2023–24 FC Basel season

FC Basel

2023–24 season
Owner	FCB Holding David Degen
Club president	Reto Baumgartner
Head coach	Fabio Celestini
Ground	St. Jakob-Park
Swiss Super League	8th
Swiss Cup	Quarter-finals
UEFA Europa Conference League	Second qualifying round
Top goalscorer	League: Thierno Barry (9) All: Thierno Barry (12)
Average home league attendance	21,990
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 season was FC Basel's 130th season in their existence and the club's 29th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football since their promotion in the 1993–94 season. The 2023–24 Swiss Super League season started in July 2023 and ended in May 2024. In addition to the Swiss Super League, Basel also participated in this season's edition of the Swiss Cup, starting in the third round. Basel also qualified for the 3rd edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League, beginning play in the second qualifying round where they were seeded.

The FC Basel Holding AG owns 75% of FC Basel 1893 AG and the other 25% is owned by the FC Basel 1893 club members. The club FC Basel 1893 functions as a base club independent of the holding company and the AG. FC Basel 1893 AG is responsible for the operational business of the club, e.g. the 1st team, a large part of the youth department and the back office are affiliated there. All decisions that affect the club FC Basel 1893 are made within the AG.

On 20 June 2022 the AGM of the FC Basel Holding AG and the FC Basel 1893 AG were held and the both boards were confirmed. The Holding AG with following members: David Degen (president), Dan Holzmann, Ursula Rey-Krayer and Andreas Rey (vice-president). FC Basel 1893 AG with following members: David Degen (president), Carol Etter (delegate of the club FC Basel), Dan Holzmann, Ursula Rey-Krayer and Andreas Rey (vice-president).

The club AGM tool place on 15 May 2023. With the exception of Benno Kaiser, who left the board of directors voluntarily, the entire board was re-elected with large majorities. Kaiser has held various positions on the FCB board since 2009.^[1]

The board of directors of the club are:

Club chairman	Reto Baumgartner
Sports director	Heiko Vogel until 31 October 2023
Sports director	Daniel Stucki from 15 May 2024
Director	Dominik Donzé
Director	Carol Etter
Director	Edward Turner
Director	Tobias Adler
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	St. Jakob-Park (37,994[2] (37,500 for international matches) / 120x80 m)

Updated to match played 15 May 2023
Source: FCB Official Site

On 28 November 2022 FCB had announced that they had taken Heiko Vogel under contract as their new sporting director, as per 1 January 2023. After the end of their previous season, in which Vogel had taken over in charge of the coaching of their first team following the dismissal of Alexander Frei in February, Vogel continued in his role as sports director for this season.^[3]

On 12 May 2023 the club announced that Timo Schultz had been signed a contract as head coach of the new FCB first team.^[4] On 22 May they announced that the entire trainer staff had been appointed. Loïc Favé would join Davide Callà as assistant coach and Johannes Wieber would become athletic coach, Gabriel Wüthrich remained goalkeeper coach.^[5] On 23 May the club announced that the new coach of the U-21 would be the ex-footballer Dennis Hediger, who had been the coach of the U-18 team the previous season.^[6] Appointed a his assistant coaches were Marco Aratore and Michaël Bauch.^[7]

On 29 September the club announced that they were parting with coach Schultz, together with his assistant Loïc Favé, and that he would be replaced by the current sport director Heiko Vogel.^[8] Vogel was dismissed a month later, on 31 October. The position as head coach was then replaced immediately, with Fabio Celestini taking over until the end of the season.^[9] On 17 November 2023, Martin Rueda was hired as an additional assistant coach.^[10] The position of the sports director was left vacant.

Soon afterwards on 4 December, a change in the coaching staff of the U-21 team was announced by the club. In the announcement it stated that with immediate effect the club and the current U-21 head coach Dennis Hediger were going their separate ways. The management of the youth department had come to this decision after analyzing the Promotion League first half of the season. The team would be led by the previous U-19 coach Mario Cantaluppi.^[11]

The position of the sports director had been left vacant, this until 15 May 2024 and then FCB announced that Daniel Stucki had been appointed as new sports director.^[12]

Position	Staff
Head coach	Timo Schultz until 29 September 2023
Head coach	Heiko Vogel 29 September–31 October
Head coach	Fabio Celestini from 31 October
Assistant coach	Davide Callà
Assistant coach	Martin Rueda from 17 November 2023
Assistant coach	Loïc Favé until 29 September
Athletics coach	Johannes Wieber
Goalkeeper coach	Gabriel Wüthrich
Youth Team U-21 coach	Dennis Hediger until 4 December
Youth Team U-21 coach	Mario Cantaluppi from 4 December
Youth Team U-21 co-coach	Marco Aratore
Youth Team U-21 co-coach	Michaël Bauch

On 1 June 2023 the club announced the dates for the run into the new season, these were that on 20 June would be the press conference with the new head coach, then on 21 June would be the start for the first team's training and from 24 June until 1 July a summer trainings camp in Seefeld in Tirol in Austria.^[13] One of the most interesting statements that the club owners said, was in a radio interview before the new season, and it was that they wanted to keep 90% of the team together that had played so well in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League.

As the team planning started, the club announced that they would not exercise the purchase options for three players that had been in on loan the previous season. Darian Males, Andi Zeqiri and Kasim Nuhu, therefore, left the club.^[14] On 20 June, it was announced that Finn van Breemen had signed in from ADO Den Haag.^[15] Then, on 23 June, it was announced that Kaly Sène had left the club, because his contract had not been extended, and that he had signed a contract with Lausanne-Sport.^[16] On 30 June, it was announced that Andy Diouf had transferred out to French club Lens.^[17] Then, on 3 July, it was announced that Thierno Barry^[18] had signed in from Beveren and that Jonathan Dubasin had signed in from Albacete^[19] On 12 July, it was announced that Andy Pelmard had transferred out to Clermont Foot.^[20] One day later, on 13 July, it was also announced that the loan contract for Sayfallah Ltaief to FC Winterthur would be extended until 30 June 2024.^[21] On 17 July, it was published that young talent Liam Chipperfield, who had spent ten years in the FCB youth department would move to Sion.^[22] Two days later, on 19 July, it was announced that Zeki Amdouni had transferred to Burnley.^[23] The next day the club announced that Bradley Fink would be loaned out to Grasshoppers until 30 June 2024.^[24]

By this time ten players had left the club and only three new players had joined, therefore, the news and the publications kept the flow that had been developed in the meantime. On 20 July, FCB announced that they had signed their former youth footballer Dominik Schmid on a three-year contract from Grasshopper Club.^[25] On 21 July, it was then announced that three youngsters, Leon Avdullahu, Axel Kayombo and Arlet Junior Zé, who had been part of the FCB U-18 team that had just won the Swiss championship, had signed professional contracts and advanced to the first team.^[26] On 25 July, Basel signed in Georgia international Gabriel Sigua from Dinamo Tbilisi on a five-year contract.^[27] On 11 August Basel then signes German youth international Maurice Malone from Augsburg on a four-year contract.^[28] Then again on the outwards direction, on 14 August, it was announced that Swiss international Dan Ndoye had moved on to Bologna.^[29] Again on the inwards direction, during the following days a number of new signings were announced, Austrian international Yusuf Demir on a one-year loan from Galatasaray,^[30] Serbian international Đorđe Jovanović on a four-year contract from Maccabi Tel Aviv,^[31] Bosnian international Adrian Leon Barišić also on a four-year contract from Osijek,^[32] and then Tunisian international Mohamed Dräger on a three-year contract from Nottingham Forest.^[33]

Another player who chose to move out was Wouter Burger, he signed for Stoke City on 25 August.^[34] Then, on 28 August, Basel announced two new signings, first that of Juan Gauto from Club Atlético Huracán on a five-year deal,^[35] and then that of Renato Veiga, on a four-year contract, from Sporting CP.^[36] Further players to move out were Riccardo Calafiori^[37] definitely to Bologna on 31 August, Liam Millar on loan to Preston North End,^[38] Nasser Djiga on loan to Red Star Belgrade.^[39] and Emmanuel Essiam on loan to Stade Lausanne Ouchy.^[40] The final signing was Kevin Rüegg who came in on a one-year loan from Hellas Verona.^[41]

The summary all of which is, 17 players out and 16 players in.

On 23 December, Basel announced that they were loaning Jonathan Dubasin out to Real Oviedo, in the second highest Spanish league, until the end of the season and the loan-contract had a purchase option. They also said that the loan move was primarily for personal reasons. During his time with FCB early in the season, Dubasin was out for a long time on with a ligament injury in his foot. By the winter break he had made eleven appearances in all competitions (ten league, one cup), in which he scored three goals and made one assist.^[42] On 26 December 2023, the club announced that they had signed Benjamin Kololli on a free transfer and that he had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, which contained an option for another year.^[43] On 5 January, the club announced that they had signed Nicolas Vouilloz from Servette on a four-and-a-half-year contract, dated up until sommer 2028.^[44]

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 16 July 2023, but subsequently left the club after that date.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SUI Marwin Hitz 3 DF  SUI Nicolas Vouilloz 4 DF  ESP Arnau Comas 5 DF  SUI Michael Lang 6 DF  TUN Mohamed Dräger 7 FW  CAN Liam Millar (out on loan 30 June 2024) 7 MF  SUI Benjamin Kololli 8 MF  BEL Jonathan Dubasin (out, end of loan) 9 FW  FRA Thierno Barry 10 FW  FRA Jean-Kévin Augustin 11 FW  GER Maurice Malone 13 GK  SUI Mirko Salvi 14 FW  SUI Bradley Fink (out on loan) 16 GK  SUI Nils de Mol (U-21) 17 FW  SUI Andrin Hunziker 18 MF  GHA Emmanuel Essiam 19 MF  AUT Yusuf Demir 20 MF  SUI Fabian Frei (captain) 21 MF  GEO Gabriel Sigua 22 DF  GER Sergio López 23 MF  NED Wouter Burger (out 25 August 2023) 23 FW  SUI Albian Ajeti

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 DF  BFA Nasser Djiga (out on loan) 25 DF  SUI Finn van Breemen 26 DF  BIH Adrian Leon Barišić 27 MF  SUI Dan Ndoye (out 14 August 2023) 27 DF  SUI Kevin Rüegg 28 DF  FRA Hugo Vogel (U-21) 28 MF  SUI Dion Kacuri 29 MF  GER Adriano Onyegbule (U-21) 30 FW  GER Anton Kade 31 MF  SUI Dominik Schmid 32 DF  GHA Jonas Adjetey (U-21) 33 DF  ITA Riccardo Calafiori (out) 33 MF  ARG Juan Gauto 34 MF  ALB Taulant Xhaka (vice-captain) 35 FW  SUI Roméo Beney (U-21) 37 MF  SUI Leon Avdullahu (U-21) 38 MF  FRA Axel Kayombo (U-21) 39 MF  SUI Arlet Junior Zé (U-21) 40 MF  POR Renato Veiga 43 GK  GER Tim Pfeiffer (U-21) 48 FW  FRA Aaron Akalé (U-21) 99 FW  SRB Đorđe Jovanović

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 7 FW  CAN Liam Millar (to Preston North End until 30 June 2024)[38][45] 14 FW  SUI Bradley Fink (to Grasshoppers until 30 June 2024)[24] 18 MF  GHA Emmanuel Essiam (to Stade Lausanne Ouchy until 12 January 2024)[40] 24 DF  BFA Nasser Djiga (to Red Star Belgrade until 30 June 2024)[39] 42 MF  TUN Sayfallah Ltaief (to FC Winterthur until 30 June 2024)[21] — GK  SUI Tim Spycher (to Baden until 30 June 2024)[46] 8 MF  BEL Jonathan Dubasin (to Real Oviedo from 1 January to 30 June 2024)[42]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  AUT Yusuf Demir (on loan from Galatasaray until 30 June 2024)[30] 27 DF  SUI Kevin Rüegg (on loan from Hellas Verona until 30 June 2024)[41]

In

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 DF  TUN Mohamed Dräger (from Nottingham Forest)[33] 8 MF  FRA Jonathan Dubasin (from Albacete)[19] 9 FW  FRA Thierno Barry (from Beveren)[18] 11 FW  GER Maurice Malone (from Augsburg)[28] 17 FW  SUI Andrin Hunziker (return after loan to Aarau) 21 MF  GEO Gabriel Sigua (from Dinamo Tbilisi)[27] 25 DF  SUI Finn van Breemen (from ADO Den Haag)[15] 26 DF  BIH Adrian Leon Barišić (from Osijek)[32] 31 MF  SUI Dominik Schmid (from Grasshopper Club)[25]

No. Pos. Nation Player 32 DF  GHA Jonas Adjetey (U-21) 33 MF  ARG Juan Gauto (from Club Atlético Huracán)[35] 35 FW  SUI Roméo Beney (U-21) 37 MF  SUI Leon Avdullahu (from U-18)[26] 38 MF  FRA Axel Kayombo (from U-18)[26] 39 MF  SUI Arlet Junior Zé (from U-18)[26] 40 MF  POR Renato Veiga (from Sporting CP)[36] 43 GK  GER Tim Pfeiffer (U-21) 99 FW  SRB Đorđe Jovanović (from Maccabi Tel Aviv)[31] — FW  FRA Aaron Akalé (U-21)

Out

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 8 MF  FRA Andy Diouf (to Lens)[17] 9 FW  SUI Zeki Amdouni (to Burnley)[23] 15 DF  GHA Kasim Nuhu (end of loan, returned to Hoffenheim)[14] 17 FW  SUI Andi Zeqiri (end of loan, returned to Brighton and Hove Albion)[14] 19 MF  SUI Darian Males (end of loan, returned to Inter Milan)[14] 21 DF  FRA Andy Pelmard (to Clermont Foot)[20] 23 MF  NED Wouter Burger (to Stoke City)[34]

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 FW  SUI Tician Tushi (end of contract) 26 FW  SEN Kaly Sène (to Lausanne-Sport)[16] 27 MF  SUI Dan Ndoye (to Bologna)[29] 33 DF  ITA Riccardo Calafiori (to Bologna)[37] 40 MF  SUI Liam Chipperfield (to Sion)[22] — FW  SUI Carmine Chiappetta (to Winterthur) — GK  GER Felix Gebhardt (to Hallescher FC)

In

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  SUI Nicolas Vouilloz (from Servette)[44] 7 MF  SUI Benjamin Kololli (from Shimizu S-Pulse)[43]

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 FW  SUI Albian Ajeti (from Gaziantep)[47] 28 MF  SUI Dion Kacuri [48]

Kickoff times are in CET.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

The 2023–24 Super League season was the 127th season of top-tier competitive football in Switzerland. The Swiss Football League (SFL) drew and published the fixtures of the first 22 rounds on 21 June 2023,^[50] together with the match times for the first eleven rounds.^[51]