1952–53 FC Basel season

The 1952–53 season was Fussball Club Basel 1893's 59th season in their existence. It was their seventh consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football after their promotion from the Nationalliga B the season 1945–46. They played their home games in the Landhof, in the Wettstein Quarter in Kleinbasel. Jules Düblin was the club's chairman for the seventh successive season.

FC Basel

1952–53 season
Chairman	Jules Düblin
Manager	René Bader with Willy Dürr
Ground	Landhof, Basel
Nationalliga A	Champions
Swiss Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Josef Hügi (32) All: Josef Hügi (38)
Highest home attendance	13,000 on 7 June 1953 vs Servette
Lowest home attendance	8,000 on 21 December 1952 vs Fribourg
Average home league attendance	7,869

Overview

At the beginning of the season René Bader took over the job as club trainer from Ernst Hufschmid who had acted as trainer the previous five years. Bader acted as player-coach and Willy Dürr was his assistant coach, he stood at the side line when Bader played.

Basel played a total of 43 games during this season. Of these 26 games were in the domestic league, four games were in the Swiss Cup and 13 were test games. The test games resulted with seven victories, three were drawn and three ended with defeats. In total, including the test games and the cup competition, they won 27 games, drew 11 and lost five times. In the 43 games they scored 146 goals and conceded 72 goals.[1]

There were fourteen teams contesting in the 1952–53 Nationalliga A and the bottom two teams in the league table were to be relegated. Basel won 17 of the 26 games, losing only once, and they scored 72 goals conceding 38. Basel won the championship four points clear of Young Boys in second position and ten points ahead of Grasshopper Club Zürich who were third. Josef Hügi was the team's top league goal scorer. He shared the title of the league top scorer with Eugen Meier (Young Boys) both having netted 32 times during the season. Three players were teams joint second best league scorers René Bader, Walter Bannwart and Bielser each scored nine times.[2]

In the Swiss Cup Basel started in the 3rd principal round with a 10–0 win against Helvetia Bern and in the 4th round they beat Thun 5–0. In the next round they won 4–1 against Grenchen. All three games were home ties. In the quarter-finals Basel were drawn away against Servette Genève and the tie went into extra time, Basel then losing 3–4.[3]

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   SUI Walter Müller (games/goals: 8/0) — GK   SUI Werner Schley (games/goals: 19/0) — GK   SUI Werner Wenger — DF   SUI Werner Bopp (games/goals: 26/0) — DF   SUI Hans-Rudolf Fitze (games/goals: 2/0) — DF   SUI Hans Hügi (I) (games/goals: 26/4) — DF  HUN György Mogoy (games/goals: 25/4) — DF   SUI Hans Weber (games/goals: 10/0) — MF   SUI Eugen Büchel

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Pierre Redolfi (games/goals: 26/0) — MF   SUI Kurt Maurer (games/goals: 26/1) — MF   SUI Kurt Thalmann (games/goals: 26/3) — FW   SUI René Bader (games/goals: 20/9) — FW   SUI Walter Bannwart (games/goals: 26/9) — FW   SUI Walter Bielser (games/goals: 21/9) — FW   SUI Marcel Frei — FW   SUI Josef Hügi (games/goals: 26/32) — FW   SUI Marcel Leisinger

Results

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Pre-season and mid-season

Basel v VfB Stuttgart

28 June 1952 Pre-season	Basel	2 – 6	VfB Stuttgart	Landhof, Basel
18:30	Bader  37' (1:0) Weber  75' (2:3)	Summary	(1:1) Blessing  (1:2) Blessing  57' (1:3) Blessing  (2:4) Blessing  79' (2:5) Baitinger  90' (2:6) Läpple	Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Dörflinger Grenchen

SC Kleinhüningen v Basel

2 August 1952 Pre-season	SC Kleinhüningen	2 – 8	Basel	Schorenmatte, Basel
17:30	2' (1:0)	Summary	(pen. 1:1) Hügi (II)  (1:2) Bader  (1:4) Hügi (II)  65' (pen. 1:5) Bader  (1:6) Hügi (II) Bader Bader	Attendance: 800 Referee: Kellerhals Basel

Old Boys v Basel

14 August 1952 Pre-season	Old Boys	1 – 7	Basel	Basel
		Summary	(3x) Hügi (II)  (2x) Bader  (1x) Bielser  (1x) Thalmann

Freiburger FC v Basel

17 August 1952 Pre-season	Freiburger FC	1 – 0	Basel	Möslestadion, Freiburg
	Faber	Summary		Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Merkel

Basel v Old Boys

24 August 1952 Pre-season	Basel	11 – 1	Old Boys	Landhof, Basel
	Hügi (II)  13' (1:0) Hügi (II)  14' (2:0) Bader  29' (3:0) Bielser  (4:0) Bannwart  51' (5:0) Hügi (II)  54' (6:0) Hügi (II)  60' (7:0) Grauer  (o.g. 8:1) Bader  (9:1) Bielser  (10:1) Hügi (II)  (11:1)	Summary	(pen. 1:7) Eggler	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Kellerhals Basel

Franche-Comté XI v Basel

11 November 1952 Mid-season	Franche-Comté XI	2 – 5	Basel	Besançon
	Gardien  (1:0) Biancheri  10' (2:0)	Summary	21' (2:1) Hügi (II)  40' (2:2) Hügi (II)  53' (2:3) Thalmann  85' (2:4) Hügi (II)  88' (2:5) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 4,000

Winter break to end of season

Basel v Kickers Offenbach

8 February 1953 Winter break	Basel	3 – 3	Kickers Offenbach	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Thalmann  31' (1:1) Hügi (II)  33' (2:1) Hügi (II)  49' (3:1)	Summary	19' (0:1) Kircher  63' (3:2) Finke  66' (3:3) Kraus	Attendance: 3,400 Referee: Andres

Luzern v Basel

8 March 1953 Mid-season	Luzern	1 – 5	Basel	Stadion Allmend, Luzern
	Kruppa  42' (pen. 1:2)	Summary	4' (0:1) Hügi (II)  (0:2) Hügi (II)  52' (1:3) Hügi (II)  85' (1:4) Hügi (II)  87' (1:5) Thalmann	Attendance: 3,200 Referee: F. Buchmüller Zürich

Basel v 1. FC Nürnberg

21 March 1953 Mid-season	Basel	2 – 5	1. FC Nürnberg	Landhof, Basel
16:15	Hüssy (II)  12' (1:0) Büchel  85' (2:4)	Summary	17' (1:1) Schweinberger  26' (1:2) Glomb  39' (1:3) Schweinberger  80' (1:4) Winterstein  89' (2:5) Schweinberger	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Andres

Basel v Skovshoved IF

20 May 1953 Mid-season	Basel	1 – 2	Skovshoved IF	Landhof, Basel
18:15	Hügi (II)  44' (1:1) Hügi (II)  75' (2:1)	Summary	30' (0:1) Sörensen (II)	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Hauser Basel

Basel v SV Werder Bremen

26 May 1953 Mid-season	Basel	2 – 2	SV Werder Bremen	Landhof, Basel
18:15	Mariani  7' (1:0) Rindlisbacher  15' (2:1)	Summary	12' (1:1) Gaerner  66' (2:2) Gernhardt	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: von Wartburg Bern

Basel v Clube Atlético Juventus

11 June 1953 Mid-season	Basel	4 – 3	Clube Atlético Juventus	Landhof, Basel
18:30	Bielser  68' (1:3) Bielser  78' (2:3) Hügi (II)  78' (3:3) Bannwart  88' (4:3)	Summary	32' (0:1) Durval  50' (0:2) Durval  52' (0:3) Bazao	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Dörflinger Grenchen

Basel v Clube Atlético Juventus

19 June 1953 End of season	Basel	1 – 1	Clube Atlético Juventus	Landhof, Basel
18:45	Hügi (II)  2' (1:0)	Summary	48' (1:1) Arias	Attendance: 9,000 Referee: von Wartburg Bern

Nationalliga A

Main article: 1952–53 Nationalliga A

League matches

Young Boys v Basel

31 August 1952 Round 1	Young Boys	2 – 2	Basel	Neufeld, Bern
15:00	Casali (I)  28' (1:0) Casali (I)  55' (2:1)	Summary	53' (1:1) Hügi (II)  82' (2:2) Bielser	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Grassi

FC Bern v Basel

7 September 1952 Round 2	FC Bern	1 – 2	Basel	Neufeld, Bern
15:00	Wirsching  80' (1:2)	Summary	50' (0:1) Hügi (II)  77' (0:2) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Tschopp

Basel v Lugano

14 September 1952 Round 3	Basel	1 – 1	Lugano	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Bader  59' (pen. 1:1)	Summary	53' (0:1) Vetter	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Schüttel

Locarno v Basel

28 September 1952 Round 4	Locarno	3 – 5	Basel	Stadio del Lido, Locarno
	Ferraris  7' (1:1) Canetti  17' (2:1) Ferraris  82' (3:5)	Summary	4' (0:1) Bielser  53' (2:2) Hügi (II)  55' (2:3) Hügi (II)  62' (2:4) Thalmann  69' (pen. 2:5) Bader	Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Bertsche

Basel v Zürich

8 October 1952 Round 5	Basel	5 – 1	Zürich	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Molina  8' (o.g.) Hügi (II)  14' (2:0) Bielser  26' (3:0) Bannwart  42' (4:0) Hügi (II)  52' (5:0)	Summary	82' (5:1) Schneiter	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Josef Gulde

Lausanne-Sport v Basel

12 October 1952 Round 6	Lausanne-Sport	1 – 2	Basel	Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
15:00	Glisevic  11' (1:0)	Summary	14' (1:1) Bielser  25' (1:2) Bannwart	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Grassi

Basel v Grenchen

19 October 1952 Round 7	Basel	6 – 2	Grenchen	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Hügi (II)  15' (1:0) Hügi (II)  22' (2:0) Bielser  25' (3:0) Bader  34' (4:0) Hügi (II)  38' (5:0) Hügi (II)  83' (6:1)	Summary	65' (5:1) Pfister  83' (6:2) Pfister	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: W Rufli

La Chaux-de-Fonds v Basel

2 November 1952 Round 8	La Chaux-de-Fonds	2 – 6	Basel	Stade Charrière, La Chaux-de-Fonds
14:30	Morand  38' (1:2) Chodat  73' (2:5)	Summary	10' (0:1) Hügi (II)  20' (0:2) Hügi (II)  47' (1:3) Hügi (II)  59' (1:4) Bielser  67' (1:5) Bannwart  85' (2:6) Bader	Attendance: 2,700 Referee: Zutter

Basel v Chiasso

9 November 1952 Round 9

Basel

P – P

Chiasso

Landhof, Basel

Bellinzona v Basel

30 November 1952 Round 10	Bellinzona	2 – 3	Basel	Stadio Comunale Bellinzona
	Genetelli  7' (1:0) Zanetti  29' (2:1)	Summary	17' (1:1) Hügi (II)  40' (2:2) Hügi (II)  71' (pen. 2:3) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Berlotti

Basel v Grasshopper Club

7 December 1952 Round 11	Basel	1 – 0	Grasshopper Club	Landhof, Basel
14:30	Bielser  62' (1:0)	Summary		Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Victor Werrner Schicker, Bern

Servette v Basel

14 December 1952 Round 12	Servette	3 – 3	Basel	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
14:30	Fatton  17' (1:0) Tamini  21' (2:0) Ballaman  68' (3:1)	Summary	33' (2:1) Bader  77' (3:2) Thalmann  89' (3:3) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 16,000 Referee: von Wartburg, Bern

Basel v Fribourg

21 December 1952 Round 13	Basel	1 – 0	Fribourg	Landhof, Basel
14:30	Bannwart  87' (1:0)	Summary		Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Python, Lausanne

Basel v Chiasso

11 January 1953 Round 9	Basel	4 – 1	Chiasso	Landhof, Basel
14:00	Hügi (II)  3' (1:0) Hügi (I)  21' (2:1) Hügi (II)  69' (3:1) Bader  79' (4:1)	Summary	7' (1:1) Chiesa	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Dörflinger, Grenchen

Basel v Young Boys

22 February 1953 Round 14	Basel	1 – 0	Young Boys	Landhof, Basel
14:30	Bielser  85' (1:0) Marc	Summary		Attendance: 8,000 Referee: W Rufli

Basel v FC Bern

1 March 1953 Round 15	Basel	2 – 2	FC Bern	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Bader  56' (1:0) Hügi (II)  64' (2:0)	Summary	70' (2:1) Schönmann  78' (2:2) Liechti	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Paul Wyssling, Zürich

Lugano v Basel

15 March 1953 Round 16	Lugano	0 – 0	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
		Summary		Attendance: 4,000 Referee: von Wartburg, Bern

Basel v Locarno

29 March 1953 Round 17	Basel	8 – 1	Locarno	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Hügi (II)  26' (1:0) Hügi (II)  43' (2:0) Hügi (II)  51' (3:0) Hügi (I)  54' (4:0) Maurer  60' (5:0) Hügi (II)  65' (6:1) Bannwart  82' (7:1) Bannwart  86' (8:1)	Summary	62' (5:1) Canetti	Attendance: 6,800 Referee: Rapin

Zürich v Basel

12 April 1953 Round 18	Zürich	1 – 1	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Lehrieder  43' (1:1)	Summary	32' (0:1) Bannwart	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: W. Rufli

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

19 April 1953 Round 19	Basel	1 – 1	Lausanne-Sport	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Mogoy  8' (pe, 1:1)	Summary	56' (1:1) Glisovic	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Zutter Bern

Grenchen v Basel

26 April 1953 Round 20	Grenchen	2 – 3	Basel	Stadion Brühl, Grenchen
	Pfister  10' (1:0) Pfister  46' (2:0)	Summary	50' (2:1) Hügi (I)  60' (2:2) Hügi (II)  65' (2:3) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Paul Wyssling Zürich

Basel v La Chaux-de-Fonds

3 May 1953 Round 21	Basel	3 – 2	La Chaux-de-Fonds	Landhof, Basel
15:00	Hügi (II)  26' (1:0) Bannwart  39' (2:0) Mogoy  84' (pen. 3:2)	Summary	57' (2:1) Chodat  66' (2:2) Mauron	Attendance: 7,000 Referee: E. Guidi Bellinzona

Chiasso v Basel

10 May 1953 Round 22	Chiasso	4 – 3	Basel	Stadio Via Comacini Chiasso
	Rossetti  16' (1:0) Riva  31' (2:2) Riva  35' (3:2) Chiesa  48' (4:2)	Summary	17' (1:1) Bielser  23' (1:2) Hügi (II)  82' (pen. 4:3) Mogoy	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Josef Gulde St. Gallen

Basel v Bellinzona

16 May 1953 Round 23	Basel	2 – 2	Bellinzona	Landhof, Basel
17:15	Hügi (I)  30' (1:0) Hügi (II)  86' (2:2)	Summary	60' (1:1) Zanetti  74' (1:2) Sorman	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Rapin Lausanne

Grasshopper Club v Basel

31 May 1953 Round 24	Grasshopper Club	4 – 5	Basel	Hardturm, Zürich
16:15	Zappia  2' (1:0) Bickel  22' (2:1) Bickel  56' (3:4) Vonlanthen  85' (4:5)	Summary	8' (1:1) Hügi (II)  28' (2:2) Thalmann  34' (2:3) Bader  50' (pen. 2:4) Mogoy  69' (3:5) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Dörflinger Grenchen

Basel v Servette

7 June 1953 Round 25	Basel	1 – 0	Servette	Landhof, Basel
16:30	Bannwart  34' (1:0)	Summary		Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Tschopp Delemont

Fribourg v Basel

14 June 1953 Round 26	Fribourg	0 – 1	Basel	St-Leonard, Fribourg
		Summary	46' (0:1) Bader	Attendance: 3,300 Referee: Merlotti Neuchâtel

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Basel	26	17	8	1	72	38	+34	42	Swiss Champions
2	BSC Young Boys	26	16	6	4	61	39	+22	38	Swiss Cup winners
3	Grasshopper Club Zürich	26	14	4	8	73	39	+34	32
4	Servette FC Genève	26	12	8	6	61	38	+23	32
5	FC Chiasso	26	9	8	9	38	52	−14	26
6	AC Bellinzona	26	9	7	10	45	45	0	25
7	Lausanne Sports	26	8	8	10	52	45	+7	24
8	FC La Chaux-de-Fonds	26	8	7	11	53	61	−8	23
9	FC Fribourg	26	10	3	13	35	53	−18	23
10	FC Zürich	26	7	8	11	45	48	−3	22
11	FC Bern	26	6	10	10	40	53	−13	22
12	FC Grenchen	26	6	8	12	38	54	−16	20	Play-off winners, remain in Nationalliga A
13	FC Lugano	26	5	10	11	38	53	−15	20	Play-off losers, relegated to Nationalliga B
14	FC Locarno	26	5	5	16	33	66	−33	15	Relegated

Source: rsssf.com

Swiss Cup

Basel v Helvetia Bern

26 October 1952 Round 3	Basel	10 – 0	Helvetia Bern	Basel
14:30	Bielser  3' (1:0) Hügi (II)  6' (2:0) Hügi (II)  8' (3:0) Bielser  13' (4:0) Bader  23' (pen. 5:0) Bannwart  35' (6:0) Hügi (II)  63' (pen. 7:0) Hügi (I)  77' (8:0) Hügi (II)  82' (9:0) Thalmann  85' (10:0)	Summary		Stadium: Landhof Attendance: 2,800 Referee: Locher Zürich

Basel v Thun

2 November 1952 Round 4	Basel	5 – 0	Thun	Basel
14:30	Thalmann  35' (1:0) Bader  62' (2:0) Bader  65' (3:0) Bader  87' (4:0) Bannwart  89' (5:0)	Summary		Stadium: Landhof Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Ducret Vevey

Basel v Grenchen

4 January 1953 Round 5	Basel	4 – 1	Grenchen	Landhof, Basel
14:30	Bannwart  60' (1:0) Bannwart  66' (2:0) Morf  68' (o.g. 3:0) Thalmann  (4:1)	Summary	82' (3:1) Sidler	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Rapin Lausanne

Servette v Basel

15 February 1953 Quarter-final	Servette	4 – 3 (a.e.t.)	Basel	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
14:45	Fatton  5' (1:0) Ballaman  10' (2:0) Mezzena  99' (3:3) Fatton  91' (4:3)	Summary	22' (2:1) Hügi (II)  23' (2:2) Bader  50' (2:3) Hügi (II)	Attendance: 13,000 Referee: M. Baumberger Lausanne

See also

• History of FC Basel
• List of FC Basel players
• List of FC Basel seasons

References

1. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Bilanz Saison 1952/53". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
2. Erik Garin. "Nationalliga A 1952/53". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
3. Erik Garin. "Switzerland 1952/53". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2019-11-16.

Sources

• Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2027-6
• Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5
• The FCB team 1952–53 at fcb-archiv.ch
• Switzerland 1952–53 by Erik Garin at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

External links

• FC Basel official site