“…then it will be embarrassing for FC Basel”

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Fabian Frei seemed to have weathered the beating in St. Gallen quickly. “If we make it to the final, the 1:6 won’t matter,” said the captain of FCB immediately after the match. FCB chairman David Degen completely ruined the vote with the 1: 6. He would have preferred to leave the stadium after fifteen minutes, he said at the general meeting on Monday evening. “Such a thing must not happen to us!”

For weeks he drummed into everyone that the championship should be the top priority, says Degen angrily. “I also think the players understood my words. But in St. Gallen some probably ignored them. We made nine changes from the game three days earlier in Florence. And then act like that. I have an attitude problem of players new to the starting eleven.”

Degen also targets stars such as veteran Fabian Frei, striker Andi Zeqiri or Darian Males.

Should FCB hand in their jewels?

“Dave is an explosive person, but I understand his anger,” said his former FCB teammate Antonio Esposito. “You really shouldn’t go down 1:6, the attitude of the players was not right at all. It is not that the Baslers have too small a selection, there was a lot of quality on the field.”

Degen’s horror scenario is getting closer. If FCB does not qualify for Europe next season, they will probably have to sell their gems such as Amdouni and Diouf in the summer. Because despite additional income of 40 million francs (transfers and European Championship), there was a loss of 1.2 million francs in the 2022 financial year. Like all FCB fans, he would like to reach the final in the Conference League, Degen tells the approximately 1,000 members in the room. “But the most important are three wins in the last three league matches!” If FC Basel does not play in Europe next season, it would not only be financially dangerous, says Esposito, “but also embarrassing”.

Basel represents a sensation

Esposito knows from his own experience how difficult this balancing act between Europe and the championship is. “We played against Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League during the week and in Delémont at the weekend. It wasn’t easy physically, but especially mentally.” Unlike the current FCB edition, which excels in the Conference League but will fare worse in the league than ever since the introduction of Super League, Esposito, Hakan and Murat Yakin & Co. in 2002 to take stock. “That was a great performance from Christian Gross. He has always been able to prepare us well for the league games.”

The 1:6 debacle in St. Gallen is not really an encouragement for the second leg against Fiorentina, says Italian-Swiss Esposito. “It will be a very difficult game. Fiorentina has to attack and the Italians have a strong offensive. But I trust that the Basler will take advantage. Unlike Sunday’s game, every player will be motivated down to the last detail and give everything.”

Esposito, who will be present in St. Jakob-Park on Thursday evening, predicts a 1-1 draw. This would mark the first definitive appearance by a Swiss club in a European competition. “This would be nothing short of sensational,” says Esposito.

Source : Blick