2015–16 FC Basel season

FC Basel

2015–16 season
Owner	FCB Holding AG
Chairman	Bernhard Heusler
Manager	Urs Fischer
Ground	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
Super League	1st
Swiss Cup	Quarter-finals
Champions League	Play-off round
Europa League	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Marc Janko (16) All: Marc Janko (21)
Highest home attendance	Swiss League: 33,360 vs. Young Boys (25 October 2015) Champions League: 18,200 vs. Lech Poznań (5 August 2015) Europa League: 22,550 vs. Fiorentina (26 November 2015)
Lowest home attendance	Swiss League: 24,558 vs. Thun (10 May 2016) Champions League: 15,620 vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015) Europa League: 17,275 vs. Belenenses (22 October 2015)
Home colours Away colours

The 2015-16 FC Basel season was the 123rd season in the club's history and the club's 21st consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football since their promotion in the 1993-94 season. Basel's 2015-16 Swiss Super League campaign began on July 19 at home against Vaduz. In addition to the Swiss Super League, Basel also participated in the season's Champions League, Europa League, and Swiss Cup.

Club

FC Basel Holding AG

FC Basel Holding AG is a holding company that owns 75% of the club FC Basel 1893 AG. The other 25% is owned by the club itself. FC Basel 1893 AG is responsible for all decisions that affect FC Basel as a club. It includes the operational business, youth department, and back office.

Club management

The FC Basel AGM took place on 27 April 2015 in Basel's congress center, comprised as:

Chairman	Bernhard Heusler
Vice Chairman	Adrian Knup
Finances	Stephan Werthmüller
Sportdirector	Georg Heitz
Marketing	René Kamm
Director	Reto Baumgartner
Director	Dominik Donzé
Director	Benno Kaiser
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	St. Jakob-Park (38,512 (37,500 for international matches) / 120x80 m)

Updated to match played 27 April 2015
Source: FCB Official Site

Team management

On June 18th, 2015, Basel announced Urs Fischer's appointment as the first team head coach on a three-year contract. His assistants were Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann. Furthermore, Massimo Colomba stayed on the team as the goalkeeping coach in addition to his position as the head of the FCB Youth System. Thomas Häberli was the coach of the youth team (U-21) until October. Then, due to poor results, he was asked to step back, after which Massimo Ceccaroni coached the team.

Position	Staff
Manager	Urs Fischer (since 18 June 2015)
1 Assistant manager	Marco Walker
2 Assistant manager	Markus Hoffmann
Goalkeeper Coach	Massimo Colomba
Team Administration	Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach	Thomas Häberli Massimo Ceccaroni (since October 2015)
Youth Team Co-Coach	Roland Heri

Last updated: 1 July 2015
Source: FCB Official Site

Overview

Off-season and pre-season

At the end of the 2014-15 season team captain Marco Streller retired from professional football. Between the years 2000-04, and from 2007-15, Streller played a total of 418 games for Basel, scoring a total of 185 goals. 233 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 22 in the Swiss Cup, 70 were in UEFA European-competitions (Champions League, UEFA Cup Europa League, and UIC), and 93 were friendly games. He scored 111 goals in the domestic league, 9 in the domestic cup, 24 in European competitions, and the other 41 were scored during test games.

In addition to Streller, another six first team players departed at the end of the season: Derlis González to Dynamo Kyiv, Fabian Schär to 1899 Hoffenheim, Fabian Frei to Mainz 05, Serey Die to VfB Stuttgart, Giovanni Sio to Rennes, and Arlind Ajeti's contract expired.

New arrivals consisted of Michael Lang from Grasshopper, Daniel Høegh from Odense, Zdravko Kuzmanović from Internazionale, Manuel Akanji from FC Winterthur, Marc Janko signed on a free transfer from Sydney FC, and Mirko Salvi returned from loan to FC Biel-Bienne.

Matías Delgado was named as the new captain and Marek Suchý was named vice-captain.

Mid-season break and Squad Changes

During the winter break there were a number of changes in the squad. On 14 January 2014, Ivan Ivanov sustained a knee injury in a friendly match against Eintracht Braunschweig, causing him to miss the rest of the 2013-14 season, which extended into the 2014-15 season. On 15 December 2015 while recovering from injury, he was released from the club by mutual consent. Zdravko Kuzmanović was sent on loan to Udinese. Shkelzen Gashi, the previous season's top scorer, moved to the Colorado Rapids. Albian Ajet was transferred to FC Augsburg. Yoichiro Kakitani was transferred to Cerezo Osaka. One notable transfer was midfielder Mohamed Elneny's departure to English Premier League side Arsenal.

Elneny's departure spurred further changes, signing three midfield players. On 8 December 2015, the club announced Andraž Šporar arrival from Olimpija Ljubljana. On 2 January 2016, the club announced the signing of Alexander Fransson from IFK Norrköping. Lastly, on 12 January, Renato Steffen from Young Boys had joined. All three of these signings were four-and-a-half-year contracts.

The campaign

Domestic League

First half of season

Basel's 2015-16 Swiss Super League season began with a victory at home against Vaduz on 18 July. Basel started the season well, winning each of their first eight matches; scoring 22 goals, and conceding 7. They suffered their first defeat in Stade de Suisse 3-4 against Young Boys. After their first defeat in the domestic campaign, they won four of their next five games; with a draw against Zürich in Letzigrund, where the final score was 2-2. Basel suffered their first home defeat of the campaign at the beginning of November against GC. By the winter break, Basel led the league table with 43 points, 10 points ahead of the Grasshoppers, and 15 ahead of the Young Boys.

Second half of season

Basel started the second half of the season with three straight wins, a 3-0 against Luzern, 4-0 away against GC, and 5-1 at home against Vaduz. In the first 15 games of the second half of the season, they won 11 and drew 4. On matchday 31, 30 April, the home win against Sion gave Basel a 16-point lead in the league table with just five matches left to play. Basel ended the last part of the season with two defeats in their last three games. The domestic season concluded with Basel winning the championship, Young Boys in second, Luzern third, and Zürich suffered relegation.

Conclusion

Basel's final point tally for the season was 83, which was 14 points more than young boys in second, and 29 more than Luzern in third. Basel won 26 games, drawing five, and losing five. They managed to score 88 league goals while conceding 38. Marc Janko was the team's top scorer with 16 goals in 20 outings, and he scored a hattrick during their 4-2 home victory against Zürich. Team captain Matías Delgado was the second-top goal scorer with 11 goals and had the most assists on the team with 12. Luca Zuffi made the most appearances, he played all 36 league games.

Swiss Cup

Basel's objective for the 2015-16 Swiss Cup was to win the cup. They finished second place in each of the previous three seasons: In 2013 against GC, in 2014 against Zürich, and in 2015 against Sion.

Meyrin (15 August 2015)

In the first round, Basel was drawn away against FC Meyrin, who at that time played in the 2. Liga Interregional, the fifth tier of Swiss football. The match was played in Stade des Arberes, with an attendance of 2,100 spectators. Around the 34th minute, Matías Delgado headed a ball to Albian Ajeti, who connected with the ball through a left footed shot, to make it 1-0. Shkëlzen Gashi's pass to Mohamed Elneny opened the midfielder up to make the score 2-0. Just 60 seconds later Elneny on the right passed inside to Ajeti, assisting him in scoring his second goal that evening, and making it 3-0. Another two minutes later, Philipp Degen's low cross came to Delgado who then added to Basel's three-goal lead. Match concluded with Basel winning 4-0 and advancing to the next round.

YF Juventus (20 September 2015)

In round 2, Basel was drawn away against YF Juventus. Due to safety reasons, the match was played at St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 4,606 spectators. It was a special game for Luca Zuffi as he played for Basel; his two brothers (Sandro and Nico) played for YF Juventus. 15 minutes into the match, Matías Delgado pushed a diagonal pass to the right, and Davide Callà connected with a right-footed shot to put Basel a goal up. Half an hour into the match Basel went up 2-0 with a cross from Callà on the right, which was complemented by Delgado's run to the far post to nod the ball home. Following a goal kick at 50 minutes, Nico Zuffi and Kakitani connected to make it 3-0. In the final actions of the match Walter Samuel committed a foul. Samuel was given a yellow card, and YF Juventus were awarded a penalty by referee Alain Bieri. Mychell Ruan Da Silva Chagas converted the penalty kick, the final score was 4-1 to Basel, advancing to the third round.

Muttenz (28 October 2015)

In the third round, Basel played against local amateur team SV Muttenz, the first time that the two sides played against each other in a competitive match. At that time Muttenz played in the 2. Liga Interregional, the fifth tier of Swiss football. The match was played at the Margelacker, with a stadium record attendance of 5,800. Shkëlzen Gashi, set up Daniel Hoegh's 1-0 after 25 minutes. Gashi himself went on to score a hat-trick in the match, his goals came at the 35th, 62nd, and 72nd minute mark. Immediately after the break, Muttenz responded by converting a penalty, awarded through Manuel Akanji foul on Thomas Eggenberger. In the 75th minute, Albian Ajeti converted a penalty kick to make the final score 5-1, advancing to the quarterfinal.

FC Sion (13 December 2015)

In the quarterfinal, Basel played away against FC Sion, the same team they lost to in the previous season's final. The match was played in the Stade Tourbillon with an attendance of 9,200 spectators. The match allowed Basel the opportunity to redeem their defeat in the previous season's final. Sion went 1-0 up at the 37th minute, from a goal by Pa Modou, and at the 66th minute Ebenezer Assifuah added a second. In the 79th minute, Elneny converted a free kick to make it 2-1. In the 89th minute referee Stephan Klossner awarded Basel a penalty after a duel between Léo Lacroix and Breel Embolo, Marc Janko scored the penalty kick. In extra-time, the score remained tied, leading to a penalty shootout. Reto Ziegler missed for Sion, but Birkir Bjarnason and Walter Samuel both missed for Basel. Sion advanced to the semi-final 4-3 on penalties.

Conclusion

Sion were beaten 3-0 by FC Zürich in the semi-final. FC Zürich faced Lugano in the final, beating them 1-0, FC Zürich were crowned champions.

From the FCB's point of view, the domestic cup campaign was a disappointment due to not meeting the set goal. Additionally, It was their fifth defeat of the season, and their second season of getting knocked out by FC Sion in the domestic cup.

Champions League

Basel entered the season's Champions League in the third qualifying round. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015, and Basel was drawn against the Polish site Lech Poznań.

Lech Poznań (29 July 2015)

The first leg was played in Poznan at the INEA Stadion with an attendance of 25,478 spectators. The home team had the first two proper chances of the game. Nevertheless, Basel took the lead in the 24th minute, Michael Lang headed the ball home from a corner by Luca Zuffi. Just two minutes later, Poznań equalized with a header from Denis Thomalla. At the 66th minute mark, Lech defender Tomasz Kędziora saw a red card as he brought down Bjarnason in the box. Basel was awarded a penalty; nevertheless, keeper Jasmin Burić saved Shkëlzen Gashi's penalty. Right around the 77th-minute mark, Marc Janko hammered a loose ball home to give Basel the lead. In the 2nd minute of injury time Davide Callà scored a goal. The final score concluded with a 3-1 win for Basel in Poznan.

The second leg was played in Basel at St. Jakob-Park, on 5 August, with an attendance of 18,196. The 3-1 cushion from the first leg meant coach Urs Fischer's team could afford breathing space in the second leg. Most of the match was uneventful due to Basel's pragmatic approach to the match, and Poznan's inability to break them down. Nevertheless, Birkir Bjarnason's goal in the final actions of the match gave Basel a 1-0 lead and sealed the victory. To conclude, Basel advanced to the next round with an aggregate score of 4-1 over two legs.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015)

The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2015. Basel was drawn against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Both of the teams had been drawn against each other twice in the 2013-14 season, once in the Champions League and after in the Europa League, Basel won on both occasions. The first leg of the tie was held at St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 15,620 spectators. Basel started well, and was on top early, however, Marc Janko was injured in the 12th minute, and was replaced by Shkëlzen Gashi. Maccabi Tel Aviv went 1-0 up in the 31st minute from Avi Rikan's free kick. In the final minutes of the first half defender Tal Ben Haim fouled Delgado in the box. Basel was awarded a penalty, and Delgado converted to even things out at 1-1. At the 88th minute mark, Breel Embolo put Basel in the lead by connecting with a pass from Elneny. Nevertheless, Maccabi was not done, six minutes into injury time Zahavi headed the ball home from Dor Micha's cross to make it 2-2. The final score in Basel concluded with a 2-2 draw.

Following the 2-2 draw at St. Jakob-Park, Basel needed a win away from home at the Bloomfield Stadium. The match was played on 19 August, with an attendance of 13,350 spectators. Early into the first half, Luca Zuffi's free kick put Basel up 1-0. However, Basel's lead did not last for too long. Nikola Mitrović's through ball found Eran Zahavi, Zahavi out ran Walter Samuel, and his shot beat Tomáš Vaclík at the near post. Basel dominated for the rest of the match but failed to find the much-anticipated goal. The final aggregate score in Maccabi concluded with a 3-3 draw, Maccabi advanced due to an away goals advantage.

Conclusion

From Basel's point of view, the Champions League campaign was disappointing as they missed their first objective of the season which was to participate in the season's Champions League group stage. However, their hopes for European glory were not diminished, due to getting an entry into the seasons Europa league.

Europa League

Because Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, they dropped into the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League group stage. The draw was held on 28 August 2015 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Basel was drawn into Group I, together with Fiorentina, Lech Poznań and Belenenses. The club's aim for the team was to remain in the competition over the winter break, preferably as group winner or otherwise in second position, and thus advance to the knockout phase.

Fiorentina (17 September 2015)

Basel's first game on matchday 1 was played away at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence with an attendance of 15,212 spectators. Fiorentina's new first-team manager was Basel's ex-manager, Paulo Sousa. Both teams started well, but the guests were quicker to deliver. Nikola Kalinić scored a goal in the fourth minute for Fiorentina, and despite being put under constant pressure by the visitors, they held on to the lead until well into the second half of the game. Fiorentina captain Gonzalo Rodríguez was sent off after 66 minutes. The Argentine saw the red card for his hard foul against Breel Embolo far away from his own goal, and therefore, his tackle was unnecessary. Following his dismissal, FCB took charge and succeeded in scoring the equalizer. Birkir Bjarnason beat home goalkeeper Luigi Sepe on 71 minutes with a low drive from 15 meters out. Eight minutes later, Mohamed Elneny sealed the fightback after a good build-up. His super-rising drive from outside the box completed the comeback success. With this 2-1 win, Basel extended their unbeaten run to five matches in Europe this term.

Lech Poznań (1 October 2015)

Matchday 2 was the first home game in the Europa League group stage and was against Lech Poznań, who had been opponents in the Champions League qualifying earlier in the season. Lech's Swiss midfielder Darko Jevtić was signed from Basel after a successful loan spell. The then 22-year-old was born in Basel and came through the youth ranks at the Swiss club. This was his second visit to the St. Jakob-Park and his second appearance for Lech, he had played double the number of times here for Lech as he had for FCB. The match was played in front of 17,567 spectators. The first half passed without much action, but the home team dominated. Icelandic midfielder Birkir Bjarnason brought a long ball down with his chest at the edge of the penalty area, kept his balance under pressure, and then turned a good finish past keeper Maciej Gostomski to give the hosts the lead after 55 minutes. In the 90th minute, Luca Zuffi made a cross from the right, Marc Janko controlled the ball with his chest and laid off for the waiting Breel Embolo, who finished with a powerful low volley. The final score of 2-0 was a deserved result.

Belenenses (22 October 2015)

The third game in the group stage was the home match against Belenenses. 17,275 fans were in the St. Jakob-Park on a cloudy evening. Basel took an early lead after 15 minutes, Matías Delgado delivered an inswinging corner kick toward the back post from the left and Michael Lang jumped highest to power his header into the goal from five meters out. Belenenses leveled after 27 minutes with their first chance. A long ball forward was headed clear by Marek Suchý, but it dropped to Luís Leal, who was 25 meters from goal. He hammered a low volley into the bottom corner and the ball bounced high to evade the dive of Germano Vailati. During the extra time of the first half, Leal ran clear on the right flank, he rushed into the penalty area and played the ball beyond Vailati across the face of goal to Kuca Miranda who had the simplest of finishes, tapping into the unguarded goal from just three meters. During the second half, Basel played forward non-stop, they created opportunities but were unable to score the equalizer. Up until this 1-2 defeat, Basel had been unbeaten this season, nine games in the domestic league and six in Europe.

Belenenses (5 November 2015)

The return game against Belenenses on matchday 4 was played in Estádio do Restelo with an attendance of 4,802 spectators two weeks after the home game. The referee was Tamás Bognár of the Hungarian Football Federation. Basel took early command; a first chance came from Breel Embolo nine minutes into the match, after good dribbling, he hit the post. Basel continued to dominate their opponents with good moves but did not create good goal-scoring opportunities. It was not until near halftime that their efforts were rewarded. In the 44 minute, Embolo was fouled in the penalty area by Filipe Ferreira, and Marc Janko scored from the spot. The Austrian international striker missed the next first-class chance in the 52nd minute solo in front of the well-parring keeper Hugo Ventura. Embolo himself scored the second goal after being played free by Luca Zuffi's long deep pass into the penalty box which was flicked on by Janko. With this 2-0 victory, Basel avenged their matchday-three loss. Basel took command of the table and left Belenenses on the brink of elimination.

Fiorentina (26 November 2015)

Matchday 5 was Basel's third and last home match in the Europa League group stage was the return game against Fiorentina. Paulo Sousa returned to St. Jakob-Park, but this time to the visitors' bench. Basel's first-choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík injured himself shortly before kick-off and the new head coach Urs Fischer was forced to replace him. Fischer chose Germano Vailati and left Mirko Salvi on the bench. Basel had a nervous start to the game and Federico Bernardeschi ended his run of 11 games without a goal with a first-half double. The first came at 23 minutes. Jean-Paul Boëtius was put under pressure by three players, he lost the ball and the guests quickly switched over and Bernardeschi shot home after a clever through pass to make it 1-0. The second came on 36 minutes, a bad goal-kick by keeper Vailati was won by Fiorentina's midfield, 3/4 quick passes, and Bernardeschi side-footed home to give Fiorentina a two-goal lead. After 26 minutes, Facundo Roncaglia was punished with a red card by referee Ivan Kružliak from the Slovak Football Association after slamming his elbow into Breel Embolo's in the face. Basel fought their way back into the game, with Marek Suchý cutting the gap in the 40th minute. After a corner Luca Zuffi played a cross into the box, Embolo's header was parried by Luigi Sepe, but Suchý pushed the rebound in. Fiorentina defended the 2-1 lead largely sovereign, despite the visual superiority of the home team. There was a certain logic behind the fact that the FCB equalized following a standard. Following a corner, Mohamed Elneny equalized, at 74 minutes, from long range. Basel recovered after being two down to make it a 2-2 draw. Basel fought back to hold ten-man Fiorentina and stand three points above them in the group table.

Lech Poznań (10 December 2015)

Basel was certain to finish top of the group before matchday six. For their last match, they had to travel to the INEA Stadion in Poznań. Lech Poznań had already lost to Basel three times this season and only a win would have given them any chance of making it through Group I. Unable to play were four Basel defenders, Manuel Akanji, Philipp Degen and Daniel Høegh due to injury and Marek Suchý was out suspended. Walter Samuel was nominated, playing this match, he made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance, a landmark evening for the veteran defender. Reserve goalkeeper Germano Vailati was again Basel's starter because of first-choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík's injury. In the 44th minute, Vailati injured himself as he played a long pass forward. Therefore, before half-time third-choice goalkeeper Mirko Salvi was substituted in and made his professional debut for the club. Adonis Ajeti also made his debut for the club after coming on as a substitute at half-time to replace Michael Lang. Jean-Paul Boëtius scored the only goal five minutes after half-time, it was his first goal for the Swiss champions. FCB owed the victory to Jean-Paul Boëtius, Taulant Xhaka and reserve keeper Salvi. Boëtius, because the Dutchman scored the 1-0 in the 50th minute, Xhaka because of his remarkable preparation down the right-wing, and Salvi because he prevented Lech from equalizing with a strong one-on-one action a quarter of an hour before the end of the game.

Conclusion

Basel ended this stage as group winners and Fiorentina were runners-up both advanced to the knockout phase which started in February 2016. As group winners Basel was seeded, Fiorentina not. The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015. Fiorentina was drawn against Tottenham Hotspur, but with a draw at home and a defeat at White Hart Lane this meant they were eliminated.

From the FCB point of view, as group winners, their aim was positively achieved. Their next aim was to remain in the competition for at least another round or perhaps two. Basel was drawn against the French site Saint-Étienne. The first leg was played on 18 February at 19:00 and the return leg in the St. Jakob-Park was played on 25 February 2016 at 21:05.

Saint-Étienne (18 February 2016)

The first leg of the round of 32 was played in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard with an attendance of 27,013 fans against Saint-Étienne, but without Basel supporters due to the high-security alert following the terror attacks in Paris two months earlier. Basel went behind early, but came back from being two goals down, but ended up losing the match. Moustapha Sall in the fifth minute, following a free kick from the right that was flicked on to the far post, he headed the ball across goal and it bounced from the post first along and then over the line. Then Kévin Monnet-Paquet in the 39th minute headed a corner over Basel keeper Tomáš Vaclík into the net, to put the hosts 2-0 in the lead. Walter Samuel started Basel's fight-back just before half-time in the 44th minute, becoming the second-oldest goal scorer in the UEFA Europa League at age 37 years and 332 days; he is surpassed only by Molde FK's Daniel Hestad, who scored at age 40 years and 98 days in this season's group stage. A free kick on Basel's right flank was chested down by Breel Embolo and Walter Samuel, in falling, kicked the ball right-footed into the net. Soon after the break in the 56th minute, Marc Janko, via a penalty, put Basel level, and the guests continually pressed for their third goal. However, after a long clearance defender Jean-Christophe Bahebeck scored for the home team in the 79th minute, against the run of play, to make the final score was 3-2 in favour of Saint-Étienne.

Return match (25 February 2016)

The return game was played a week later in the St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 20,976 fans. Basel had to win to qualify for the next round, which was very apparent as Basel played forwards immediately and leveled the aggregate score as midfielder Luca Zuffi curled in a 25-yard free kick at the 15-minute mark. Saint-Étienne went close, but goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík saved the shot from substitute Romain Hamouma. Both teams were later reduced to ten men: In the 82nd minute, Saint-Étienne midfielder Valentin Eysseric collected two quick yellow cards for a foul and then a clash with Renato Steffen, while Basel's 19-year-old attacker Breel Embolo followed him off the pitch, also for a second caution. Saint-Étienne thought they had won it when captain Moustapha Sall netted from close range with just one minute of regular time left to play, only for Luca Zuffi to crash the ball home in added time to level the tie at 4-4 and send Basel through on the away goals rule.

Sevilla (10 March 2016)

In the round of 16 Basel was drawn against Europa League cup holders Sevilla. The first leg was played in the St. Jakob-Park with an attendance of 22,403 fans. Sevilla had not won a European away game all season and Basel's home fixture against them was one of the more sober kinds of games. At seven minutes, Renato Steffen sent a good cross from the right and Marc Janko jumped high to head Basel's first chance from an unmarked position just a little bit too wide. Sevilla dominated possession thereafter. Steven Nzonzi went quite close with a header in the early minutes. Éver Banega twice found Coke with free kicks but the Sevilla captain was unable to find the target from either position. After the halftime break, Basel's resolve returned. The home team dominated for the first 15 minutes. Birkir Bjarnason blazing a shot off target from a loose ball after a Renato Steffen shot had been blocked. The Icelandic midfielder then crossed a good ball across the goal from the right, but substitute Adama Traoré miscued his attempted conversion. Then they started to lose their concentration as the game continued, but three good saves from Basel goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík kept the home team in contention, he was very awake and saved with his feet after Nzonzi was played in from the right. Then he kept out Kevin Gameiro's low drive, going to the ground once more to repel Yevhen Konoplyanka as time ticked away. Basel got back into the game and started to dominate by moving forward quicker. Sevilla's midfielder Nzonzi's dismissal near the end of the game, after collecting two yellow cards within a few minutes of each other, offered Basel hope for victory, but Sevilla held firm.

Return match (17 March 2016)

The return game against Sevilla was played a week later on 17 March 2016 at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium with an attendance of 35,546 fans. The referee was Deniz Aytekin of the German Football Association and he reported a good pitch on the clear, but cool evening. Before the fixture, it was clear that FCB needed to perform exceptionally well, in order to qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition. It would have been the fourth time in the club's history that FCB would have reached this stage of the competition. Sevilla and Basel both started slowly into the game, they sparred with each other, but gently and very inconsequentially for the greater part of the first period. The Spaniards had the better of the half-chances. Then, on 35 minutes defender Adil Rami opened the scoring as he stooped himself at full length, to head a José Antonio Reyes corner, from the left, into the goal for the opener, the ball came off Tomáš Vaclík's left-hand post. Despite this, an away goal at that stage of the match would have put Basel in advantage and they nearly managed that goal, keeper David Soria doing superbly to push away Renato Steffen's glanced effort. However, things unraveled very quickly for head coach Urs Fischer's side and the match slipped out of Basel's reach within just two minutes at the end of the first half. Reyes danced through the Basel defense, drawing Vaclík and his defenders toward him before placing a ball through for Kevin Gameiro to nudge the ball into the unguarded goal from close range. The Frenchman had his second goal before Basel had time to digest the situation. Just one minute later Michael Krohn-Dehli advanced with a quick run and was the provider of the cross that found Gameiro. The striker's header came back off the underside of the crossbar, yet he instantly swung out a leg to force the rebound over the line, hitting the woodwork again on its way in, to make it 3-0 at half-time. Basel showed only small signs of a fightback. Luca Zuffi's effort from 25 yards out was still rising as it flew over the crossbar. Breel Embolo missed two chances late in the game as the Swiss side was dumped out of the competition. The result extended Sevilla's run of Europa League home wins to 11, the longest in the competition's history, and put a dent in Basel's impressive away record in Europe this season.

Conclusion

Beating Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-final and Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-final, Sevilla advanced to the Europa League final. The final was played in the sold out St. Jakob-Park in Basel with an attendance of 38,500 spectators on 18 May 2016 and Sevilla beat Liverpool 3-1, to win the competition. It was a dream for the club and for the fans, as they made it three Europa League victories in succession.

From the FCB's point of view, after being group winners and beating Saint-Étienne in the round of 32, advancing to the round of 16 was very positive. After a goalless draw in the first leg, FCB failed in the return leg against the defending cup holders Sevilla, losing disappointedly 3-0 in the away game at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. It would have been a dream for the FCB to have reached the competition's final in its stadium, but then that's what the competition is about at this level, dreams. On the whole, the team's European campaign was a successful adventure and the club's aims had been achieved.

Basel's goal scorers in the competition were: Birkir Bjarnason in 10 games, Breel Embolo in 8 games, Mohamed Elneny in 5 games, Marc Janko in 9 games and Luca Zuffi in 10 games, each with 2 goals, and Jean-Paul Boëtius in 4 games, Michael Lang in 10 games, Walter Samuel in 6 games and Marek Suchý in 9 games, each with one goal.

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 18 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 27 August 2015

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 SUI Philipp Degen 5 DF SUI Michael Lang 6 DF ARG Walter Samuel 7 MF SUI Luca Zuffi 8 MF ISL Birkir Bjarnason 9 FW SVN Andraž Šporar 10 MF ARG Matías Delgado (Captain) 11 MF ALB Shkëlzen Gashi 14 FW JPN Yoichiro Kakitani 15 MF SWE Alexander Fransson 16 DF SUI Manuel Akanji 17 DF CZE Marek Suchý (vice-captain) 18 GK SUI Germano Vailati 19 DF SWE Behrang Safari

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 FW AUT Marc Janko 22 MF SRB Zdravko Kuzmanović 23 GK SUI Mirko Salvi 24 MF SUI Renato Steffen 26 DF DEN Daniel Høegh 27 DF ALB Naser Aliji 28 MF SUI Robin Huser 30 MF SUI Cedric Itten 33 MF EGY Mohamed Elneny 34 MF ALB Taulant Xhaka 36 FW SUI Breel Embolo 38 FW SUI Albian Ajeti 39 MF SUI Davide Callà 40 GK SUI Dario Thürkauf 41 DF SUI Eray Cümart 42 DF SUI Charles Pickel 77 FW NED Jean-Paul Boëtius

Out on loan

19	MF	SUI	Musa Araz (on loan at Winterthur until 30 June 2016)
20	MF	SRB	Veljko Simić (on loan at Schaffhausen from 30 December 2015 until 30 June 2016)
22	MF	SRB	Zdravko Kuzmanović (on loan at Udinese until 30 June 2016)
23	GK	SUI	Mirko Salvi (on loan at Lugano from 7 January until 30 June 2016)
24	FW	EGY	Ahmed Hamoudi (on loan at Zamalek until 30 June 2016)
27	DF	ALB	Naser Aliji (on loan at Vaduz from 1 July until 10 September 2015)
35	FW	PRK	Pak Kwang-ryong (on loan at Biel-Bienne until 30 June 2016)

2015 summer transfers

In

5	DF	SUI	Michael Lang (from Grasshopper Club Zürich Free Transfer)
8	MF	ISL	Birkir Bjarnason (from Pescara)
21	FW	AUT	Marc Janko (from Sydney FC Free Transfer)
22	MF	SRB	Zdravko Kuzmanović (from Internazionale)
26	DF	DEN	Daniel Høegh (from Odense BK)
77	FW	NED	Jean-Paul Boëtius (from Feyenoord)

Out

—	FW	PAR	Derlis González (to Dynamo Kyiv)
—	DF	SUI	Fabian Schär (to 1899 Hoffenheim)
—	MF	SUI	Fabian Frei (to Mainz 05)
—	GK	SUI	Pascal Albrecht (to St. Gallen II Free Transfer)
—	DF	ALB	Arlind Ajeti (to Unattached)
—	DF	ARG	Gastón Sauro (to Columbus Crew)
—	FW	IRL	Giovanni Sio (to Rennes)
—	FW	SUI	Marco Streller (end of career)

2015-16 winter transfers

In

9	FW	SVN	Andraž Šporar (from Olimpija Ljubljana)
15	MF	SWE	Alexander Fransson (from IFK Norrköping)
24	MF	SUI	Renato Steffen (from Young Boys)

Out

11	FW	ALB	Shkelzen Gashi (to Colorado Rapids)
15	DF	BUL	Ivan Ivanov (contract beended mutual agreement)
38	FW	SUI	Albian Ajeti (to FC Augsburg)
14	FW	JPN	Yoichiro Kakitani (to Cerezo Osaka)
33	MF	EGY	Mohamed Elneny (to Arsenal)

Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Pre-season

Basel v SC Austria Lustenau

27 June 2015 Pre-season	Basel	4 – 1	SC Austria Lustenau	Sportanlage Waldäcker, Herzogenbuchsee
14:30	Delgado 3' (1:0) Delgado 11' (2:0) Araz 37' (3:0) Traoré 69' (4:1)	FCB summary	40' (3:1) Wiessmeier	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Michael Brunner
Note: 100 years jubilee FC Herzogenbuchsee

Basel v 1860 München

3 July 2015 (2015-07-03) Pre-season	Basel	1 – 2	1860 München	Isarau Stadium Geretsried (Germany)
20:00	Kakitani 5'	FCB summary	31' (o.g.) Vaclík 34' Hain	Attendance: 1,800 Referee: Florian Kornblum (TSV Chieming)

Basel v Shakhtar Donetsk

9 July 2015 (2015-07-09) Pre-season	Basel	1 – 3	Shakhtar Donetsk	Stade du Christ-Roi, Lens (Switzerland)
19:00	Janko 5'	FCB summary	33', 70' Hladkyy 85' Marlos	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Stephan Klossner

PSV v Basel

11 July 2015 (2015-07-11) Pre-season	PSV	2 – 3	Basel	Stadion FC Solothurn, Solothurn (Switzerland)
17:00	Bergwijn 37' Hendrix  78' Narsingh 81'	FCB summary	23' (pen.) Gashi 45+2' Embolo 90+3' Callà	Attendance: 1,950 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v Bayer Leverkusen

15 July 2015 (2015-07-15) Pre-season	Basel	2 – 1	Bayer Leverkusen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Embolo 23' Al. Ajeti 52' Kuzmanović  69' Al. Ajeti  84'	FCB summary	15' Bender 21' Bellarabi  69' Stafylidis	Attendance: 13,224 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Winter break

Basel v FC Biel

9 January 2016 Winter break	Basel	3 – 2	FC Biel	Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein
14:30	Delgado 33' (1:0) Itten 50' (2:0) Itten 64' (3:1)	FCB summary	52' (2:1) Kololli 55' (2:2) Kilezi	Attendance: 500 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v FC Augsburg

16 January 2016 Training camp	Basel	0 – 2	FC Augsburg	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:00		FCB summary	6' (0:1) Hong 78' (0:2) Morávek	Attendance: 150 Referee:

Basel v SC Freiburg

21 January 2016 Training camp	Basel	1 – 1	SC Freiburg	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:00	Höhn 44' (o.g. 1:0)	FCB summary	57' (1:1) Grifo	Attendance: 75 Referee: Juan Pedro Guarnido Peters

Austria Wien v Basel

29 January 2016 Winter break	Austria Wien	3 – 1	Basel	Generali Arena, Vienna
18:00	Kayode 5' (1:0) Grünwald 45' (2:1) Gorgon 61' (3:1)	FCB summary	36' (1:1) Janko  66' Xhaka	Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Vladimir Lukenic

Basel v Xamax

2 February 2016 Winter break	Basel	4 – 2	Xamax	Youth Campus Basel, Münchenstein
16:00	Steffen 4' (1:1) Delgado 32' (pen. 2:1) Delgado 54' (3:2) Delgado 61' (4:2)	FCB summary	1' (0:1) Doudin 34' (pen. 2:2) Doudin	Attendance: 500 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Swiss Super League

Main article: 2015–16 Swiss Super League

First half of season

Basel v Vaduz

19 July 2015 Round 1	Basel	2 – 0	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Delgado 10' (pen. 1:0) Elneny  74' Kakitani 80' (2:0) Traoré  85'	FCB summary		Attendance: 27,066 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Grasshopper Club v Basel

25 July 2015 Round 2	Grasshopper Club	2 – 3	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Dabour 30' (1:1) Caio 32' (2:1) Caio  90+1'	FCB summary	17' Kuzmanović 21' (0:1) Gashi 38' (2:2) Janko 68' (2:3) Lang  80' Janko  84' Xhaka  88' Elneny	Attendance: 9.600 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Sion

1 August 2015 Round 3	Basel	3 – 0	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
15:00	Delgado 27' (1:0) Xhaka  45+1' Traoré 69' (2:0) Lacroix 89' (o.g. 3:1)	FCB summary Summary	25' Follonier  34' Salatić  45+1' Jagne  67' Zverotić  90+3' Lacroix	Attendance: 27,792 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Luzern v Basel

8 August 2015 Round 4	Luzern	1 – 3	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
20:00	Lezcano 3' (1:0) Sarr  50' Jantscher  78'	FCB summary [1]	27' (1:1) Embolo  29' Bjarnason 33' (1:2) Embolo  43' Safari  53' Degen  76' Callà  78' Embolo 90' (1:3) Delgado	Attendance: 14,748 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Thun

12 August 2015 Round 5	Basel	3 – 1	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Janko 4' (1:0) Lang  29' Bjarnason  37' Janko 49' (2:1) Janko  55' Gashi 78' (pen. 3:1) Traoré  90'	FCB summary [2]	29' (pen. 1:1) Frontino  52' Reinmann  78' Schindelholz  84' Bürki	Attendance: 27,034 Referee: Alain Bieri

Lugano v Basel

22 August 2015 Round 6	Lugano	1 – 3	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
17:45	Piccinocchi 9' (1:0) Urbano  35' Sabbatini  49'	FCB summary	11' (pen. 1:1) Callà 42' (1:2) Elneny 48' (1:3) Callà  62' Boëtius  75' P. Degen	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Zürich

30 August 2015 Round 7	Basel	3 – 1	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Lang 5' (1:0) Gashi 71' (2:1) Janko 85' (pen. 3:1)	FCB summary	38' (1:1) Kecojević  41' Cabral  53' Schneuwly  84' Nef	Attendance: 30,579 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Basel v St. Gallen

12 September 2015 Round 8	Basel	2 – 1	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Delgado 2' (pen. 1:0) Suchý  42' Janko 82' (2:0) Xhaka  90+3'	FCB summary	18' Mutch  40' Gelmi 88' (2:1) Aratore	Attendance: 27,736 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Young Boys v Basel

22 September 2015 Round 9	Young Boys	4 – 3	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
20:30	Sulejmani 5' (1:0) Sulejmani 45' (2:1) Gerndt 65' (3:1) Gerndt 81' (4:2) Mvogo  86' Lecjaks  15'  89' Steffen  90' Vilotić  90+1'	FCB summary	17' Aliji 23' (1:1) Embolo  54' Kuzmanović 74' (3:2) Suchý  76' Xhaka 90+1' (4:3) Janko  after finish' Xhaka	Attendance: 19,409 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Lugano

26 September 2015 Round 10	Basel	3 – 1	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Zuffi 39' (1:0) Zuffi 57' (2:0) Kuzmanović  81' Bjarnason 84' (3:0)	FCB summary	90+4' (3:1) Čulina	Attendance: 26,083 Referee: Sébastien Pache

Zürich v Basel

3 October 2015 Round 11	Zürich	2 – 2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Gavranović 35' (1:0) Sadiku 90+3' (2:2)	FCB summary	49' Lang 52' (1:1) Janko  81' Kuzmanović 84' (1:2) Al. Ajeti  90+4' Samuel	Attendance: 10,467 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Sion v Basel

18 October 2015 Round 12	Sion	0 – 2	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
13:45	Kouassi  28' Assifuah  90+1'	FCB summary Summary	5' (0:1) Janko  56' Manuel Akanji  67'Elneny  79'Gashi 89' (0:2) Janko  90+1' Vaclík	Attendance: 10,700 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Young Boys

25 October 2015 Round 13	Basel	1 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Embolo  17' Embolo 31' (1:0) Safari  59' Janko  85'	FCB summary Summary	30' Zakaria  53' Vilotić  26'  67' Wüthrich  75' Bertone	Attendance: 33,360 Referee: Alain Bieri

Vaduz v Basel

31 October 2015 Round 14	Vaduz	1 – 2	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
20:00	Avdijaj 2' (1:0) Caballero  61'	FCB summary Summary	6' (1:1) Bjarnason  20' Suchý  67' Aliji 80' (1:2) Janko  84' Janko	Attendance: 4,897 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Basel v Grasshopper

8 November 2015 Round 15	Basel	2 – 3	Grasshopper	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Boëtius  27' Callà 62' (1:2) Embolo 74' (2:2)	FCB summary	8' Källström  15' Bauer 19' (0:1) Källström 25' (o.g. 0:2) Suchý  52' Pnishi  65' Barthe 80' (2:3) Dabour  90' Dabour	Attendance: 31,669 Referee: Sascha Amhof

St. Gallen v Basel

22 November 2015 Round 16	St. Gallen	2 – 1	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
13:45	Tafer 38' (1:1) Tafer 68' (2:1) Tréand  79' Everton  88'	FCB summary	5' (0:1) Janko	Attendance: 15,740 Referee: Harald Lechner

Basel v Luzern

29 November 2015 Round 17	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Bjarnason 7' (1:0) Bjarnason  25' Callà 26' (2:0) Elneny 32' (3:0) Elneny  84' Zuffi  90+2'	FCB summary	1' Lezcano  30' Affolter  58' Basha  84' Lustenberger  90' Freuler	Attendance: 29,691 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Thun v Basel

6 December 2015 Round 18	Thun	0 – 2	Basel	Stockhorn Arena, Thun
16:00		FCB summary	5' Samuel  55' Xhaka 67' (0:1) Janko 70' (0:2) Janko	Attendance: 7,156 Referee: Fedayi San

Second half of season

Basel v Luzern

7 February 2016 Round 19	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Safari  43' Bjarnason 50' (1:0) Delgado 72' (2:0) Steffen 85' (3:0) Steffen  90+1'	FCB summary	67' Jantscher  82' Lustenberger  90+2' Rogulj	Attendance: 25,821 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Grasshopper Club v Basel

14 February 2016 Round 20	Grasshopper Club	0 – 4	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Bašić  25' Lüthi  34'	FCB summary	12' (0:1) Lang 20' (0:2) Suchý  31' Janko 54' (0:3) Lang  70' Delgado 90+3' (0:4) Zuffi	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Vaduz

21 February 2016 Round 21	Basel	5 – 1	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Embolo  42' Lang 51' (1:1) Fransson 57' (2:1) Zuffi 66' (3:1) Bjarnason 73' (4:1) Bjarnason 87' (5:1)	FCB summary	8' (0:1) Bühler  36' Muntwiler  65' Untersee	Attendance: 25,195 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Thun v Basel

28 February 2016 Round 22	Thun	1 – 1	Basel	Stockhorn Arena, Thun
13:45	Munsy 5' (1:0)	FCB summary	21' Akanji 44' (1:1) Steffen	Attendance: 6,807 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Lugano v Basel

6 March 2016 Round 23	Lugano	P – P	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
13:45		(Postponed)

Basel v St. Gallen

13 March 2016 Round 24	Basel	4 – 2	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Janko 5' (1:0) Janko 49' (2:2) Janko 54' (3:2) Suchý  50' Steffen 90+2 4:2'	FCB summary	12' (1:1) Salli 22' (1:2) Angha  33' Aratore	Attendance: 27,305 Referee: Fedayi San

Sion v Basel

20 March 2016 Round 25	Sion	0 – 1	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
16:00	Zverotić  20' Rüfli  83'	FCB summary	35' Janko 67' (pen. 0:1) Delgado	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Basel v Young Boys

3 April 2016 Round 26	Basel	2 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Embolo 46' (1:0) Janko  71' Steffen 90+4 2:0'	FCB summary	87' Florent Hadergjonaj	Attendance: 31,642 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Zürich

10 April 2016 Round 27	Basel	2 – 2	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Suchý  14' Embolo  65' Safari  76' Delgado 83' (pen. 1:2) Bjarnason 85' (2:2)	FCB summary	60' Buff 61' (0:1) Kerzhakov 70' (0:2) Bua  73' Brunner  82' Nef  90+3' Koch	Attendance: 31,257 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Lugano v Basel

13 April 2016 Round 23	Lugano	1 – 4	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
18:30	Veseli  22' Rey  40' Čulina 47' (1:4) Urbano  54'	FCB summary	10' (0:1) Bjarnason 13' (0:2) Samuel 22' (pen. 0:3) Delgado 44' (0:4) Itten	Attendance: 3,085 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

St. Gallen v Basel

17 April 2016 Round 28	St. Gallen	0 – 7	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
16:00	Gaudino  49'	FCB summary	29' (0:1) Steffen 47' (o.g. 0:2) Angha  56' Steffen 62' (o.g. 0:3) Gaudino 64' (0:4) Callà 67' (0:5) Steffen 72' (0:6) Embolo  76'Itten 78' (0:7) Steffen	Attendance: 14,876 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Basel v Lugano

20 April 2016 Round 29	Basel	3 – 0	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Suchý  38' Embolo 44' (1:0) Embolo 56' (2:0) Boëtius 90+1 3:0'	FCB summary	52' Datković  73' Veseli	Attendance: 24,938 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Vaduz v Basel

24 April 2016 Round 30	Vaduz	0 – 0	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
16:00		FCB summary	22' Itten  62' Suchý	Attendance: 5,543 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Sion

30 April 2016 Round 31	Basel	2 – 1	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Delgado 24' (pen. 1:0) Steffen  30' Bjarnason 67' (2:0) Embolo  85'	FCB summary	11' Salatić  87' Carlitos 90+2' (2:1) Salatić	Attendance: 32,244 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Zürich v Basel

7 May 2016 Round 32	Zürich	2 – 3	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Koch 16' (1:1) Buff 60' (2:2) Vinícius  69' Nef  76'	FCB summary	10' (0:1) Delgado 55' (1:2) Callà  58' Aliji 88' (pen. 2:3) Embolo	Attendance: 9.636 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni (Gams SG)
Note: Super League debut for Eray Cümart

Basel v Thun

10 May 2016 Round 33	Basel	1 – 1	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Bjarnason 81' (1:1) Suchý  84'	FCB summary	43' (0:1) Schirinzi  46' Wieser  86' Joss	Attendance: 24,558 Referee: Sébastien Pache

Luzern v Basel

16 May 2016 Round 34	Luzern	4 – 0	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
16:00	Schneuwly 7' (1:0) Jantscher 10' (2:0) Hyka 48' (3:0) Affolter  56' Haas 60' (4:0)	FCB summary	79' Steffen  85' Aliji	Attendance: 16,500 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Young Boys v Basel

21 May 2016 Round 35	Young Boys	2 – 3	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
16:00	Lecjaks  25' Von Bergen  58' Nuzzolo 80' Hadergjonaj  86' Hoarau 90+1'	FCB summary	10' (0:1) Delgado  16' Delgado 31' (0:2) Boëtius 44' (0:3) Boëtius  45' Callà	Attendance: 21,721 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Basel v Grasshopper

25 May 2016 Round 36	Basel	0 – 1	Grasshopper	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:30	Boëtius  77'	FCB summary	41' (o.g. 0:1) Traoré  51' Bašić  52' Dabour  52' Källström  80' Kamberi	Attendance: 30,682 Referee: Stephan Klossner

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Basel (C)	36	26	5	5	88	38	+50	83	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Young Boys	36	20	9	7	78	47	+31	69	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3	Luzern	36	15	9	12	59	50	+9	54	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
4	Grasshopper	36	15	8	13	65	56	+9	53	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
5	Sion	36	14	8	14	52	49	+3	50
6	Thun	36	10	11	15	45	54	−9	41
7	St. Gallen	36	10	8	18	41	66	−25	38
8	Vaduz	36	7	15	14	44	60	−16	36	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
9	Lugano	36	9	8	19	46	75	−29	35
10	Zürich (R)	36	7	13	16	48	71	−23	34	Qualification for the Europa League group stage Relegation to the Swiss Challenge League

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

Swiss Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Swiss Cup

Meyrin (GE) v Basel

15 August 2015 Round 1	Meyrin (GE)	0 - 4	Basel	Stade des Arberes, Meyrin
18:00 CET	Matteo Rezzonico  56' Fitim Rugovaj  75'	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary Soccerway summary	34' (0:1) Al. Ajeti 58' (0:2) Elneny 59' (0:3) Al. Ajeti 60' (0:4) Delgado	Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

YF Juventus v Basel

20 September 2015 Round 2	YF Juventus	1 - 4	Basel	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
14:00	Da Silva Chagdas  45' Nicolas Huber  52' Da Silva Chagdas 85' (pen. 1:4)	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary	15' (0:1) Callà 30' (0:2) Delgado 50' (0:3) Delgado  85' Samuel 80' (0:4) Callà	Attendance: 4,606 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

SV Muttenz v Basel

28 October 2015 Round 3	SV Muttenz	1 - 5	Basel	Sportplatz Margelacker, Muttenz
19:30	Manuel Jenny 48' (pen. 1:2) Manuel Jenny  64'	FCB summary FCB report ASF/SFV summary	25' (0:1) Høegh 35' (0:2) Gashi  46' Høegh 62' (1:3) Gashi  64' Gashi 72' (1:4) Gashi 75' (pen. 1:5) Al. Ajeti	Attendance: 5,800 (stadium record) Referee: Sascha Amhof

Sion v FC Basel

13 December 2015 Quarterfinal	Sion	2 - 2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	FC Basel	Stade de Tourbillon, Sion
15:30	Pa Modou 37' Salatić  55' Assifuah 66' Kouassi  69' Adão  84' Lacroix  113' Fernandes  116'	FCB summary ASF/SFV summary	32' Delgado  50' Lang  54' Samuel  78' Bjarnason 79' Elneny 89' (pen.) Janko  90+1' Elneny  96' Safari  120' Janko	Attendance: 9,200 Referee: Stephan Klossner
	Penalties
	Bia Ziegler Salatić Carlitos Pa Modou		Elneny Janko Bjarnason Samuel Callà

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League

Third qualifying round

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015. The first leg was played on 29 July, and the second leg on 5 August 2015.

Lech Poznań v Basel

29 July 2015 First leg	Lech Poznań	1 – 3	Basel	INEA Stadion, Poznań
20:45	Thomalla 36' Thomalla  49' Kędziora  66' Linetty  69' Kádár  82'	FCB summary UEFA summary	34' Lang 77' Janko 90+2' Callà  90+3' T. Xhaka	Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Basel v Lech Poznań

5 August 2015 Second leg	Basel	1 – 0 (4 – 1 agg.)	Lech Poznań	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:15	Suchý  44' Lang  55' Callà  80' Bjarnason 90+1'	FCB summary UEFA summary	44' Linetty  56' Kamiński  86' Douglas	Attendance: 18,196 Referee: Ruddy Buquet

Basel won 4-1 on aggregate.

Play-off round

The draw was held on 7 August 2015.

Basel v Maccabi Tel Aviv

19 August 2015 First leg	Basel	2 – 2	Maccabi Tel Aviv	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 CET	Elneny  19' Delgado 39' (pen.), 1:1' Suchý  60' Embolo 88' (2:1)	FCB summary UEFA summary	31' (0:1) Zahavi  70' Igiebor  77' Alberman 90+6' (2:2) Zahavi	Attendance: 15,620 Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Basel

25 August 2015 Second leg	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1 – 1 (a 3 – 3 agg.)	Basel	Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv
20:45 CET	Zahavi 24' Rikan  62'	FCB summary UEFA summary	11' Zuffi  49' Safari  74' Zuffi  84' T. Xhaka  85' Suchý	Attendance: 13,350 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

Maccabi Tel Aviv won on away goals rule.

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League

Group stage

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage § Group I

The draw was held on 28 August 2015, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Basel was drawn into Group I.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		BSL	FIO	LCH	BEL
1	Basel	6	4	1	1	10	5	+5	13	Advance to knockout phase		—	2–2	2–0	1–2
2	Fiorentina	6	3	1	2	11	6	+5	10			1–2	—	1–2	1–0
3	Lech Poznań	6	1	2	3	2	6	−4	5			0–1	0–2	—	0–0
4	Belenenses	6	1	2	3	2	8	−6	5			0–2	0–4	0–0	—

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Fiorentina v Basel

17 September 2015 Round 1	Fiorentina	1 – 2	Basel	Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
21:05	Kalinić 4' (1:0) Roncaglia  35' Rodríguez  65'	FCB summary UEFA summary	34' Xhaka  56' Suchý 71' (1:1) Bjarnason 79' (1:2) Elneny  83' Janko	Attendance: 15,212 Referee: Michael Oliver

Basel v Lech Poznań

1 October 2015 Round 2	Basel	2 – 0	Lech Poznań	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Samuel  41' Bjarnason 55' (1:0) Embolo 90' (2:0)	FCB summary UEFA summary	42'  59' Linetty	Attendance: 17,567 Referee: Ognjen Valjić

Basel v Belenenses

22 October 2015 Round 3	Basel	1 – 2	Belenenses	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Lang 15' (1:0) Suchý  73'	FCB summary UEFA summary	27' (1:1) Leal  34' Ferreira 45+1' (1:2) Kuca  87' Leal	Attendance: 17,275 Referee: Simon Lee Evans (Wales)

Belenenses v Basel

5 November 2015 Round 4	Belenenses	0 – 2	Basel	Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon
21:05	Silva  65' Pinto  66' Caeiro  70'	FCB summary UEFA summary	45+1' (pen. 0:1) Janko  60' Elneny 64' (0:2) Embolo  66' Janko  89' Lang	Attendance: 4,802 Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)

Basel v Fiorentina

26 November 2015 Round 5	Basel	2 – 2	Fiorentina	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Safari  26' Bjarnason  29' Suchý 40' (1:2) Janko  45+1' Suchý  65' Elneny 74' (2:2) Zuffi  78'	FCB summary UEFA summary	23' (0:1) Bernardeschi 36' (0:2) Bernardeschi  26' Roncaglia  45+1' Rodríguez  45+3' Badelj  75' Valero	Attendance: 22,550 Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

Lech Poznań v Basel

10 December 2015 Round 6	Lech Poznań	0 – 1	Basel	INEA Stadion, Poznań
21:05		FCB summary UEFA summary	50' (0:1) Boëtius	Attendance: 10,457 Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)
Note: Fair game, no yellow cards

Knockout phase

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League knockout phase

Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015. The first leg was played on 18 February, and the second on 25 February 2016.

Saint-Étienne v Basel

18 February 2016 First Leg	Saint-Étienne	3 – 2	Basel	Saint-Étienne, France
19:00	Sall 9' (1:0) Monnet-Paquet 39' (2:0) Tannane  60' Pajot  72' Bahebeck 77' (3:2)	FCB summary UEFA summary	25' Steffen 44' (2:1) Samuel 56' (pen. 2:2) Janko  60' Xhaka  74' Samuel  88' Janko	Stadium: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Attendance: 27,013 Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (Greece)

Basel v Saint-Étienne

25 February 2016 Second leg	Basel	2 – 1	Saint-Étienne	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
21:05	Zuffi 15' (1:0) Embolo  55'  84' Zuffi 90+2' (2:1)	FCB summary UEFA summary	31' Tannane  63' Pogba  82'  82' Eysseric 90' Sall	Attendance: 20,976 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

4-4 on aggregate. Basel won on away goals.

Round of 16

The draw was held on 26 February 2016. The first leg was played on 10 March, and the second leg played on 17 March 2016.

Basel v Sevilla

10 March 2016 (2016-03-10) Round	Basel	0 – 0	Sevilla	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Samuel  8' Steffen  90'	FCB summary UEFA summary	37' Banega  41' Cristóforo  85' Trémoulinas  75'  87' Nzonzi	Attendance: 22,403 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Sevilla v Basel

17 March 2016 (2016-03-17)	Sevilla	3 – 0	Basel	Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville
21:05	Kolodziejczak  7' Rami 35' (1:0) Gameiro 44' (2:0) Gameiro 45' (3:0)	FCB summary UEFA summary	39' Steffen  90+4' Embolo	Attendance: 35,546 Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

Sevilla won 3-0 on aggregate.

See also

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

Sources

• Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4
• Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2017/2018. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2189-1
• Die ersten 125 Jahre / 2018. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5
• Season 2015-16 at "Basler Fussballarchiv" homepage
• Switzerland 2015-16 at RSSSF

External links

• Official website