FC Basel have become a European side heavily on the radars of English teams.
The Swiss champions – who have won eight of the last 10 domestic titles in their homeland – have had a common passage into continental football over the past decade and a bit, clashing with Premier League sides on 21 occasions since the 2002/03 season.
Nine defeats have been inflicted on the RotBlau, but five wins and seven draws show they’re no pushovers, even though the aggregate score stands at 29-38 in favour of the English.
So, there was understandably a little trepidation when Arsenal drew the boys from Basel in this year’s Champions League.
Although Paris Saint-Germain are seen as the Gunners’ main rivals in the quest to reach the last-16, the Londoners’ ability to make things difficult for themselves means the St Jakob-Park outfit look like opponents they will have to beat – especially with Ludogorets Razgrad expected to be the whipping boys of Group A.
And there are a few results from the recent past Arsenal should pay attention to, if they want to ensure they aren’t the latest scalp claimed by Basel…
Basel 3-3 Liverpool – 2002/03 UCL Group Stage
Back in 2002, Liverpool were expecting to reach the knockout phase of the Champions League and knew a win over Basel in their final group clash would be enough. Gerard Houllier’s men packed decent European pedigree, having won the UEFA Cup just a couple of years prior, and with some decent names such as a young Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Emile Heskey to call upon, a win was expected in Switzerland.
However, a quick-fire three goals within 30 minutes put Basel firmly in the driving seat and despite a second-half comeback that levelled the score, the Swiss side’s point won against runaway leaders Valencia ensured they stayed above the Reds.
Basel 2-1 Manchester United – 2011/12 UCL Group Stage
2011/12 saw Manchester United commit the somewhat unthinkable sin of dropping out of the Champions League before the knockouts, with Basel sneaking in ahead of them to join Benfica in advancing from Group C.
The decisive result came in the shape of a 2-1 win for the Swiss side on home turf during their final game of the group, with Marco Streller and Alexander Frei – two of the club’s most iconic forwards of the past decade or so - netting before Phil Jones pulled one back late on. Man United had entered the tie leading their pool of four teams, but ended up in third as Benfica beat Otelul Galati.
Chelsea 1-2 Basel – 2013/14 UCL Group Stage
A more recent one here in the shape of Basel getting a rare result away from home against Premier League opponents – their only ever competitive victory on English soil – with a 2-1 win at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.
The Blues had led until the last 20 minutes courtesy of an Oscar effort, but a late storm from the Swiss giants resulted in goals from Mohamed Salah and Streller, which swung the tie. Late on in the same group, Basel made it two from two against Chelsea with a home win, but failure to defeat either Steaua Bucharest or Schalke saw them eliminated.
Basel 2-2 Spurs – 2012/13 UEL Quarter-Finals
It’s not just the Champions League that’s proved a happy hunting ground for Basel, with the Europa League also having been a notable tournament for them in recent years – as Spurs found out in 2012/13.
A 2-2 first leg draw at White Hart Lane was mirrored in Switzerland and a goalless extra time period led to penalty kicks.
Basel netted all four of their efforts – Marcelo Diaz scored the vital fourth – while Spurs’ Tom Huddlestone and Emmanuel Adebayor were unsuccessful from the spot. Basel were beaten heavily on aggregate by eventual champions Chelsea in the semi-final.
Basel 1-0 Liverpool – 2014/15 UCL Group Stage
The most recent victory for Basel over an English side came during Liverpool’s foray into the tournament in 2014/15. The Reds were eliminated before the knockouts, with their loss in Switzerland – a performance captain Steven Gerrard described as “soft” – proving to be decisive as Streller’s goal secured a 1-0 victory for his side.