2016–17 FC Basel season

The 2016–17 FC Basel season is the 124th season in club history and the club's 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football. Basel are the reigning Swiss Super League champions. They prepared their season with various warm-up matches against teams from Germany, Russia and France as well as from Switzerland. The 2016–17 Swiss Super League season started on the week-end 23/24 July, the last round was played on 2 June 2017. Basel started with a home game against Sion.

FC Basel

2016–17 season
Chairman	Bernhard Heusler
Manager	Urs Fischer
Ground	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
Super League	Champions
Swiss Cup	Winners
Champions League	Eliminated at the end of the group stage
Top goalscorer	Seydou Doumbia (20)
Highest home attendance	30,817 vs Young Boys 9 April 2017[1]
Lowest home attendance	23,339 vs Sion 18.05.17
Average home league attendance	26,484[2]
Home colours Away colours

Basel were qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League in the Group stage. The draw was held on 25 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Basel were drawn into Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad. The first game was at home against Razgrad on 13 September and the last being the home game against Arsenal on 6 December.

The draw for the first round of the 2016–17 Swiss Cup was held on 1 July 2016. The Super- and Challenge League clubs were seeded and could not be drawn against each other. The lower division teams were granted home game advantage. The first round was played on the week-end 13/14 August 2016. The final was played in Stade de Genève on 25 May 2017.

Club

Management

Urs Fischer has a running three-year contract as first team manager, which started in June 2015. His assistants are Werner Leuthard, Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann. Massimo Colomba is the Goalkeeper coach. Massimo Ceccaroni is head of the FCB Youth System. The new coach of the Youth Team (U–21) was Raphaël Wicky.

Position	Staff
Manager	Urs Fischer (since 18 June 2015)
1 Assistant manager	Werner Leuthard
2 Assistant manager	Markus Hoffmann
3 Assistant manager	Marco Walker
Goalkeeper Coach	Massimo Colomba
Team Administration	Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach	Raphaël Wicky (from July 2016)
Youth Team Co-Coach	Romain Villiger

Last updated: 23 July 2016
Source: FCB Official Site

Further information

Chairman	Mr Bernhard Heusler
Vice Chairman	Mr Adrian Knup
Finances	Mr Stephan Werthmüller
Sportdirector	Mr Georg Heitz
Marketing	Mr René Kamm
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	St. Jakob-Park (38,512[3]) (37,500 for international matches)[4] / 120x80 m)

Updated to match played 1 June 2016
Source: FCB Official Site

Overview

Offseason and preseason

At the end of the 2015–16 FC Basel season Walter Samuel and Philipp Degen ended their football careers. Behrang Safari left the club to continue his career by his home club Malmö FF. Breel Embolos transfer to Schalke 04 was confirmed by both teams on 26 June.[5][6] Despite the fact that he still had a valid contract Naser Aliji joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern on a free transfer.[7]

Basel announced on 31 August that the contract between them and the 26-year-old Egyptian international Ahmed Hamoudi had been resolved on mutual consent with immediate effect.[8] On 2 September Basel announced that Nicolas Hunziker had been loaned out to the Grasshoppers to gain playing experience.[9] That far during the current season Hunziker had played four games in the Promotion League with the FCB U-21 team, scoring five goals.

On 4 May Basel announced that they had signed 18 year old Paraguayan defender Blás Riveros from Olimpia Asunción on a five-year deal. Due to Riveros commitments with the Paraguay national football team and the Copa America, he was not expected to join the Basel first team until the beginning of July.[10] On 10 May Basel also announced that they had signed Egyptian defender Omar Gaber from Zamalek on a four-year deal.[11][12] On 15 June Serbian goalkeeper Đorđe Nikolić transferred in from Jagodina, signing a four-year contract.[13] Basel announced on 28 June that they had signed Seydou Doumbia on loan from Roma until 30 June 2017.[14] Three further transfers in were Mohamed Elyounoussi[15] who signed in from Molde, Kevin Bua[16] who came from Zürich and Éder Balanta[17] who transferred in from River Plate. Each of whom signed a four-year deal. One former player transferred back in from VfB Stuttgart, Geoffroy Serey Die,[18] who had left the club a year and a half before due to differences with the former team manager Paulo Sousa.

Mid-season break

On 25 January 2017 Basel announced that Birkir Bjarnason had transferred out[19] and Aston Villa confirmed the move.[20] On 31 January 2017 Basel announced that Jean-Paul Boëtius was loaned out to K.R.C. Genk until the end of the season.[21]

The Campaign

Domestic League

First half of season

Basel's priority aim for the new season is to win the league championship for the eighth consecutive time. The 2016–17 Swiss Super League season started on the week-end 23/24 July. Basel played at home game against Sion. Four of the new signings, Gabar, Balanta, Elyounoussi and Doumbia made their first team league debuts in the 3–0 home win.[22] Doumbia scored his first goal for his new club in the same game and just one week later on 31 July during the away game against Vaduz he scored his second. It was the last goal of the game and Basel won 5–1.[23] Basel took first position in the league table from the very beginning. In fact they started the season very well, winning each of their first seven games, scoring at least three goals in each fixture. After these seven games they were nine points clear of BSC Young Boys in second place and Luzern in third. They had scored 24 goals conceding just five. By the winter break Basel had extended their lead to 12 points ahead of the Young Boys who were in second place in the league table, winning 15, drawing two and only one defeat, scoring 49 and conceding just 15 goals in their 18 matches.

Second half of season

The second half of season began on 4 February 2017. In their first game Elyounoussi scored a hat trick for Basel during the home game against Lugano. These were the first three goals and were scored during the first 36 minutes of the game that Basel won 4–0.[24] Basel won nine, drawing three during February, March and April to move clear at the top of the table. Despite that they suffered a defeat in the Stade de Suisse in round 34 against second placed Young Boys, Basel ended the season 17 points clear of their rivals.

Basel were victors in 26 matches, drew eight and suffered only two defeats in the 36 Super League matches, gaining a total of 86 points. The team scored 92 goals (league's highest scorers) with 35 goals against (league's best defence) and ended with a goal difference of +57. Basel's Seydou Doumbia was the club and the Super League top goalscorer with 20 goals. Marc Janko scored 13, both Matías Delgado and Mohamed Elyounoussi ended the season with ten goals. Elyounoussi was the team's top final pass giver with 13 assists.

Domestic Cup

Basel's clear aim for the 2016–17 Swiss Cup is to regain the title that they last won in 2011–12. The draw for the first round was held on 1 July 2016 and the team was drawn away against Rapperswil-Jona. The game was won 1–0, the goal being scored by Jean-Paul Boëtius in the 58th minute.[25] In the second round Basel were drawn away against Zug 94, the game played on 18 September, and also won 1–0, the goal scored by Daniel Høegh in the 45th minute. The third round was played on 26 October 2016 and Basel won 4–1 away against FC Tuggen Tuggen from the 1. Liga Promotion, the third highest tier in the Swiss football pyramid. The Quarterfinal was played on 2 March 2017. Basel, drawn at home against Zürich, won the game 3–1.[26] In the semifinal they were drawn away against lower tier FC Winterthur, winning 3–1. The final was played in Stade de Genève on 25 May 2017. Basel's opponents were FC Sion, who to that time had won all he 13 previous finals that they had appeared in. Basel won the final 3–0, the goals being scored by Seydou Doumbia, Matías Delgado and Taulant Xhaka.[27]

Champions League

Basel entered into this season's Champions League in the Group stage. The draw was held on 25 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Basel were drawn into Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad. The first game was at home against Razgrad on 13 September and the last being the home game against Arsenal on 6 December. The club's initial aim was to remain in the competition after the group stage.

Ludogorets Razgrad (13 September 2016)

The first game was played in St. Jakob-Park. Basel took control of the game from the start. But despite a few chances early in the game, Bjarnason (2), Steffen (6) and Delgado (7), Basel were not able to create many chances against the massive Ludogorets Razgrad defence. Ludogorets waited for counterattacks. Basel's Janko injured himself and was replaced by Doumbia in the 40th minute. Ludogorets went into the lead just before half time, a breakaway goal by Brazilian forward Cafu. He ran on to a measured pass from Marcelinho, he turned Marek Suchý inside out and slotted in a low shot past Tomáš Vaclík (45). Basel created few clear scoring opportunities but were gifted a chance to equalize when Ludogorets goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov flapped at defender Michel Lang's cross. The ball dropped to Steffen, who volleyed into an unguarded net from a tight angle (79).[28]

Arsenal (28 September 2016)

Basel's second game was away from home in the Emirates Stadium as guests of Arsenal Football Club. This was the first ever meeting between the clubs in European competition. Arsenal made two changes to the side that had beaten Chelsea in the Premier League on the previous Saturday, with David Ospina replacing Petr Čech between the posts. Replacing the injured Francis Coquelin in the centre of midfield, Granit Xhaka started against the team he began his career with and also faced his brother Taulant for the first time in club football. Mohamed Elneny was also brought on as a substitute against his former side. Urs Fischer, on the other hand, had shuffled his pack from their visit to St. Gallen at the weekend, with his front four completely changing. Theo Walcott scored a first half double, with a brace in assists from Sánchez securing a 2-0 win.[29] The first was a lightning break from Arsenal, a ball over the top found Alexis Sánchez in acres of space in the right hand channel and he deftly whipped in a volleyed cross which the Englishman made no mistake with, burying his header past Vaclík. The second was almost too easy for Arsenal, as they waltzed through the Basel defence again. Walcott strolled up to the edge of the box unchallenged, played a perfect one-two with Alexis Sánchez, who was standing with his back to goal, and clinically dispatched the return ball into the far corner, off the post. The home team were all over the visitors, and their one touch passing was sublime to watch. Walcott and Özil played back to Sánchez, but his shot was incredibly saved by Vaclík. Bellerín had a chance and again Vaclík did brilliantly to parry. It was completely and utterly one sided in North London and Basel looked shell shocked, especially during the first half.

Paris Saint-Germain (19 October 2016)

Basel's second away game in the third round was in the Parc des Princes as guests of Paris Saint-Germain. This was also the first ever meeting between these two clubs in European competition. In the 5 Minute Delgado kicked a corner which was headed in to the middle by Bjarnason and Lang headed the ball onto the cross bar. Lang, Steffen and Doumbia missed good chances. Another chance for the visitors in the 36th minute and Doumbia's angled header hit the post. In the 40th minute Blaise Matuidi's low cross was touched off by Edinson Cavani and Ángel Di María thundered his right-foot strike into the roof of the net. Lucas Moura put the hosts two goals up on 62 minutes. Suchý had a chance in the 66th minute but his header hit the cross bar, the third time Basel struck the woodwork. In the 93rd minute Cavani scored from the penalty spot to make the end result a very unlucky 0–3.

Paris Saint-Germain (1 November 2016)

The return game was played two weeks later and Omar Gaber played his Champions League debut for the home team. Saint-Germain had the early goal chances but these were not enough to beat Tomáš Vaclík. After about 20 minutes Basel got into the match better, getting support up for their sole striker Doumbia Seydou. But Paris struck with impeccable timing as half-time approached. A corner was not cleared properly and Meunier latched onto the loose ball, driving a fierce shot at goal through a crowd of bodies. One of those is the unmarked Matuidi who, perhaps unintentionally, flicked the ball into the net (43 minute). In the second half Basel searched for their chances but had no luck. Just as it looked like a goal would not come from anywhere for Basel, it came practically out of nowhere. Substitute Luca Zuffi took aim from almost 40 metres out and suddenly everything had the desired impact. The substitute way out on the byline tried to pick out Marc Janko in the area with a cross, but instead he drifted a ball in that sailed over goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and into the net (76 minutes). In the 84th minute Serey Dié received a second yellow card and was sent off Despite this, only two minutes later Janko had the best chance for a winner for Basel but he missed the crossed ball. Thomas Meunier, however, scored that for Paris in the last minute of the game.[30]

Ludogorets Razgrad (23 November 2016)

The return game against Ludogorets Razgrad was played in Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. Basel fielded their strongest team, but Ludogorets had to withdraw midfielder Marcelinho with a hamstring injury. Ludogrets had 55% ball possession, but Basel created the most chances. Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov made several fine stops to keep Basel at bay. However the game ended goalless and both teams collected their second point in the group stage. Basel coach Urs Fischer said after the match; "We gave our best, we had a good game, but we failed to convert our chances. There is one more game left, but it could have been much better if we had won tonight. We tried everything, I played with all my forwards, but that was not enough, unfortunately."[31]

Arsenal (6 December 2016)

The situation before this last group stage match was clear, Basel had to obtain more points than Ludogorets Razgrad to qualify for the Europa League knock out stage and Arsenal had to obtain more points than Paris Saint-Germain to win the group. Two former Basel players were in the Arsenal team, Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka whose elder brother Taulant lined up for the home team. The game was decided early, two defending mistakes soon after the kick-off gave Arsenal two goal scoring chances. Both of which were taken with ease and the visitors were leading by two goals after just quarter of an hour. Lucas Pérez's hat-trick in the 47th minute inspired Arsenal to a 4-1 triumph, with Alex Iwobi adding the fourth after 53 minutes. Basel substitute Doumbia grabbed a fine second-half consolation for hosts, but too late to make any change in the outcome. Paris's 2-2 draw with Ludogorets meant Arsenal win Group A, Basel finished bottom.[32]

Players

First team squad

The following is the list of the Basel first team squad. It also includes players that were in the squad the day the season started on 23 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 23 July 2016[33]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  CZE Tomáš Vaclík 3 DF  CIV Adama Traoré 4 DF  EGY Omar Gaber 5 DF   SUI Michael Lang 6 MF  CIV Serey Die 7 MF   SUI Luca Zuffi 8 MF  ISL Birkir Bjarnason 9 FW  SVN Andraž Šporar 10 MF  ARG Matías Delgado (Captain) 11 MF   SUI Renato Steffen 13 GK  SRB Đorđe Nikolić 15 MF  SWE Alexander Fransson 16 DF   SUI Manuel Akanji 17 DF  CZE Marek Suchý (vice-captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 GK   SUI Germano Vailati 20 MF   SUI Dereck Kutesa 21 FW  AUT Marc Janko 23 DF  COL Éder Álvarez Balanta 24 FW  NOR Mohamed Elyounoussi 25 DF  PAR Blás Riveros 26 DF  DEN Daniel Høegh 29 MF   SUI Charles Pickel 30 DF   SUI Eray Cümart 33 FW   SUI Kevin Bua 34 MF  ALB Taulant Xhaka 35 FW   SUI Nicolas Hunziker 39 MF   SUI Davide Callà 77 FW  NED Jean-Paul Boëtius 88 FW  CIV Seydou Doumbia

Loans

In on loan

88

FW

CIV

Seydou Doumbia (on loan from Roma until 30 June 2017) [14]

Out on loan

30	MF	SUI	Cedric Itten (on loan at Luzern until 30 June 2017) [34]
22	MF	SRB	Zdravko Kuzmanović (on loan at Málaga until 30 June 2017) [35]
23	GK	SUI	Mirko Salvi (on loan at Lugano until 30 June 2017) [36]
20	MF	SRB	Veljko Simić (on loan at Chiasso from 26 July 2016 until 30 June 2017) [37]
35	FW	SUI	Nicolas Hunziker (on loan at Grasshopper Zürich until 30 June 2017) [9]
77	FW	NED	Jean-Paul Boëtius (on loan at K.R.C. Genk from 31 January until 30 June 2017) [21]
30	DF	SUI	Eray Cümart (on loan at Lugano from 8 March until 30 June 2017) [38]

Transfers summer 2016

In

4	DF	EGY	Omar Gaber (from Zamalek) [12]
6	MF	CIV	Serey Die (from VfB Stuttgart) [18]
13	GK	SRB	Đorđe Nikolić (from Jagodina) [13]
23	DF	COL	Éder Álvarez Balanta (from River Plate) [17]
24	FW	NOR	Mohamed Elyounoussi (from Molde) [15]
25	DF	PAR	Blás Riveros (from Olimpia Asunción) [10]
33	FW	SUI	Kevin Bua (from Zürich) [16]

Out

4	DF	SUI	Philipp Degen (end of career) [39]
6	DF	ARG	Walter Samuel (end of career)
19	DF	SWE	Behrang Safari (to Malmö FF free transfer)
24	FW	EGY	Ahmed Hamoudi (contract resolved) [8]
27	DF	ALB	Naser Aliji (to Kaiserslautern) [7]
36	FW	SUI	Breel Embolo (to Schalke 04 for reportedly €25m) [6]

Transfers winter 2016-17

Out

8	MF	ISL	Birkir Bjarnason (to Aston Villa) [19]
29	MF	SUI	Charles Pickel (to Grasshopper Club) [40]

Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

Basel v St. Gallen

25 June 2016 Pre-season	Basel	2 – 4	St. Gallen	Langensteinstadion, Waldshut-Tiengen
15:30	Traoré  27' Callà  32' Manzambi  71'	FCB Report	29' Tafer  37' Hefti  42' Bunjaku  47' Aleksić  86' Mutsch  90+2' Chabbi	Attendance: 400 Referee: Robert Kempter

FC Basel v 1860 München

1 July 2015 (2015-07-01) Pre-season	FC Basel	1 – 1	1860 München	Isarau Stadium Geretsried (Germany)
20:00	Høegh  66' Callà  88'	FCB Report	83'  86' Mölders	Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Robert Hartmann

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

8 July 2016 Pre-season	Basel	2 – 3	Lausanne-Sport	Nachwuchs-Campus, Basel
18:30	Cümart  4' Elyounoussi  49'	FCB Report	46'  87' Carlos Henrique  58' Margairaz  47' Musa Araz	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v Zenit Saint Petersburg

13 July 2016 Pre-season	Basel	1 – 4	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Stade St-Germain, Savièse
19:00	Callà  69'	FCB Report	15' (pen.) Dzyuba  35' García  75'  54' Ryazantsev  90' (pen.) Kerzhakov	Attendance: 300 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Basel v AS Monaco

16 July 2016 Pre-season	Basel	0 – 1	AS Monaco	Stade de Chailly, Montreux
15:00		FCB Report	33' Boschilia	Attendance: 700 Referee: Sébastien Pache

Basel v VfL Wolfsburg

19 July 2016 Pre-season	Basel	3 – 3	VfL Wolfsburg	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
18:30	Janko  88'  69' Høegh  72' Elyounoussi  82'	FCB Report	29' Dost  55' Kruse  74' Brekalo  88' Möbius  88' Guilavogui	Attendance: 7,619 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v FC Wohlen

31 August 2016 Mid-season	Basel	2 – 3	FC Wohlen	Nachwuchs-Campus, Basel
	Šporar  12' Ambre Nsumbu  36'	FCB Report	56' (pen.) Schultz  85' Marvin Graf  89' Yannick Schmid	Attendance: 350 Referee: Urs Schnyder

Winter break

Basel v Le Mont

10 January 2017 Friendly	Basel	2 – 1	Le Mont	Nachwuchs-Campus, Basel
16:00	Šporar  44' Manzambi  90+1'	FCB Report	14' Touré	Attendance: 100 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v St. Pauli

14 January 2017 Friendly	Basel	1 – 2	St. Pauli	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
17:00	Steffen  13'	(FCB Report) (in German)	44' Flum  87' Gonther	Attendance: 150 Referee: Moreno Munoz

Basel v Lokomotiv Moscow

19 January 2017 Friendly	Basel	2 – 1	Lokomotiv Moscow	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:00	Janko  32' Manzambi  70' Šporar  85'	(FCB Report) (in German)	18' Miranchuk  35' Mykhalyk  60' Galadzhan	Attendance: 150 Referee: José Maria Sánchez

Basel v Chiasso

25 January 2017 Friendly	Basel	2 – 0	Chiasso	Nachwuchs-Campus, Basel
15:00	Bua  52' Manzambi  85'	FCB Report		Attendance: 200 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Esbjerg fB

28 January 2017 Friendly	Basel	1 – 0	Esbjerg fB	Nachwuchs-Campus, Basel
14:30	Elyounoussi  13'	FCB Report		Attendance: 500 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Swiss Super League

Main article: 2016–17 Swiss Super League

First half of season

Basel v Sion

24 July 2016 Round 1	Basel	3 – 0	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Suchý  9' Delgado  37' (pen.), 57' Doumbia  44'	(FCB report)	37' Konaté  83' Ziegler  88' Lacroix	Attendance: 27,924 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Vaduz v Basel

31 July 2016 Round 2	Vaduz	1 – 5	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
13:45	Grippo  19'  31' Strohmaier  25'	(FCB report)	4' Janko  19' (pen.) Delgado  40' Balanta  42' Elyounoussi  89' Steffen  90+1' Doumbia	Attendance: 5.680 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Luzern v Basel

7 August 2016 Round 3	Luzern	2 – 3	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
13:45	Hyka  18', 29' Kryeziu  33'	(FCB report)	4' Suchý  20' Xhaka  70', 74' Janko	Attendance: 14,486 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Basel v Young Boys

10 August 2016 Round 4	Basel	3 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:30	Traoré  35' Zuffi  55' Bjarnason  59' Vilotić  71' (o.g.)	(FCB report)	88' Bertone	Attendance: 29,523 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Lugano

20 August 2016 Round 5	Basel	4 – 1	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Xhaka  19' Balanta  37' Suchý  45' Steffen  48' Doumbia  53' Lang  60' Delgado  80'	(FCB report)	66' Rosseti  88' Golemić	Attendance: 26,012 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Thun v Basel

28 August 2016 Round 6	Thun	0 – 3	Basel	Stockhorn Arena, Thun
16:00	Bürki  33' Sorgić  82'	(FCB report)	4' Lang  13' Janko  19' Zuffi  78' Callà	Attendance: 5,793 Referee: Sébastien Pache

Basel v Grasshopper Club

10 September 2016 Round 7	Basel	3 – 1	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Bjarnason  29' Doumbia  31', 86'	(FCB report)	45+1' Sigurjónsson  57' Bamert	Attendance: 28,825 Referee: Stephan Studer

Lausanne-Sport v Basel

21 September 2016 Round 8	Lausanne-Sport	1 – 2	Basel	Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
20:30	Margiotta  48'  36' Margairaz  90'	(FCB report)	67' Bjarnason  90+3'  73' Balanta	Attendance: 6.154 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet

St. Gallen v Basel

24 September 2016 Round 9	St. Gallen	1 – 3	Basel	kybunpark, St. Gallen
20:00	Toko  1' Aratore  14' Haggui  77' Gelmi  89'	(FCB report)	26' Delgado  33' Traoré  55' Callà  76' (o.g.) Gelmi  90' (pen.) Doumbia	Attendance: 14,257 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Thun

1 October 2016 Round 10	Basel	1 – 1	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Callà  90'	(FCB report)	35' Tosetti  44' Hediger  56' Faivre  92' Facchinetti	Attendance: 26,942 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Basel v Luzern

15 October 2016 Round 11	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Doumbia  25' Lang  55' Elyounoussi  89'	(Report)	68' Lustenberger	Attendance: 27,261 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Lugano v Basel

22 October 2016 Round 12	Lugano	2 – 2	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
20:00	Aguirre  38' Mariani  63' Alioski  75' (pen.) Salivi  85' Jozinović  90+2'	(FCB report)	51' Delgado  88' (pen.)  90+2' Callà	Attendance: 4,406 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Grasshopper Club v Basel

29 October 2016 Round 13	Grasshopper Club	0 – 2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Bašić  6' Källström  86'	(FCB report)	17', 21' (pen.) Delgado  20' Lang	Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

5 November 2016 Round 14	Basel	2 – 1	Lausanne-Sport	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Xhaka  41' Suchý  9+1' Janko  90+3'	(Report)	8' Gétaz  42' Margiotta  86' Monteiro	Attendance: 25,372 Referee: Urs Schnyder

Basel v Vaduz

19 November 2016 Round 15	Basel	6 – 0	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Doumbia  10', 51' Elyounoussi  19' Lang  74' Bjarnason  77' Callà  90'	(Report)	3' Muntwiler	Attendance: 24,846 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Sion v Basel

27 November 2016 Round 16	Sion	1 – 2	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
16:00	Salatić  19' Sierro  52' Karlen  72'	(Report)	34' Delgado  50' Steffen  70' Serey Die  77'  52'  89' Janko	Attendance: 13,200 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni (Gams SG)

Young Boys v Basel

3 December 2016 Round 17	Young Boys	3 – 1	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
20:00	Hoarau  6', 51' Nuhu  45' Mbabu  71'	(Report)	66' (pen.) Delgado	Attendance: 20,216 Referee: Harald Lechner

Basel v St. Gallen

10 December 2016 Round 18	Basel	1 – 0	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Janko  48' Xhaka  57'	(Report)	42' Al. Ajeti  55' Buess	Attendance: 26,242 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Second half of season

Basel v Lugano

4 February 2017 Round 19	Basel	4 – 0	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Elyounoussi  2', 23', 36' Balanta  45' Janko  85'	FCB Report	11' Alioski	Attendance: 23,439 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Thun v Basel

11 February 2017 Round 20	Thun	0 – 2	Basel	Stockhorn Arena, Thun
17:45	Schindelholz  29' Facchinetti  34' Rapp  56'	(Report)	73' Xhaka  74' Elyounoussi  79' (o.g.) Schindelholz  90+2' Vaclík  90+3' Doumbia	Attendance: 5,707 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

19 February 2017 Round 21	Basel	4 – 3	Lausanne-Sport	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Doumbia  11', 71' Akanji  74' Janko  84'	FCB Report	9', 68' (pen.) Kololli  15' Gétaz  39' Campo	Attendance: 23,974 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Basel v Luzern

26 February 2017 Round 22	Basel	3 – 1	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Suchý  19' Janko  34', 81' Steffen  67'	FCB Report Report	19' Grether  36' Affolter  75' Neumayr  76' Itten	Attendance: 24,894 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni (Gams SG)

Vaduz v Basel

5 March 2017 Round 23	Vaduz	1 – 1	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
13:45	Avdijaj  31' Muntwiler  59' Bühler  83'	(Report)	27' Zuffi  90+2' Doumbia	Attendance: 4,345 Referee: Lionel Tschudi

Sion v Basel

12 March 2017 Round 24	Sion	0 – 1	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
16:00	Konaté  61'	(Report)	48' Traoré  55' Lang	Attendance: 12,300 Referee: Dominik Ouschan

Basel v Grasshopper Club

18 March 2017 Round 25	Basel	1 – 0	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Zuffi  6' Xhaka  89'	FCB Report	27' Dabbur  57' Lavanchy	Attendance: 26,027 Referee: Stephan Klossner

St. Gallen v Basel

1 April 2017 Round 26	St. Gallen	0 – 3	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
20:00	Barnetta  58'	(Report)	7', 55' Akanji  20' Janko  27' Steffen  41' Riveros	Attendance: 18,509 Referee: Daniel Stefanski

Basel v Young Boys

9 April 2017 Round 27	Basel	1 – 1	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Xhaka  24' Elyounoussi  54' Riveros  75' Akanji  90'	FCB Report	Ravet  18' Frey  51' Assalé  75'	Attendance: 30,817 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Lausanne-Sport v Basel

15 April 2017 Round 28	Lausanne-Sport	0 – 4	Basel	Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
20:00		FCB Report	Lang  37' Elyounoussi  40', 82' Steffen  45' Šporar  59'	Attendance: 5,855 Referee: Urs Schnyder

Basel v Vaduz

22 April 2017 Round 29	Basel	2 – 2	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Suchý  39' Delgado  41' Elyounoussi  63' Janko  86' Doumbia  90+2'	FCB Report	Brunner  11' Borgmann  60' Kukuruzović  78'	Attendance: 23,999 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Luzern v Basel

28 April 2017 Round 30	Luzern	1 – 2	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
19:45	Costa  41' M. Schneuwly  88'	FCB Report	Doumbia  3' Traoré  36' Steffen  71' Suchý  76'	Attendance: 14,823 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Lugano v Basel

7 May 2017 Round 31	Lugano	2 – 2	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
13:45	Alioski  60' (pen.) Sadiku  78'  80'  79'	(Report)	12' Fransson  54'  56' Zuffi  68' Callà	Attendance: 6,151 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Thun

14 May 2017 Round 32	Basel	3 – 3	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Steffen  20'  24' Janko  45' Elyounoussi  76' Suchý  86' Serey Die  79'  90'	FCB Report	17', 64', 90+4' Sorgić  68' Tosetti  86' Facchinetti	Attendance: 26,844 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Basel v Sion

18 May 2017 Round 33	Basel	2 – 2	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Janko  33' Doumbia  89'	FCB Report	39'  72' Akolo  63' Konaté  73' Bia  84' Maceiras  90+4' Constant	Attendance: 23,339 Referee: Markus Hameter

Young Boys v Basel

21 May 2017 Round 34	Young Boys	2 – 1	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
16:00	Assalé  9' Schick  53'	(Report)	3' Doumbia	Attendance: 18,383 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Grasshopper Club v Basel

28 May 2017 Round 35	Grasshopper Club	1 – 3	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Sigurjónsson  21' Caio  65'  64'	(Report)	42' Akanji  86', 88' Doumbia	Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni (Gams SG)

Basel v St. Gallen

2 June 2017 Round 36	Basel	4 – 1	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:30	Doumbia  14', 87' Steffen  58' Janko  90+1'	FCB Report	26' Danijel Aleksić	Attendance: 30,657 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Basel (C)	36	26	8	2	92	35	+57	86	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Young Boys	36	20	9	7	72	44	+28	69	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3	Lugano	36	15	8	13	52	61	−9	53	Qualification for the Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1]
4	Sion	36	15	6	15	60	55	+5	51	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
5	Luzern	36	14	8	14	62	66	−4	50	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round

Source: Swiss Super League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Draw.[41]
(C) Champion.
Notes:

1. Since the winners of the 2016–17 Swiss Cup, Basel, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the Swiss Cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to the third-placed team, the spot awarded to the third-placed team was passed to the fourth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team was passed to the fifth-placed team.

Swiss Cup

Main article: 2016–17 Swiss Cup

The draw for the first round was held on 1 July 2016. The Super- and Challenge League clubs were seeded and could not be drawn against each other. The lower division teams were granted home advantage and Basel were therefore drawn away, in Rapperswil. The home advantage was also granted to the team from the lower league in the second and third rounds.

Rapperswil-Jona v Basel

14 August 2016 Round 1	Rapperswil-Jona	0 – 1	Basel	Stadion Grünfeld, Rapperswil
15:30	Polverino  72' Kllokoqi  72' Teixeira  85'	(FCB Report)	58' Boëtius  82' Suchý	Attendance: 4,350 (Stadium record) Referee: Urs Schnyder

Zug 94 v Basel

18 September 2016 Round 2	Zug 94	0 – 1	Basel	Herti Allmend Stadion, Zug
15:30		(FCB Report)	45' Høegh	Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Tuggen v Basel

26 October 2016 Round 3	Tuggen	1 – 4	Basel	Linthstrasse, Tuggen
19:30	Zverotic  37' Erzan Murtisi  38' Dominik Schiendorfer  45+1' Jusuf Shala  90'	(FCB report) (SFV report)	8', 16' (pen.) Boëtius  35' Lang  44' Balanta	Attendance: 4,150 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Basel v Zürich

2 March 2017 Quarterfinal	Basel	3 – 1	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:30	Janko  20' Xhaka  28'  56' Lang  41' Steffen  8'  78'	(FCB report) (SFV report)	3' Buff  14' Nef  15' Brunner  58' Voser  82' Schönbächler	Attendance: 25,259 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Winterthur v Basel

5 April 2017 Semifinal	Winterthur	1 – 3	Basel	Schützenwiese, Winterthur
18:45	Gazzetta  24' Cani  88' Hebib  89'	(FCB report) (SFV report)	54' (pen.) Delgado  56' Janko  85' Akanji  90+4' Fransson	Attendance: 9,400 Referee: Sascha Amhof

FC Basel v Sion

25 May 2017 Final	FC Basel	3 – 0	Sion	Stade de Genève, Lancy
16:00	Doumbia  44' Delgado  47' Traoré  62' Lang  77'  89' Xhaka  79'	(FCB report) (SFV report)	37' Salatic  90+5' Lüchinger	Attendance: 26,500 Referee: Stephan Klossner [42]

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2016–17 UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Main article: 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage § Group A

Basel were qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League in the Group stage. The draw was held on 25 August 2016, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Basel were drawn into Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Ludogorets Razgrad. The first match was at home game against Razgrad.

Matches

Basel v Ludogorets Razgrad

13 September 2016 (2016-09-13) Round 1	Basel	1 – 1	Ludogorets Razgrad	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	Steffen  65'  80'	UEFA report FCB report (in German)	45' Cafu  67' Wanderson  77' Natanael	Attendance: 30,852[43] Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov

Arsenal v Basel

28 September 2016 (2016-09-28) Round 2	Arsenal	2 – 0	Basel	Emirates Stadium, London
20:45	Walcott  7', 26'	UEFA report FCB report (in German)	21' Suchý  85' Elyounoussi	Attendance: 59,993[44] Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

Paris Saint-Germain v Basel

19 October 2016 (2016-10-19) Round 3	Paris Saint-Germain	3 – 0	Basel	Parc des Princes, Paris
20:45	Di María  40' Lucas  62' Rabiot  64' Cavani  90+3' (pen.)	UEFA report FCB report (in German)	66' Steffen  76' Lang	Attendance: 46,488[45] Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

Basel v Paris Saint-Germain

1 November 2016 (2016-11-01) Round 4	Basel	1 – 2	Paris Saint-Germain	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	Steffen  45+2' Zuffi  76' Serey Die  77'  85'	UEFA report FCB report (in German)	43' Matuidi  86' Verratti  88' Kurzawa  90' Meunier	Attendance: 34,639[46] Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

Ludogorets Razgrad v Basel

23 November 2016 (2016-11-23) Round 5	Ludogorets Razgrad	0 – 0	Basel	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia^[A]
20:45	Xhaka  63' Suchý  81' Traoré  87'	UEFA report FCB report (in German)	40' Anicet Abel  91' Cicinho	Attendance: 20,821[47] Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)

Basel v Arsenal

6 December 2016 (2016-12-06) Round 6	Basel	1 – 4	Arsenal	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45	Balanta  66' Doumbia  78'	UEFA report	8', 16', 47' Pérez  36' Gibbs  53' Iwobi	Attendance: 36,000[48] Referee: Jorge Sousa (Portugal)

Notes

1. ^
   Ludogorets Razgrad play their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia instead of their regular stadium, Ludogorets Arena, Razgrad.

Final group table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arsenal	6	4	2	0	18	6	+12	14	Advance to knockout phase
2	Paris Saint-Germain	6	3	3	0	13	7	+6	12
3	Ludogorets Razgrad	6	0	3	3	6	15	−9	3	Transfer to Europa League
4	Basel	6	0	2	4	3	12	−9	2

Source: UEFA

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