The 1961–62 season was Fussball Club Basel 1893's 68th season in their existence. It was their 16th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football following their promotion from the Nationalliga B the season 1945–46. They played their home games in the Landhof, in the Wettstein Quarter in Kleinbasel. Ernst Weber was the club's chairman for the third consecutive season.
| 1961–62 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Ernst Weber |
| Manager |  Jiří Sobotka |
| Ground | Landhof, Basel |
| Nationalliga A | 5th |
| Swiss Cup | Quarter-final |
| International Football Cup | Group stage |
| Top goalscorer | League: Markus Pfirter (9) All: Josef Hügi (15) |
| Highest home attendance | 14,000 on 15 October 1961 vs Servette |
| Lowest home attendance | 1,500 on 4 March 1962 vs Fribourg |
| Average home league attendance | 6,038 |
Overview edit
Pre-season edit
The former Czechoslovak footballer Jiří Sobotka was appointed as Basel's new team manager. Sobotka had been manager for La Chaux-de-Fonds from 1946 to 1959 and during this time had won the championship twice and the cup competition five times. He was manager for Feyenoord from 1959 to 1961 and had won the Dutch League with them in the season before he was hired by Basel. A number of older players left the squad. But quite a few new youngster were brought in to cover these empty places and Sobotka was well known for his work with the younger players. In fact all the new youngsters that joined the club lived within just a few minutes bus or tram ride from the Landhof stadium: Heinz Blumer lived in Reinach and advanced up from the junior team, local man Peter Füri joined the club from La Chaux-de-Fonds, Markus Pfirter joined from Concordia Basel, Otto Ludwig returned from Old Boys, Roland Denicola lived in Allschwil, René Burri in Birsfelden, Wilfried Fritz in Kandern and Hans-Ruedi Günthardt lived in Basel.[1]
Basel played a total of 44 games this season. Of these 44 matches 26 were in the domestic league, four were in the Swiss Cup, six were in the newly formed International Football Cup and eight were friendly matches. Of these eight friendly games four were played at home and four away from home. Four games ended in a victory, three were drawn and one ended in a defeat. The friendly match against 1. FC Köln at the end of the season was one of the highlights of these test games, it ended in a 4–4 draw. This was the farewell game for Josef Hügi who was moving on to play for Zürich the following season. René Burri, Roberto Frigerio twice and Hügi himself scored the goals for Basel. Karl-Heinz Thielen, Christian Müller, Breuer and Helmut Benthaus scored the goals for Köln. 14,000 spectators paid their entrance tickets to see the game, much needed money because the club was suffering under a bad financial situation at that time. An interesting point to note was the contact that was made between the club's chairman, Ernst Weber, and the scorer of the final goal of the match, Benthaus. This contact would come in handy a few years later.[2]
International Football Cup edit
Basel were appointed as one of four Swiss representatives in the newly founded IFC. The 1961–62 International Football Cup took place during the summer break. Basel played in Group B4 together with Sparta Rotterdam, IF Elfsborg and SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin but finished the group in the bottom position.[3]
Domestic league edit
Fourteen teams contested the 1960–61 Nationalliga A, these were the top 12 teams from the previous season and the two newly promoted teams Lugano and Schaffhausen. The Championship was played in a double round-robin, the champions were to be qualified for 1962–63 European Cup and the last two teams in the table were to be relegated. The team played a mediocre season, but not much more was expected from the young team, manager Jiří Sobotka was forming the team for the future seasons. Basel finished the season in the mid-field region of the league table in 7th position with 28 points, 12 points behind Servette who won the championship for the second time in a row. Basel won ten games, drew eight and were defeated eight times. Youngster Markus Pfirter was the team's top league goal scorer with nine goals and oldie Josef Hügi scored eight times that season.[4]
Swiss Cup edit
Basel entered the Swiss Cup in the third principal round. They were drawn at home against third tier club SR Delémont. Despite being 0–2 in arrear early in the game, they came back to win 3–2. In the fourth round they faced fourth tier local club FC Breite, with ex-FCB player Hans Hügi (who had retired from active football) in another home game. Older brother Hügi (I) defended against younger brother Hügi (II), but younger brother won the duel and scored two of the goals as Basel won 3–0 to continue to the next round. In the fifth round Basel won due to an own goal against Zürich, but in the quarter-final they were defeated by Bellinzona, who continued to the final, but here they were defeated by cup winners Lausanne-Sport after extra time.[5]
Players edit
The following is the list of the Basel first team squad during the 1961–62 season. The list includes players that were in the squad on the day that the Nationalliga A season started on 20 August 1961 but subsequently left the club after that date.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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- Players who left the squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Results edit
- Legend
Win Draw Loss Postponed
Friendly matches edit
Preseason edit
| July 1961 Pre-season | Tus Lörrach-Stetten | 0 – 0 | Basel | Lörrach |
| Summary | ||||
| Note: Anniversary game 50 years Lörrach-Stetten | ||||
| 6 August 1961 Pre-season | Aarau | 3 – 2 | Basel | Hügeli, Schöftland |
Fragnières  (1x)Gribi (1x)Crivelli (pen. 1x) |
Summary | (1x) Von Krannichfeldt (1x) Denicola |
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Gloor Schöftland |
| 13 August 1961 Pre-season | FC Klus-Balsthal | 0 – 8 | Basel | Mühlefeld, Balsthal |
| Summary | |
Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Rudolf Scheurer Bettlach | ||
| Note: Anniversary game 50 years FC Klus-Balsthal | ||||
| 16 August 1961 Pre-season | FC Riehen | 2 – 6 | Basel | Riehen |
| 18:30 | Bieri (1:3) Raes (pen. 2:4) |
Summary | (0:1) Hügi (II) 5' (0:2) Stocker 35' (0:3) Hügi (II) (1:4) Hügi (II) (2:5) Wilfried Fritz (pen. 2:6) Hügi (II) |
Attendance: 600 |
| 22 August 1961 Pre-season | Basel | 2 – 0 |  Hapoel Tel Aviv | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Hügi (II) (1x) Walther (1x) |
Summary | Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern |
Winter break and end of season edit
| 11 February 1962 Winter break | Basel | 2 – 1 | Biel-Bienne | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Hügi (II) 1' (1:0) Hügi (II) 58' (2:0) |
Summary | 85' (2:1) Rossbach |
Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Oettlin Basel |
| 16 May 1962 End of season | Basel | 1 – 1 |  Scunthorpe United | Landhof, Basel |
| 18:15 | Burri 31' (1:0) |
Summary | 65' (1:1) |
Attendance: 2,400 Referee: Gottfried Dienst Basel |
| 22 May 1962 End of season | Basel | 4 – 4 |  1. FC Köln | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Frigerio 27' (1:2) Burri 38' (2:3)Frigerio 82' (3:3)Hügi (II) 83' (4:3) |
Summary | 9' (0:1) Thielen 22' (0:2) Müller 34' (1:3) Breuer 84' (4:4) Benthaus |
Attendance: 14,000 Referee: F. Schorer Interlaken |
| Note: Farewell game for Josef Hügi. Guest player by Basel: Frigerio | ||||
Nationalliga A edit
League matches edit
| 20 August 1961 Round 1 | Basel | 4 – 2 | Biel-Bienne | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Blumer 41' (1:0) Blumer 47' (2:0)Von Krannichfeldt 72' (3:2)Walther 78' (4:2) |
Summary | 49' (2:1) Koller 55' (2:2) Rossbach |
Attendance: 6,000 Referee: D. Mellet Lausanne |
| 27 August 1961 Round 2 | Lausanne-Sport | 6 – 1 | Basel | Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne |
| 15:00 | Glisovic 40' (1:0) Glisovic 48' (2:0)Vonlanden 54' (pen. 3:0)Glisovic 60' (4:0)Hosp 73' (5:0)Armbruster 74' (6:0) |
Summary | 77' (6:1) Weber |
Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Victor Werner Schicker Bern |
| 2 September 1961 Round 3 | Basel | 2 – 1 | Schaffhausen | Landhof, Basel |
| 16:30 | Stocker 23' (1:0) Hügi (II) 63' (2:1) |
Summary | 57' (1:1) Akeret |
Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Albert Weber Lausanne |
| 10 September 1961 Round 4 | Grasshopper Club | 4 – 3 | Basel | Hardturm, Zürich |
| Vonburg 10' (1:0) Dimmeler 63' (2:3)Burger 78' (3:3)Ghilard (4:3) |
Summary | 17' (1:1) Wilfried Fritz 40' (1:2) Wilfried Fritz 51' (1:3) Hügi (II) |
Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Roland David Lausanne |
| 16 September 1961 Round 5 | Basel | 1 – 2 | Luzern | Landhof, Basel |
| 16:15 | Hügi (II) 1' (1:0) |
Summary | 13' (1:1) Lettl 47' (1:2) Gerber |
Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Guinnard GletterensL |
| 24 September 1961 Round 6 | Fribourg | 1 – 1 | Basel | Stade Universitaire Saint-Léonard, Fribourg |
| Froidevaux 10' (1:0) |
Summary | 86' (1:1) Hügi (II) |
Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Victor Werner Schicker Bern |
| 1 October 1961 Round 7 | Basel | 0 – 2 | Lugano | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Summary | 50' (0:1) Ciani 59' (0:2) Neuschäfer |
Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Albert Weber Lausanne |
| 8 October 1961 Round 8 | Grenchen | 0 – 1 | Basel | Stadion Brühl, Grenchen |
| Summary | Wilfried Fritz 80' (0:1) |
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Schurr Interlaken |
| 15 October 1961 Round 9 | Basel | 1 – 1 | Servette | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 15:00 | Walther 47' (1:0) |
Summary | Robbiani 70' (1:1) |
Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Othmar Huber Thun |
| 5 November 1961 Round 10 | Young Fellows Zürich | 1 – 0 | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| 15:00 | Niggeler 33' (1:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern |
| 11 November 1961 Round 11 | Basel | 4 – 2 | Zürich | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 18:00 | Hügi (II) 23' (1:1) Denicola 36' (2:1)Pfirter 55' (3:2)Blumer 84' (4:2) |
Summary | 20' (pen. 0:1) Leimgruber 43' (2:2) Fäh |
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Victor Werner Schicker Bern |
| 26 November 1961 Round 12 | Young Boys | 1 – 4 | Basel | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern |
| Meier 63' (1:4) |
Summary | 28' (0:1) Ludwig 36' (0:2) Pfirter 54' (0:3) Blumer 63' (0:4) Ludwig |
Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern |
| 3 December 1961 Round 13 | Basel | 3 – 2 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | Landhof, Basel |
| 14:30 | Pfirter 11' (1:1) Hügi (II) 19' (2:1)Oberer 43' (3:1) |
Summary | 5' (0:1) Trivellin 67' (3:2) Frigerio |
Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Othmar Huber Thun |
| 10 December 1961 Round 14 | Biel-Bienne | 4 – 4 | Basel | Gurzelen Stadion, Biel/Bienne |
| Treuthardt 33' (1:3) Bächler 60' (2:3)Bächler 67' (3:4)Bächler 85' (4:4) |
Summary | 15' (0:1) Pfirter 18' (0:2) Hügi (II) 25' (0:3) Blumer 67' (o.g. 3:4) Kehrli |
Attendance: 2,000 Referee: D. Mellet Lausanne |
| 17 December 1961 Round 15 | Basel | 0 – 0 | Lausanne-Sport | Landhof, Basel |
| 14:30 | Summary | Attendance: 7,500 Referee: F. Schorer Interlaken |
| 31 December 1961 Round 16 | Schaffhausen | 1 – 2 | Basel | Stadion Breite, Schaffhausen |
| Akeret 59' (1:1) |
Summary | 52' (0:1) Ludwig 65' (1:2) Stocker |
Attendance: 2,300 Referee: Helbling Uznach |
| 7 January 1962 Round 17 | Basel | P – P | Grasshopper Club | Landhof, Basel |
| [ Summary] |
| 25 February 1962 Round 18 | Luzern | 1 – 1 | Basel | Stadion Allmend, Luzern |
| Lettl 70' (1:1) |
Summary | 52' (pen. 0:1) Stocker |
Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Josef Gulde St. Gallen |
| 4 March 1962 Round 19 | Basel | 4 – 3 | Fribourg | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Ludwig 18' (1:0) Burri 30' (2:1)Pfirter 56' (3:1)Oberer 75' (4:1) |
Summary | 20' (1:1) Laurito 85' (4:2) Bongard 88' (4:3) Laurito |
Attendance: 1.500 Referee: D. Mellet Lausanne |
| 11 March 1962 Round 20 | Lugano | 2 – 2 | Basel | Cornaredo, Lugano |
| Ciani 15' (1:0) Ciani 30' (2:1) |
Summary | 27' (1:1) Pfirter 60' (2:2) Füri |
Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern |
| 18 March 1962 Round 21 | Basel | 2 – 1 | Grenchen | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Stocker 71' (pen. 1:1) Michaud 88' (2:1) |
Summary | 12' (0:1) Stutz |
Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Helbling Uznach |
| 25 March 1962 Round 17 | Basel | 1 – 1 | Grasshopper Club | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Oberer 47' (1:0) Oberer  |
Summary | 66' (1:1) von Burg |
Attendance: 7,500 Referee: D. Mellet Lausanne |
| 1 April 1962 Round 22 | Servette | 5 – 1 | Basel | Charmilles Stadium, Geneva |
| 15:00 | Mantula 35' (1:1) Robbiani 54' (2:1)Bosson 64' (3:1)Robbiani 65' (4:1)Fatton 85' (5:1) |
Summary | 23' (0:1) Ludwig |
Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Zürrer Feldmeilen |
| 8 April 1962 Round 23 | Basel | 2 – 2 | Young Fellows Zürich | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Pfirter 28' (1:0) Blumer 41' (2:0) |
Summary | 51' (2:1) Zimmermann 75' (2:2) Zimmermann |
Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Schwab Neuchâtel |
| 15 April 1962 Round 24 | Zürich | 4 – 2 | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| Brizzi 23' (1:0) Brizzi 68' (2:0)Brizzi 72' (3:0)Martinelli 87' (4:0) |
Summary | 88' (4:1) Hügi (II) |
Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Strässle Steinach |
| 29 April 1962 Round 25 | Basel | 6 – 2 | Young Boys | Landhof, Basel |
| 15:00 | Weber 27' (1:0) Stocker 32' (2:0)Pfirter 49' (3:1)Burri 69' (4:1)Pfirter 75' (5:2)Weber 87' (6:2) |
Summary | 39' (2:1) Schultheiss 71' (4:2) Wechselberger |
Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Albert Weber Lausanne |
| 5 May 1962 Round 26 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 3 – 0 | Basel | Stade Charrière, La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| 20:00 | Bertschi 8' (1:0) Antenen 75' (2:0)Wenger 89' (3:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Helbling Uznach |
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Servette | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 93 | 30 | +63 | 40 | Swiss Champions, qualified for 1962–63 European Cup and entered 1962–63 Intertoto Cup |
| 2 | Lausanne-Sport | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 35 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for 1962–63 Cup Winners' Cup |
| 3 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 72 | 45 | +27 | 34 | Entered 1962–63 Intertoto Cup |
| 4 | Grasshopper Club | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 61 | 52 | +9 | 31 | |
| 5 | Young Boys | 26 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 29 | Entered 1962–63 Intertoto Cup |
| 6 | Luzern | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 28 | |
| 7 | Basel | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 51 | 54 | −3 | 28 | Entered 1962–63 Intertoto Cup |
| 8 | Biel-Bienne | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 24 | |
| 9 | Zürich | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 53 | 57 | −4 | 22 | |
| 10 | Lugano | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 32 | 60 | −28 | 22 | |
| 11 | Grenchen | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 39 | 59 | −20 | 21 | |
| 12 | Young Fellows Zürich | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 53 | 63 | −10 | 20 | |
| 13 | Schaffhausen | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 40 | 65 | −25 | 19 | Relegated |
| 14 | Fribourg | 26 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 33 | 80 | −47 | 11 | Relegated |
Swiss Cup edit
| 22 October 1961 3rd principal round | Basel | 3 – 2 (a.e.t.) | SR Delémont | Landhof, Basel |
| 14:30 | Hügi (II) 47' (1:2) Von Krannichfeldt 62' (2:2)Blumer 101' (3:2) |
Summary | 13' (0:1) Gassmann 27' (o.g. 0:2) Weber |
Attendance: 2,800 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern |
| 19 November 1961 Round 4 | Basel | 3 – 0 | FC Breite | Landhof, Basel |
| 14:30 | Hügi (II) 55' (1:0) Pfirter 78' (2:0)Hügi (II) 80' (3:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 3,000 Referee: A. Ceretti Biel/Bienne |
| 14 January 1962 Round 5 | Zürich | 0 – 1 | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| Summary | 88' (o.g.) |
Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Othmar Huber Thun |
| 18 February 1962 Quarter-final | Bellinzona | 1 – 0 | Basel | Stadio Comunale, Bellinzona |
| Buzzin 75' (1:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 1,000 Referee: F. Schorer Interlaken |
International Football Cup edit
Group B4 matches edit
| 17 June 1961 Round 1 | Basel | 0 – 4 |  Sparta Rotterdam | Landhof, Basel |
| 18:00 | Summary | (2x) van Miert (1x) de Vries (1x)} Janssen |
Attendance: 3,500 Referee:  Carl Erich Steiner Wien |
| 25 June 1961 Round 2 | IF Elfsborg  | 2 – 1 | Basel | Ryavallen, Borås, Sweden |
| Raaberg (1x) Larsson (1x) |
Summary | (1x) Hügi (II) |
Attendance: 3,300 Referee: Johannes Malka Herten |
| 2 July 1961 Round 3 | SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin | 1 – 2 | Basel | Poststadion, Berlin |
| Rosenfeldt 7' (1:0) |
Summary | 35' (1:1) Hügi (II) 46' (1:2) Stocker |
Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Johanesson |
| 8 July 1961 Round 4 | Basel | 1 – 1 | SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin | Landhof, Basel |
| 18:30 | Speidel (1x) |
Summary | (1x o.g.) |
Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Friedrich Seipelt |
| 15 July 1961 Round 5 | Basel | 3 – 6 | IF Elfsborg | Landhof, Basel |
| 18:30 | Hügi (II) (1x) Von Krannichfeldt (1x)Walther (1x) |
Summary | (3x) Larsson (2x) Raberg (1x) Bartholdsson |
Attendance: 2,800 Referee: Friedrich Mayer |
| 23 July 1961 Round 6 | Sparta Rotterdam | 5 – 2 | Basel | Rotterdam |
| Van Buuren 3' (1:1) De Vries 19' (2:1)Verhoeven 49' (3:2)Bosselaar 58' (4:2)Jansen 76' (5:2) |
Summary | 2' (0:1) Hügi (II) 31' (2:2) Burri |
Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Gösta Ackerborn |
Group table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sparta Rotterdam
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 12 | +11 | 10 | Qualified for knock out stage |
| 2 | IF Elfsborg
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 17 | +4 | 8 | |
| 3 | SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Basel
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 3 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Zindel, Josef (2018), "Die ersten 125 Jahre", Konstanz als Erfolgsrezept, Page 58, Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel
- ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Bilanz Saison 1961/62". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- ^ Mogielnicki, Pawel. "Intertoto Cup 1961/62". Pawel Mogielnicki. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- ^ Erik Garin. "Nationalliga A 1960/61". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- ^ Erik Garin. "Switzerland 1961/62". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
Sources edit
- Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5
- The FCB team 1961–62 at fcb-archiv.ch
- Switzerland 1961–62 by Erik Garin at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation