1939–40 FC Basel season

FC Basel 1939–40 Albert Besse First team coach Walter DietrichMax Galler Ground Landhof, Basel 1. Liga Group 3 Winners 1. Liga play-off 1. Liga champions Swiss Cup Round 4 August Ibach (19) August Ibach (20) 2,000 on 31 March 1940vs Aarau 500 on 18 February 1940vs Concordia Baseland on 23 June 1940vs Solothurn 1,266 1938–39 1940–41 The FC Basel 1939–40 season was the forty-seventh season since the club's foundation on 15 November 1893. FC Basel played their home games in the Landhof in the district Wettstein in Kleinbasel. Albert Besse was the club's new chairman. He took over from Emil Junker at the AGM on 15 July 1939. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the start of the Swiss football championship was postponed until 22 October. The 1. Liga was postponed until December and it was completely reorganised for this season. Overview World War II The outbreak of the Second World War, triggered by the German attack on Poland on 1 September 1939, was also a shock for Switzerland, although international signs had been pointing towards a war for some time. On 30 August, the Federal Assembly elected staff officer Henri Guisan as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. On 2 September, general mobilisation for war took place. The national exhibition in Zurich, during which the national football team had also played representative matches against teams from neighbouring countries, was closed for some time. The general mobilisation brought regular championship operations to a standstill, and in its place an improvised mobilisation championship was held without automatic promotion or relegation. In some cases the games could not be played or were postponed because the clubs did not have enough players available. In Switzerland during the second world war period, sport became an integral part of the "spiritual national defense". This was a political and cultural movement that had already become increasingly important during the late 1930s. Politicians, intellectuals and media professionals had increasingly called for measures to strengthen Switzerland's basic cultural values. Since the Nationalliga games were also considered to be one of the activities that seemed important for maintaining the morale of the population, the military authorities put considerably fewer obstacles in the way of the top players and leading clubs as they had during the previous World War. Christian Koller 2009 https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/7144/10/Koller_Kriegsmeisterschaften.pdf Vierzigerjahre (1940 bis 1949): Die Kriegsmeisterschaften Forties (1940 to 1949): The War Championships Zurich Open Repository and Archive de-ch 2024-11-16 Format Due to the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 the start of the Swiss football championship was postponed until 22 October and the 1. Liga postponed until December. The 1939–40 Nationalliga was played as "Championnat Suisse de Mobilisation". The 12 teams of the top-tier competed the improvised championship as in the years before. However, the 24 clubs that competed in the 1939–40 Swiss 1. Liga were completely re-organised. This season they were divided into five regional groups (as opposed to two in previous years), this was done to reduce travelling times. There were six teams in group 1 (West), five teams in group 2 (North-West), group 3 (Central) and group 4 (North-East), but only three in group 5 (South). The teams in group 1 played a double round-robin to decide their league position. The teams in the groups 2, 3 and 4 played three round-robins and the teams in group 5 played four round-robins. Two points were awarded for a win and one point was awarded for a draw. The five group winners then contested a play-off round to decide the championship. This consisted of: a two legged semi-final for the two west group winners, a three team round-robin semi-final for the other groups and then there was to be a two legged-final for the title of 1. Liga champions. There was to be no promotion and no relegation. Erste Liga (SFV) 2022 https://www.el-pl.ch/Portaldata/3/Resources/statistiken/Statistik-Auf-Absteiger-bis_heute_19.12.22.pdf Statistik der Ersten Liga über Aufstieg und Abstieg ab Saison 1931/32 bis 2022 PDF page 2 First League statistics on promotion and relegation from the 1931/32 season to 2022 Erste Liga, Abteilung des SFV de 2024-11-16 After being relegated last season for the first time in the club's history, Basel played this season in the newly reorganized 1.Liga. They were allocated to group 3 (Central) together with Solothurn, Aarau and the two local clubs Concordia Basel and FC Birsfelden. FCB pre-season Player-manager Fernand Jaccard had left the club after the relegation season to join FC Locarno. The former players Walter Dietrich and Max Galler took over as team co-managers. Basel played a good season, in total including test matches they played 29 games, winning 22, drawing three and suffering four defeats. In total they scored 98 goals conceding 50. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/bilanz?saison=1939/40 Bilanz Saison 1939/40 Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” 2019-11-16 After winning their four test games in October and their first Swiss Cup in November, Basel started the season well in December winning the first seven matches straight-off before suffering their first defeat at the beginning of April. At the end of the group stage Basel had won nine games drawn two and were defeated just once and with 20 points were five points above second placed Aarau. Basel advanced to the play-off stage. In the semi-final they won the round-robin against group four winners SC Brühl St. Gallen and group five winners AC Bellinzona. Basel became 1. Liga champions winning the best of three final against Fribourg. Erik Garin https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwithist.html Switzerland league tables 1939/40 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2019-11-16 August Ibach was team top league goal scorer with 19 goals, Fritz Schmidlin, Hermann Suter and Werner Wenk each scored five times. In the 1939–40 Swiss Cup Basel started with a victory in the 2nd principal round away against lower tier SC Zofingen. In the next round they were again drawn away from home against lower tier SC Schöftland. This was won 4–1. In the next round Basel played in the Landhof against Aarau but were defeated and knocked out of the competition. Erik Garin https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwit34.html Switzerland 1939/40 Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 2019-11-16 Players The following is the list of the Basel first team squad during the season 1939–40. The list includes players that were in the squad the day the season started on 1 October 1939 but subsequently left the club after that date. SUI GK Kurt Imhof SUI GK Paul Wechlin SUI DF Henri Bernard SUI DF Louis Favre SUI DF Ernst Grauer SUI MF Ernst Hufschmid SUI DF René Champod SUI DF Alexander Ebner SUI DF Heinz Elsässer SUI DF Hauenstein SUI DF Fritz Huggenberger SUI MF August Ibach FRG MF Andreas Kränzlin SUI MF Albert Mohler SUI MF Fritz Schmidlin (I) SUI MF Walter Schmidlin (II) SUI MF Guglielmo Spadini SUI MF Hans Studer SUI MF Werner Wenk SUI FW Max Bosshard FW Henri Brinks FW Karl Doppler SUI FW Alfred Jaeck SUI FW Kurrus SUI FW Fritz Lanz SUI FW Alex Mathys SUI FW Hermann Suter SUI FW Walter Zürrer Players who left the squad SUI GK Eugène de Kalbermatten SUI GK Fritz Glaser SUI DF Robert Büchi SUI DF Heinrich Diethelm SUI MF Fernand Jaccard FRG MF Franz Sattler SUI MF Eduard Zuber SUI FW Eduard Buser SUI FW Maurice Dubosson SUI FW Eduard Irniger SUI FW Othmar Saner SUI FW René Schaller Results Legend #CCFFCC Win 1px solid #AAAAAA #FFFFCC Draw 1px solid #AAAAAA #FFCCCC Loss 1px solid #AAAAAA #CCCCCC Postponed 1px solid #AAAAAA Friendly matches Pre-season Pre-season 1 October 1939 Basel SUI 3–2 Summary SUI FC Polizei Basel Ibach 1:0 1:1 Dill Landhof, Basel W Pre-season 8 October 1939 15:00 Basel SUI 4–1 Summary SUI Nordstern Basel Ibach 20 1:12:1Grauer 77 3:1Ibach pen. 4:1 5 0:1 Giger Landhof, Basel 1,200 SUI H. Neumann Basel W Pre-season 15 October 1939 FC Olten SUI 2–3 Summary SUI Basel Kiefer 45 1:3Vogel 86 pen. 2:3 26 0:1 Ibach35 0:2 Ibach0:3 Ibach Kleinholz, Olten 700 SUI Grütter Olten W Pre-season 22 October 1939 Aarau SUI 2–3 Summary SUI Basel Berner 1:2Wüest 2:3 26 0:1 Ibach36 0:2 Bosshard1:3 Brinks Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau SUI Siegrist Olten W Winter break and mid-season Winter break 28 January 1940 Basel SUI 4–6 Summary SUI Military Rifle Corps. Landhof, Basel 400 SUI Kettler Basel L Mid-season 23 March 1940 Basel SUI 5–2 Summary SUI Basel Military Team Ibach 3xMathys 1xSchmidlin (I) 1x 2x Hellstern Landhof, Basel 500 SUI SUI Häring Basel W Mid-season 24 March 1940 15:00 Blue Stars Zürich SUI 2–5 Summary SUI Basel Kuster 15 1:0Meister 2:0 1:1 Mathys2:2 Mathys2:3 Ibach2:4 Ibach2:5 Wenk Letzigrund, Zürich 400 SUI Huber Zürich W Mid-season 6 April 1940 16:00 Basel SUI 7–1 Summary SUI Fighter Pilot Corps. Landhof, Basel 200 SUI W 1. Liga Group 3 1939–40 Swiss 1. Liga#Group 3 League matches Round 1 3 December 1939 14:30 Basel 5–0 Summary Solothurn Ibach 1:0Suter 2:0Brinks 2xHufschmid pen. 1x Landhof, Basel 1,800 SUI Raimondi Bern W Round 2 10 December 1939 Aarau 2–4 Summary Basel Eichenberger 1:2Wüest 10 pen. 0:1 Ibach0:2 Suter1:3 Ibach1:4 Bosshard0 65 Ibach Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau 500 SUI Iseli Biel/Bienne W Round 3 17 December 1939 Concordia Basel 1–6 Summary Basel o.g. 3x Ibach2x Brinkso.g. Landhof, Basel 2,000 SUI Gerber Bern W Round 4 2 February 1940 14:30 FC Birsfelden 0–1 Summary Basel 35 0:1 Mathys Sportplatz, Birsfelden 600 SUI Müry Basel W Round 5 8 February 1940 10:15 Basel 3–2 Summary Concordia Basel Ibach 1:02:03:0 3:1 Otter3:2 Imhof Landhof, Basel 500 SUI Hans Vogt Schweizerhalle W Round 6 10 March 1940 13:40 Basel 4–1 Summary FC Birsfelden Ibach 2xMathys 1xWenk 1x 1x Dussy Landhof, Basel 1,000 SUI Marti Bern W Round 7 31 March 1940 15:00 Basel 1–0 Summary Aarau Ibach 1:0 Landhof, Basel 2,000 SUI Pusterla (Oerlikon) W Round 8 3 April 1940 Solothurn 5–2 Summary Basel 1x Ibach1x Mathys Stadion FC Solothurn, Solothurn 400 SUI L Round 9 14 April 1940 Aarau 3–3 Summary Basel o.g. 1:0Stirnemann 2:2Eichenberger 3:3 1:1 Schmidlin (I)1:2 Karl Doppler2:3 Hermann Suter Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau 1,500 SUI Huber Zürich D Round 10 28 April 1940 14:00 Basel 2–0 Summary FC Birsfelden Schmidlin (I) 1:0Ibach 2:0 Landhof, Basel 1,800 SUI Hans Vogt Schweizerhalle W Round 11 16 June 1940 17:00 Concordia Basel 1–1 Summary Basel Leutwyler 60 1:0 75 1:1 Karl Doppler Landhof, Basel 300 SUI Raimondi Bern D Round 12 23 June 1940 15:00 Basel 6–1 Summary Solothurn Wenk 3xJaeck 1xSchmidlin (I) 1xMathys 1x 1x Steiner Landhof, Basel 500 SUI Müry Basel W League table main WDL Q 5 2 FCB Basel FCA Aarau Stephan Beck 2023 https://www.arowa.ch/index.php?page=ligatabelle&saison=40 Schweizer Meisterschaft 1939/40 FCA Rangliste de-ch Swiss Championship 1939/40 FCA Ranking arowa.ch 2024-11-16 CON Concordia Basel SOL Solothurn BIR FC Birsfelden 9 2 1 38 16 7 1 4 37 26 4 1 7 26 32 4 0 8 25 35 4 0 8 14 31 green1 Advance to play-off A 1) Points; 2) Goal difference within the league, but decider play-off for qualifiers. complete RSSSF Championship play-offs 1939–40 Swiss 1. Liga#Championship play-off The winners of the groups 1 and 2 played the first semi-final in a two-legged tie. Fribourg won and advanced to the final. The three other group winners played a three team round-robin for the second finalist. Semi-final main WDL Q 2 BRÜ Brühl 1 1 0 5 3 BAS Basel 1 1 0 6 3 BEL Bellinzona 0 0 2 2 7 2–2 — — 4–1 1–3 — y noflag 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head 3) Decider. complete RSSSF Semi-final 7 July 1940 Brühl 2–2 Summary Basel Dübendorfer 1:1Spengler 73 2:2 0:1 Ibach40 1:2 Lanz Krontal, St. Gallen 1,500 SUI Pusterla (Oerlikon) D Semi-final 21 July 1940 15:00 Basel 4–1 Summary Bellinzona Ibach 3xJaeck 1x 1x Chiesi Landhof, Basel 1,500 SUI Studer Bern W Due to the equality between the two top placed teams a play-off decider was required. Replay 28 July 1940 16:00 Basel 2–0 Summary Brühl Suter 1:0Schmidlin (I) 2:0 Landhof, Basel 2,500 SUI A. Sandoz Lausanne W Championship final 1st Leg 4 August 1940 Fribourg 4–0 Summary Basel Dietrich 50 1:0Dietrich 2:0Thomet 3:0Cotting 4:0 Stade Universitaire, Freiburg 700 SUI Meyer Lausanne L 2nd leg 11 August 1940 16:00 Basel 4–2 Summary Fribourg Ibach 6 1:0Schmidlin (I) 2:0Wenk 3:0Ibach 4:0 4:1 Dietrich4:2 Paroz Landhof, Basel 2,500 SUI Jaggi Bern W Due to the egality (one win each) a play-off decider was required. Replay 18 August 1940 Fribourg 1–2 Summary Basel Mauroux 13 1:0 1:1 Suter1:2 Ibach Neufeld, Bern 1,000 SUI Gerber Bern W Basel won the 1. Liga championship title, but as explained there was no promotion. Swiss Cup 1939–40 Swiss Cup All the teams from this years 1. Liga were given a bye for the first round and they started in the competition in the second round. The teams from this season's Nationalliga, who had received byes for the first three rounds, had entered the competition in the fourth round. Round 2 26 November 1939 SC Zofingen 1–6 FCB summary Basel Sportanlagen Trinermatten, Zofingen 650 W Zofingen played the 1939/40 season in the 2. Liga (third-tier). Round 3 24 December 1939 SC Schöftland (red) Aargauer Fussballverband 2024 https://matchcenter.afv.ch/default.aspx?v=276&oid=5&lng=1 SC Schöftland Aargauer Fussballverband de 2024-11-16 1–4 FCB summary Basel pen. 1:3 0:10:20:31:4 Sportanlage Rütimatten, Schöftland 600 SUI E. Heiniger Bern W Schöftland played the 1939/40 season in the 2. Liga (third-tier). Round 4 7 January 1940 14:30 Basel 2–4 FCB summary Aarau Ibach pen. 1:2own goal 2:4 0:1 Wüest0:2 Fischer1:3 Beiner1:4 Beiner Landhof, Basel 1,000 SUI Hofer Moutier L Aarau played the 1939/40 season in the 1. Liga (second-tier). Further in Swiss football 1939–40 Nationalliga 1939–40 Swiss Cup 1939–40 Swiss 1. Liga See also History of FC Basel List of FC Basel players List of FC Basel seasons References Sources Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. 978-3-7245-2027-6 Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. 978-3-7245-2305-5 FCB team 1939–40 at fcb-archiv.ch Switzerland 1939–40 by Erik Garin at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation External links FC Basel official site expanded Category:FC Basel seasons Basel