 1:0 09 Kebe30 Nocita61 Selimi St. Jakob-Park, Basel 21,929 SUI Nicole Petignat (Courgenay) W FCB without Atouba, Huggel, and Tum (all injured). Delémont without Di Zenzo, Hushi, Klötzli, and Reimann (all injured). 44th minute: a header from Gimenez hit the crossbar. 57th minute, a headed goal from Ojong was disallowed for offside. 62nd minute: Delémont goalkeeper David Inguscio deflected a direct free-kick from Cantaluppi onto the crossbar. Round 5 27 July 2002 17:30 St. Gallen 1–1 FCB summary Basel Barnetta 44 1:0 0 43 Gross (head-coach, not on pitch)59 M. Yakin76 1:1 Rossi Espenmoos, St. Gallen 11,300 (sold out) SUI Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona) D St. Gallen without Chaile (suspended) as well as Oberli and Tato (both injured). Basel without Huggel and Savic (both injured). 43rd minute: Basel head-coach Christian Gross sent to the stands for dissent. Round 6 3 August 2002 19:30 Basel 4–2 FCB summary Servette Varela 10Zwyssig 28 1:0Giménez 45 2:0H. Yakin 57 pen. 3:0Cantaluppi 75Esposito 93 4:2 25 Gaspoz38 O. Londono49 M. Lombardo60 3:1 A. Frei75 Fournier78 3:2 Gaspoz84 Thurre St. Jakob-Park, Basel 23,257 SUI Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers) W FCB without Koumantarakis, Huggel and Murat Yakin (all injured) as well as Streller (U-21). Servette without Jaquet (was ill), Bratic and Sanou (both injured). Cravero played his first match for Servette. 89th minute: a shot from Rossi hit the crossbar. Round 7 10 August 2002 19:30 Zürich 0–4 FCB summary Basel Akalé 0 33 8 0:1 Giménez18 0:2 H. Yakin24 Esposito28 D. Degen31 0:3 Rossi45 0:4 H. Yakin Letzigrund, Zürich 10,500 SUI Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno) W FCZ ohne Keita, Guerrero und Milicevic (alle verletzt). FCB ohne Cantaluppi (gesperrt), Murat Yakin, Koumantarakis, Atouba, Chipperfield und Huggel (alle verletzt). Round 8 18 August 2002 19:30 Basel 2–3 FCB summary Luzern Giménez 36 1:1Rossi 46 2:1 M. Yakin 2 41 67Quennoz 0 88 10 Monteiro12 0:1 Monteiro22 Marić69 Koch85 2:2 Malacarne88 2:3 Enrique90+3 Arrué St. Jakob-Park, Basel 23,257 LIE Roland Beck (Triesenberg) L FCB without Chipperfield, Huggel, Ergic, Esposito and Zwyssig (all injured). FCL without Rothenbühler and Hofer (both injured) and Kawelaschwili (not yet eligible to play). Round 9 24 August 2002 17:30 Thun 4–1 FCB summary Basel Rama 46 1:0Baumann 65 2:1Rama 84 3:1Moser 86 4:1 51 1:1 Tum Stadion Lachen, Thun 6,740 SUI Markus Nobs (Wohlen bei Bern) L Marcus Nobs made his 100th NLA game as referee. Thun without Fahrni, Stettler and Parnela (all injured). FCB without Chipperfield, Ergic, Huggel and Zwyssig (all injured), Murat Yakin and Quennoz (both suspended), and Koumantarakis (not in the squad). 27th minute, a shot from Gimenez hit the crossbar. 32nd minute: Cantaluppi deflected the ball onto his own crossbar. 76th minute, a shot from Rossi hit the crossbar. Round 10 1 September 2002 16:15 Grasshopper Club 2–3 FCB summary Basel Barijo 7 1:0Borer 0 20Núñez 34 2:1Eduardo 33Tararache 39Castillo 66 14 Savić19 H. Yakin22 pen. 1:1 Cantaluppi22 Cantaluppi45 2:2 Giménez63 2:3 M. Yakin90 M. Yakin Hardturm, Zürich 17,666 (sold out) SUI Philippe Leuba (Chexbres) W GC without Spycher and Zanni (both injured). FCB without Chipperfield, Esposito, Huggel and Zwyssig (all injured). 40th minute: a goal by Gimenez was goal disallowed due an offside. Round 11 11 September 2002 19:30 Basel 7–1 FCB summary Wil Giménez 8 1:0Cantaluppi 15 2:1Giménez 32 3:1Barberis 50 4:1Rossi 69 5:1Rossi 71 6:1M. Yakin 81 7:1 9 pen. 1:1 Fabinho22 Rizzo33 T. Balmer St. Jakob-Park, Basel 21,425 SUI Martin Salm (Veltheim, Aargau) W FCB without Chipperfield, Huggel, Ergic, Duruz, Degen and Zwyssig (all injured). First match for FCB debut by Haas. Wil without Naldo (suspended). Round 12 14 September 2002 19:30 Basel 4–0 FCB summaryFCA summary Aarau Giménez 5 1:0Giménez 54 2:0Esposito 51P. Degen 56Barberis 71 3:0M. Yakin 90+1 4:0 63 Pogatetz70 Diop90+1 Skrzypczak St. Jakob-Park, Basel 25,385 SUI Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers) W FCB without Chipperfield, Duruz, Ergic, Huggel, Varela, Philipp Degen and Zwyssig (all injured). FCA without Chassot (was ill), Baldassarri, Mamadou Diarra and Moretto (all injured). Round 13 21 September 2002 19:30 Xamax 1–1 FCB summary Basel Leandro 48 1:0 52 Esposito63 Cantaluppi82 1:1 Barberis Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel 9,600 SUI Nicole Petignat (Courgenay) D Xamax without Wiederkehr, Portillo, and Mangane (all suspended), Khlifi (with Morocco's Olympic squad), and Tsawa (injured). FCB without Chipperfield, Ergic, Huggel, Zwyssig and Hakan Yakin (all injured) and Murat Yakin (stiff neck). Round 14 28 September 2002 19:30 Basel 2–1 FCB summary Young Boys Duruz 15Cantaluppi 31Giménez 68 1:1Tum 68 2:1Varela 78 22 0:1 Sermeter23 Disler62 Magnin75 Descloux St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,762 (sold out) SUI Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno) W FCB without Quennoz, Huggel, Chipperfield and Rossi (all injured) and Esposito (suspended). YB without Denicolà, Patrick and Hänzi (all injured). Round 15 6 October 2002 16:15 SR Delémont 1–2 FCB summary Basel Saidou Kébé 80 1:2 28 Esposito36 0:1 Tum60 0:2 Rossi80 Cantaluppi La Blancherie, Delémont 6,300 (stadion record) SUI Florian Etter W Delémont without Ojong and Reimann (suspended), Sahin and Inguscio (injured). FCB without Huggel, Savic, Chipperfield (all injured), Murat Yakin and Hakan Yakin (rested). 69th minute: a shot from Rossi hit the crossbar. Round 16 19 October 2002 19:30 Basel 6–0 FCB summary St. Gallen Rossi 14 1:0Rossi 31 2:0Giménez 45 3:0Rossi 67Rossi 80 4:0Tum 84 5:0Savić 90 6:0 64 Alex68 Tato90+1 Colacino St. Jakob-Park, Basel 27,599 SUI Markus Nobs (Wohlen bei Bern) W FCB without Cantaluppi (suspended), Degen and Chipperfield (both injured), and Hakan Yakin (on the bench, rested). St. Gallen without Berger (suspended), Oberli (injured), and Lerinc (was ill). Round 17 25 October 2002 19:30 Servette 0–1 FCB summary Basel Senderos 3Thurre 55Gaspoz 93 24 Rossi51 0:1 Ergić54 Varela59 Esposito Charmilles Stadium, Geneva 6,511 SUI Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona) W Servette without Pascolo and Londono (both suspended) as well as Fournier, Frei and Vanetta (all injured). FCB without Cantaluppi (suspended) as well as Chipperfield and Gimenez (both injured). Round 18 1 November 2002 19:30 Basel 5–3 FCB summaryFCZ summary Zürich Ergić 4 1:0Rossi 41 2:2Ergić 45+3 3:2Rossi 55 4:2Varela 77 5:3 18 1:1 Keller28 1:2 Jefferson33 Iodice56 og 4:3 (Zwyssig)82 Jefferson90 Yasar St. Jakob-Park, Basel 28,870 SUI Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno) W FCB without Chipperfield and Gimenez (both injured). FCZ without Chihab, Hellinga, Schneider and Tarone (all injured). 57th minute, a cross from Akale hit the outside of the post. 78th minute: Akale left the game due to an injury. Round 19 17 November 2002 14:30 Luzern 1–1 FCB summary Basel Brand 33 pen. 1:0Rota 1 37 55Hilfiker 72Kavelashvili 90 32 Zuberbühler67 Zwyssig82 o.g. 1:1 (Zukic)86 Haas Stadion Allmend, Luzern 14,700 SUI René Rogalla (Wallisellen) D FCL without Arrué, Monteiro, Mehmeti and Enrique (all injured). FCB without Varela, Hakan Yakin, Cantaluppi and Ergic (all injured). 6th minute: a goal by Atouba was disallowed for offside. 38th minute: a diect free-kick from Chipperfield hit the top of the crossbar. Round 20 22 November 2002 19:30 Basel 3–0 FCB summary Thun H. Yakin 9 1:0Chipperfield 32Rossi 51 2:0Giménez 38 3:0 45 Hodžić0 87 Deumi St. Jakob-Park, Basel 30,501 (sold out) LIE Roland Beck (Triesenberg) W FCB without Koumantarakis, Savic and Haas (all injured). Thun without Parnela, Heinz and Adrian Moser (all injured). Round 21 1 December 2002 16:15 Basel 1–2 FCB summary Grasshopper Club M. Yakin 24'Tum 71 1:2Atouba 48M. Yakin 60 Smiljanić 76Varela 85 25 Tararache42 0:1 Rozental60 0:2 Núñez87 Gerber St. Jakob-Park, Basel 33,433 (sold out) SUI Urs Meier (Wettingen and Würenlos) L FCB without Zuberbühler (ill with gastroenteritis), Hakan Yakin, Ergic, Koumantarakis and Savic (all injured). GC without Zanni, Hodel, Baturina and Jaggy (all injured) and Eduardo (suspended). 24th minute, the penalty kick from Murat Yakin was shot wide of the goal. 64th minute, GC goalkeeper Borer struck on the head by an object from the "Muttenzer Kurve", two-minute stoppage. Round 22 7 December 2002 14:30 Wil 1–4 FCB summary Basel Romano 40 pen. 1:3Balmer 43Romano 89 4 0:1 Giménez30 0:2 H. Yakin37 0:3 Barberis67 1:4 Esposito Bergholz, Wil 5,400 SUI Markus Nobs (Wohlen bei Bern) W Wil without Montandon (suspended), Fabinho, Bamba, Zellweger (all injured) and Beney (was ill); FCB without Varela (suspended), Murat Yakin, Koumantarakis, Savic, Haas and Ergic (all injured). NLA debuts for Wil players Hämmerli and Zverotic. League table main WDL Regular season 5 Q y GCZ Grasshopper Club BAS Basel Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2025 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/rangliste?saison=2002/03 FCB Rangliste 2002/03 de-ch FCB Ranking 2002/03 Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2025-11-16 THU Thun WIL Wil ZÜR Zürich (red) dbFCZ 2025 https://www.dbfcz.ch/saison.php?saison_id=4 FCZ Saison 2002/03 de-ch FCZ season 2002/03 dbFCZ 2025-11-16 NX Xamax YB Young Boys (red) BSC Young Boys AG 2025 https://www.bscyb.ch/archiv-2002-03#mnc_458 YB Saison 2002/03 YB season 2002/03 BSC Young Boys AG de-ch 2025-11-16 SER Servette Daniel Reichmuth 2025 https://super-servette.ch/Doku/Resultate_Servette_2002-03.pdf Servette Rangliste 2002/03 Servette ranking 2002/03 super-servette-ch fr 2025-11-16 LUZ Luzern STG St. Gallen DEL SR Delémont AAR Aarau Stephan Beck 2025 https://www.arowa.ch/index.php?page=ligatabelle&saison=103 Schweizer Meisterschaft 2002/03 FCA Rangliste de-ch Swiss Championship 2002/03 FCA Ranking arowa.ch 2025-11-16 15 4 3 58 26 14 5 3 57 25 9 4 9 33 33 8 7 7 43 45 9 4 9 35 37 8 7 7 30 33 8 6 8 41 41 8 5 9 45 37 7 5 10 31 38 -2 6 6 10 31 48 6 2 14 24 44 5 3 14 19 40 green1 Advance to championship roundhalved points (rounded up) as bonus CP CP CP CP CP CP CP CP red2 Continue to promotion/relegation round RP RP RP RP 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.FC Luzern 2 points deducted for irregularities in license application, therefore total points: 24 complete RSSSF Championship round The first eight teams of the qualification phase competed in the championship playoff round. They took half of the points (rounded up) gained in qualification as bonus with them. This phase began on 1 March 2003 and was completed on 31 May. Round 1 1 March 2003 17:30 Xamax 3–1 FCB summary Basel M'Futi 57Buess 74 1:1Simo 79 2:1Wiederkehr 82Mangane 90+2 3:1 10 0:1 Tum43Chipperfield67 Atouba79 Huggel82 Zuberbühler90+1 Smiljanić Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel 8,200 SUI Philippe Leuba (Chexbres) L Xamax without Tsawa and Da Silva (both injured).FCB without Rossi (suspended), Quennoz and Varela (both sick), Ergic and Esposito (both injured). Minute of mourning for NLB referee Christophe Robert, who died in the referee training camp in Gran Canaria. For the first time on direct TV broadcast in Switzerland, a fourth referee on the edge of the pitch on the middle line. Round 2 8 March 2003 19:30 Basel 2–0 FCB summary Servette Haas 26Haas 54M. Yakin 67 pen. 18 Bullo St. Jakob-Park, Basel 16,053 LIE Roland Beck (Triesenberg) W FCB without Ergic and Esposito (both injured), Streller and Degen (both with the U-21 team). Servette without Hilton (suspended), Fournier, Senderos, Obradovic, Weber and Lanoizelet (all injured). The Muttenzer Kurve is empty due to a partial stadium closure, resulting in 7,490 fewer seats. Round 3 15 March 2003 17:30 Thun 1–4 FCB summary Basel Baumann 14Baumann 35 pen. 1:2 22 0:1 H. Yakin26 0:2 Tum35 Cantaluppi36 1:3 Rossi57 1:4 H. Yakin Stadion Lachen, Thun 7,200 SUI Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona) W Thun without Aegerter and Balmer (both suspended) and Heinz Moser (injured). FCB without Zwyssig, Gimenez, Ergic, Milicevic and Esposito (all injured). Round 4 22 March 2003 17:30 Basel 2–2 FCB summary Grasshopper Club Cantaluppi 28Haas 33Chipperfield 42Smiljanić 45Atouba 65Giménez 73 1:1Varela 77M. Yakin 82 2:2 5 Eduardo12 0:1 Cabanas13 Spycher45 Schwegler45 Gamboa74 1:2 Petrić82 Tararache St. Jakob-Park, Basel 30,502 AUT Konrad Plautz D This match was played as part of the interaction referee exchange between the Swiss Football Association and the Austrian Football Association. FCB without Ergic and Esposito (both injured). GC without Hodel, Jaggy, Mitreski, Mikari, and Digenti (all injured). Round 5 6 April 2003 16:15 Zürich 1–2 FCB summaryFCZ summary Basel Guerrero 49 1:1Chihab 85Bastida 89 8 0:1 Rossi87 1:2 Huggel90+2 Atouba Letzigrund, Zürich 13,500 SUI Markus Nobs (Wohlen bei Bern) W FCZ without Hellinga (suspended) as well as Pallas, Quentin and Yasar (all injured). FCB without Murat Yakin, Haas, Cantaluppi and Ergic (all injured). 50th minute: a header from Huggel hit the crossbar. Round 6 12 April 2003 19:30 Basel 3–1 FCB summary Wil Duruz 4Huggel 13 1:0Rossi 20 2:0Huggel 59 3:0 29 Pavlović43 Bamba47 Mangiarratti73 3:1 Lustrinelli St. Jakob-Park, Basel 26,789 SUI Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers) W FCB without Atouba (suspended), as well as Gimenez, Murat Yakin and Ergic (all injured). Wil without Romano (suspended), along with Morales, Dilaver, Valmir and Rizzo (all injured). FCB with a tactical change in the 33rd minute following Duruz's injury, Quennoz moved to central defense, while Smiljanic switched to the left flank. After Esposito came on, Chipperfield played in attack alongside Tum. Round 7 19 April 2003 15:45 Basel 3–0 FCB summary Young Boys H. Yakin 13 1:0H. Yakin 30 pen. 2:0H. Yakin 38 3:0Zwyssig 61 38 Disler St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,659 (sold out) SUI Urs Meier (Wettingen and Würenlos) W FCB without Duruz, Ergic, Gimenez, Tum and Murat Yakin (all injured). YB without Descloux, Fryand and Tikva (all injured) and Eugster (suspended). Round 8 27 April 2003 16:15 Young Boys 2–0 FCB summary Basel Petrosyan 37Magnin 61 Vonlanthen 90 35 Cantaluppi1 62 75 H. Yakin76 M. Yakin Stadion Neufeld, Bern 11,850 (sold out) SUI Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno) L The Young Boys played their home games in the Stadion Neufeld after the Wankdorf Stadium was demolished in 2001 and the new Stadion Wankdorf was constructed on the same site. YB without Disler, Eugster, Paulinho (all suspended), Fryand and Tikva (both injured). FCB without Ergic and Tum (both injured). National team coach Köbi Kuhn in the stands. 19th minute, Smiljanic deflects a shot from Berisha onto the crossbar. 20th minute, Rotanzi clears the ball off the line that came from Huggel. 52nd minute, Descloux left the game injured. 93rd minute, a shot from Sermeter hit the post. Round 9 4 May 2003 16:15 Wil 4–5 FCB summary Basel Zellweger 26Pavlović 29Pavlović31 1:3Fabinho 42 2:3Lustrinelli 48 3:3Rizzo 74 4:5 3 0:1 Huggel15 0:2 Barberis25 0:3 Huggel55 3:4 Esposito65 3:5 Giménez Bergholz, Wil 4,700 SUI Florian Etter W Wil without Mangiarratti and Zverotic (both suspended), Bamba and Morales (both injured). FCB without Hakan and Murat Yakin (both suspended), Ergic, Haas, Varela and Tum (all injured). 12th minute, a goal from Pavlovic was disallowed for a foul on Esposito. 41st minute, a shot from Smiljanic hit the post. 53rd minute, a shot from Lustrinelli hit the underside of the crossbar. Round 10 8 May 2003 20:15 Basel 3–1 FCB summaryFCZ summary Zürich Rossi 31 1:0Rossi 34Duruz 39Chipperfield 44 2:0Giménez 76 3:0 40 Guerrero81 3:1 Bastida St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,780 LIE Roland Beck (Triesenberg) W FCB without Ergic, Atouba and Tum (all injured). FCZ without Pallas and Yasar (both injured) as well as Keller and Nef (both suspended). 9th minute, a goal by Hakan Yakin was disallowed due to Gimenez being offside. 46th minute, a goal by Rossi was disallowed for an alleged offside. Round 11 17 May 2003 20:15 Grasshopper Club 2–2 FCB summary Basel Petrić 18 1:0Petrić 44Cabanas 0 45Tararache 48Spycher 58 2:0Schwegler 82 20 Atouba0 45 Cantaluppi49 M. Yakin65 2:1 H. Yakin66 2:2 Giménez Hardturm, Zürich 17,666 (sold out) SUI Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona) D FCB without Ergic (was ill) and Huggel (injured). Corners: 3–10 (0–5). FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier in the stands. 300 security personnel on duty. 45th minute, Cabanas and Cantaluppi both sent off because of acts of violence. Round 12 21 May 2003 19:30 Basel 4–0 FCB summary Thun M. Yakin 3 pen. 1:0H. Yakin 58 2:0Chipperfield 62 3:0Rossi 66 4:0 31 Hodžić88 H. Moser St. Jakob-Park, Basel 28,132 SUI Dieter Schoch (Attiswil) W FCB without Ergic (was ill), Huggel and Tum (both injured), Cantaluppi and Gimenez (both suspended). Thun without Adrian Moser (injured), Deumi (suspended), and Streller (not in the squad). Round 13 24 May 2003 17:30 Servette 0–4 FCB summary Basel Bah 82 17 0:1 M. Yakin21 0:2 Rossi23 0:3 Giménez56 0:4 Giménez71 M. Yakin Stade de Genève, Geneva 14,543 SUI Urs Meier (Wettingen and Würenlos) W Servette withoutLondono, Senderos, and Bullo (all suspended), as well as Roth, Fournier, Thurre, Jaquet, Lombardo, Pont and Miéville (all injured). FCB without Ergic and Esposito (both ill) and Barberis and Tum (both injured), but they fielded Cantaluppi and Gimenez—who were both technically suspended, but following appeals against their bans. Kick-off was taken by former Servette star José Sinval. Jérémy Pauchard (Servette) made his NLA debut. 35th minute Haas (FCB) left the match with a muscle strain. Round 14 31 May 2003 20:15 Basel 3–0 FCB summary Xamax Huggel 18 1:0Rossi 36 2:0Huggel 38 3:0 St. Jakob-Park, Basel 30,939 (sold out) SUI Markus Nobs (Wohlen bei Bern) W FCB without Gimenez and Cantaluppi (both suspended) as well as Tum, Barberis (both injured), and Ergic (ill). Neuchâtel Xamax without Portillo and Buess (both suspended) as well as Delay and Sanou (both injured). 25th minute: Rey hits the post. Final league table main WDL Championship playoffs 5 Q y GCZ Grasshopper Club BAS Basel NX Xamax YB Young Boys ZÜR Zürich SER Servette THU Thun WIL Wil 9 5 0 37 15 25 10 2 2 38 17 24 5 4 5 18 17 16 6 1 7 21 29 15 4 3 7 20 23 16 4 4 6 16 26 15 3 3 8 18 30 16 2 4 8 19 30 16 green1 Swiss championsqualification to Champions League third qualifying round CLQR yellow1 Swiss Cup winnersqualification to UEFA Cup first round UCR1 blue1 qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round UCQR2 blue1 qualification to UEFA Cup qualifying round UCQR3 blue3 entered Intertoto Cup second round UI2 blue3 entered Intertoto Cup first round UI1 1) points; 2) Position in the qualification round complete RSSSF Swiss Cup 2002–03 Swiss Cup The twelve first-tier clubs from the 2002–03 Nationalliga A had been granted byes for the first four rounds and they joined the competition in the fifth round. The first-tier teams were seeded and cound not be drawn against each other. The draw respected regionalities, when possible, and the lower classed team was granted home advantage. Round 5 22 February 2003 16:00 Yverdon-Sport 0–3 FCB summary Basel Gil Bala 20Gilardi 80 16 pen Cantaluppi18 Haas40 0:2 Cantaluppi0 41 Rossi89 0:3 Atouba Stade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains 2,800 SUI Reto Rutz (Amriswil) W Yverdon-Sport played the 2002/03 season in the NLB (second-tier). FCB without Barberis, Ergic, Esposito and Murat Yakin (all injured). 29th minute, a shot from Rossi hit the post. 40th minute, Rossi received the sending off for unsporting behavior. 70th minute, a shot from Varela hit the crossbar. Round 6 4 March 2003 19:30 Basel 2–0 FCB summary Servette Barberis 28Cantaluppi 35 penChipperfield 51 2:0 39 Comisetti68 Lombardo75 Bratić85 Kader St. Jakob-Park, Basel 10,721 SUI Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers) W FCB without Rossi (suspended), Ergic and Esposito (both injured), and Quennoz (not in the squad). Servette without Fournier, Obradovic, Senderos and Lanoizelet (all injured). Quarter-final 26 March 2003 19:30 Young Boys 3–4 yes FCB summary Basel Petrosyan 16Häberli 27Sermeter 39 1:2Sermeter 42 pen. 2:2Sermeter 55 3:2Patrick 88Sermeter 120 2 0:1 Giménez19 Duruz28 0:2 Giménez36 Tum2 41 44 Varela57 H. Yakin59 Haas65 3:3 Tum95 M. Yakin108 3:4 H. Yakin Stadion Neufeld, Bern 10,700 (sold out) SUI Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno) W YB without Tikva and Descloux (both injured). FCB without Esposito and Ergic (both injured) as well as Atouba (away with the Cameroon national team). 65th minute, YB goalkeeper Collaviti deflected a header from Murat Yakin onto the crossbar and Tum converted the rebound. Semi-final 15 April 2003 20:15 Basel 3–0 FCB summary Schaffhausen Esposito 26 1:0Chipperfield 65Esposito 72 Tum 90 2:0Esposito 90+2 3:0 18 Leu23 Fehr St. Jakob-Park, Basel 26,960 SUI Reto Rutz (Amriswil) W FCB without Hakan Yakin, Haas and Varela (all suspended), and Murat Yakin, Gimenez, Duruz and Ergic (all injured). Schaffhausen without Todisco and Rohrer (both suspended). 5th minute: a shot from Cantaluppi hit the post. 7th minute, a goal by Rossi was disallowed for offside. 42nd minute, Rossi hit the crossbar with a header. 70th minute, a goal by Tchouga way disallowed (dangerous play). Final 11 May 2003 15:00 Basel 6–0 Fussball-Schweiz summaryFCB summary Xamax Huggel 13 1:0Giménez 35 2:0Giménez 43 3:0M. Yakin 65 4:0Smiljanić 77 5:0Barberis 83 6:0 57 Leandro87 Buess St. Jakob-Park, Basel 31,500 (sold out) SUI René Rogalla (Wallisellen) W FCB without Ergic (was ill) and Tum (injured). Xamax without Von Bergen (suspended), Tsawa, Da Silva and backup goalkeeper Delay (all injured). 23rd minute: a goal by Rossi was disallowed due to a preceding foul. 68th minute, a goal by Rossi was disallowed for offside. Basel won the cup and this was the club's seventh cup title to this date and their second consecutive cup title. Champions League 2002–03 UEFA Champions League The 2002–03 UEFA Champions League was the 11th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding in 1992, and the 48th European Cup tournament overall. Second qualifying round First leg 31 July 2002 18:00 Žilina SVK 1–1 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel Sninský 55Barčík 29 1:0 23 Chipperfield32 Esposito38 o.g. Klago84 Varela Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina 6,258 Laurent Duhamel (France) D FCB without Murat Yakin, Koumantarakis (both with adductor muscle tightness), Huggel, Savic and Streller (all injured). Second leg 7 August 2002 19:30 Basel SUI 3–0 4–1 UEFA summaryFCB summary SVK Žilina Giménez 12 1:0M. Yakin 23 2:0Esposito 45Giménez 50 3:0 73 Špendla80 Staš St. Jakob-Park, Basel 16,562 Darko Čeferin (Slovenia) W FCB without Chipperfield, Koumantarakis and Huggel (all injured) and Savic (youth squad). Zilina had their full squad. 44th minute: a shot from Rossi hit the post. 15,396 tickets sold in advance. Basel won 4–1 on aggregate Third qualifying round First leg 14 August 2002 20:45 Celtic SCO 3–1 UEFA reportFCB summary SUI Basel Larsson 3 pen.Sutton 52 2:1Larsson 63′Lambert 64Sylla 88 3:1 2 0:1 Giménez52 Duruz62 H. Yakin64 Cantaluppi81 Varela Celtic Park, Glasgow 58,520 Manuel Mejuto González (Spain) L Celtic without Agathe (injured). FCB without Chipperfield and Huggel (both injured). 63rd minute, Zuberbühler saved the penalty from Larsson, (which was awarded for handball) with his feet. Around 1,000 Basel fans, who arrived on four charter flights, were in the stadium. Second leg 28 August 2002 20:30 Basel SUI 2–0 3–3 UEFA summaryFCB summary SCO Celtic Giménez 9Rossi 12M. Yakin 22Varela 42 42 Sylla42 Guppy St. Jakob-Park, Basel 30,510 (sold out) Anders Frisk (Sweden) W FCB without Chipperfield, Esposito, Huggel and Zwyssig (all injured). Barberis and Hakan Yakin wore head bandages following collisions. Barberis played in midfield after Degen was substituted on. After the break, tactical change by Celtic, who then played with a three-man defense and Sylla in central midfield. 3–3 on aggregate, Basel won on away goals Group stage 2002–03 UEFA Champions League group stage#Group B Matchday 1 17 September 2002 20:45 Basel SUI 2–0 UEFA summaryFCB summary RUS Spartak Moscow H. Yakin 50 1:0Rossi 55 2:0 72 Kalynychenko St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,500 (sold out) Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark) W FCB without Ergic, Chipperfield, Zwyssig and Huggel (all injured) and Varela (suspended). Spartak missing players including Titov and Parfenov (both injured) and Sychev (suspended by both the club and the Russian federation). Basel's Champions League debut. 15th minute: a headed goal by Rossi was disallowed for offside. 23rd minute: a header from Murat Yakin hit the post. 70th minute: a header from Rossi hit the crossbar. There was a brief stoppage in play after the half time break due to a smoke bomb set off in the Muttenzer Kurve. Matchday 2 25 September 2002 20:45 Liverpool ENG 1–1 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel Baroš 34 1:0Diouf 88 43 1:1 Rossi65 Haas Anfield, Liverpool 37,643 Dick van Egmond (Netherlands) D Liverpool without Hamann (suspended) and Smicer (injured). FCB without Huggel, Ergic and Chipperfield (all injured). 2nd minute: FCB goalkeeper Zuberbühler tipped a shot from Riise onto the crossbar. 10th minute, Zuberbühler deflected a shot from Riise onto the crossbar. 45th minute: a shot by Baros hit the inside of the post. Matchday 3 2 October 2002 20:45 Valencia ESP 6–2 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel Carew 10 1:0Carew 13 2:0Aurélio 17 3:0Baraja 28 4:0Aimar 58 5:1Mista 60 6:1Ayala 89 46 4:1 Rossi90 6:2 H. Yakin Estadio Mestalla, Valencia 27,394 Cosimo Bolognino (Italy) L Valencia without Kily González (injured). FCB without Huggel and Chipperfield (both injured). 29th minute, a header from Carew hit the post. 49th minute, a shot from Angulo struck the underside of the crossbar. 52nd minute, Murat Yakin cleared off the line following a shot by Mista. Perminant rainfall before and throughout the entire match. Therefore, the pitch was very wet and scattered with puddles. Matchday 4 22 October 2002 20:45 Basel SUI 2–2 UEFA summaryFCB summary ESP Valencia Ergić 32 1:0Haas 64H. Yakin 87Ergić 90 2:2 36 1:1 Baraja63 Baraja2 66 88 Ayala72 1:2 Torres St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,500 (sold out) Helmut Fleischer (Germany) D FCB without Huggel (recovering fitness) and Chipperfield (injured). Valencia without Aimar (injured) and Albelda (niggling injury). Matchday 5 5 November 2002 18:00 Spartak Moscow RUS 0–2 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel Kovtun 65 Torbinski 73 18 Rossi84 Giménez89 Giménez Dynamo Stadium, Moscow 5,000 Stuart Dougal (Scotland) W Spartak without Titov (injured) and Sychev (suspended internally and by the Russian federation). FCB without Chipperfield (injured). Matchday 6 12 November 2002 20:45 Basel SUI 3–3 UEFA summaryFCB summary ENG Liverpool Rossi 2 1:0Giménez 22 2:0Atouba 29 3:0Esposito 84 61 3:1 Murphy61 Šmicer64 3:2 Šmicer70 Murphy 85′ Owen85 3:3 Owen St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,500 (sold out) Claude Colombo (France) D FCB without Chipperfield (recovering). Liverpool without Henchoz (recovering) and Abel Xavier (injured). 11th minute: FCB goalkeeper Zuberbühler tipped a shot from Heskey onto the crossbar. 85th minute: Zuberbühler saved the penalty from Owen (awarded for handball) but was beaten by him on the rebound. Final group table main WDL Group B Q VAL ESP Valencia BAS SUI Basel Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2025 https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?saison=2002%2F03&liga=7 FCB Rangliste CL 2002/03 de-ch FCB Ranking CL 2002/03 Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" 2025-11-16 LIV ENG Liverpool SPA RUS Spartak Moscow 5 1 0 17 4 2 3 1 12 12 2 2 2 12 8 0 0 6 1 18 GS2 GS2 UC green1 Advance to second group stage blue1 Transfer to UEFA Cup yes noflag 3–3 2–0 2–2 1–1 5–0 0–1 0–2 1–3 0–3 6–2 2–0 3–0 complete RSSSF Second group stage 2002–03 UEFA Champions League second group stage#Group D Matchday 1 26 November 2002 20:45 Basel SUI 1–3 UEFA summaryFCB summary ENG Manchester United Giménez 1 1:0Zwyssig 19Atouba 72 14 Scholes22 Fortune62 1:1 van Nistelrooy63 1:2 van Nistelrooy66 Verón68 1:3 Solskjær St. Jakob-Park, Basel 35,000 (sold out) Valentin Ivanov (Russia) L FCB without Esposito (suspended), Koumantarakis and Savic (injured). Manchester United without Beckham, Blanc, Butt, Ferdinand, Keane and Gary Neville (all injured). 1st minute Fortune cleared off the line; the ensuing play leads to the goal by Gimenez. Matchday 2 11 December 2002 20:45 Juventus ITA 4–0 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel Trezeguet 3 1:0Montero 34 2:0Tacchinardi 43 3:0Del Piero 51 pen.Iuliano 53 50 Esposito72 H. Yakin Stadio delle Alpi, Turin 22,639 Lucílio Batista (Portugal) L Juventus without Tudor (injured), Di Vaio and Fresi (both left out of the squad). FCB without Ergić, Haas, Koumantarakis, and Savić (all injured). Tatical change, Basel played a 4-4-2 formation in the second half, with Hakan Yakin as a second striker. 56th minute, a goal by Rossi was disallowed (offside). Matchday 3 19 February 2003 20:45 Basel SUI 1–0 UEFA summaryFCB summary ESP Deportivo La Coruña Yakin 30 1:0 57 Luque St. Jakob-Park, Basel 29,031 René Temmink (Netherlands) W FCB without Ergic and Esposito (both injured) and Smiljanic (ineligible). La Coruña without Molina, Cesar, Fran, Mauro Silva and Victor (all injured). 10th minute: a direct free kick by Murat Yakin hit the inside of the post and bounced back into the field of play. Matchday 4 25 February 2003 20:45 Deportivo La Coruña ESP 1–0 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel Tristán 4 1:0 47 Varela Estadio Riazor, A Coruña 27,000 Stéphane Bré (France) L La Coruña without goalkeeper Molina, Cesar, Mauro Silva, Donato and Victor (all injured). FCB without Murat Yakin and Cantaluppi (both ill), Ergic and Esposito (both injured), and Smiljanic (ineligible). Zuberbühler's 50th European Cup match. Matchday 5 12 March 2003 20:45 Manchester United ENG 1–1 UEFA summaryFCB summary SUI Basel P. Neville 7G. Neville 53 1:1 Giménez 14 0:132 Cantaluppi Old Trafford, Manchester 66,870 (sold out) Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark) D Man. Utd. without Keane and Veron (both injured), Silvestre and Fortune (both carrying knocks), and Barthez and van Nistelrooy (both rested). FCB without Esposito and Ergic (both injured) and Smiljanic (ineligible). Over 3,000 Basel fans flew to Manchester on 23 planes. Matchday 6 18 March 2003 20:45 Basel SUI 2–1 UEFA summaryFCB summary ITA Juventus Cantaluppi 38 1:1Giménez 90+2 2:1 Tacchinardi 10 0:1 St. Jakob-Park, Basel 30,501 (sold out) Wolfgang Stark (Germany) W FCB without Ergic and Esposito (both injured). Juventus without Davids (suspended) and Di Vaio and Conte (both injured). 67th minute, a shot from Gimenez hit the crossbar. Final group table main WDL Group D Q MU ENG Manchester United JUV ITA 2003 Juventus BAS SUI Basel DEP ESP Deportivo La Coruña 4 1 1 11 5 2 1 3 11 11 2 1 3 5 10 2 1 3 7 8 KO KO green1 Advance to knockout stage yes noflag 1–0 2–1 1–3 1–0 2–2 2–0 4–0 3–2 0–3 1–1 2–0 2–1 complete RSSSF The competition was won by Milan, who beat Juventus on penalties in the European Cup's first ever all-Italian final, to win their sixth European title. References Sources Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. 978-3-7245-2050-4 Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2017/2018. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. 978-3-7245-2189-1 Die ersten 125 Jahre / 2018. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. 978-3-7245-2305-5 2002–03 at "Basler Fussballarchiv” homepage External links FC Basel official site Category:FC Basel seasons Basel