Ramzi Rambles: A Ramble in Basel

A Ramble in Basel

This is a great opportunity for us, Barcelona fans, to know more about FC Basel, at least so we don’t approach the game blind and confused. I try my best not to bluff trying to show that I know when I don't really know, so instead of trying to make up a poor theoretical case I decided to contact some of my friends - new friends actually :) They are as loyal supporting and following Fc Basel as we are for Barcelona, so you know what kind of fans I am talking about!

And here I pass you the valuable info we discussed about the game, hoping that you will find it as useful as I believe it is.


Ramzi: “How do you introduce yourself as a Basel Fc fan?”

Dominik: “I’m an FC Basel fan ever since. My first game I've attended live was in 1986. From then on I was caught by the fever of "red and blue".

Rene': “I am a loyal supporter of FC Basel since the early seventies and I love to travel with FCB around Europe."

Ramzi: “Can you please tell us more about FC Basel?"

Dominik: "FC Basel was founded in 1893. It is one of the most successful clubs in Switzerland. During its more than 100 years of history, the FC Basel has two eras which stand for its success. From 1965 to 1982 Helmut Benthaus was the coach which brought success to Basel. In his time we won the championship seven times and the national cup six times. In the late eighties the club was relegated to the second league and came back in the first league (called Super League) in 1993. In 2001 the new stadium opened and the second big area started. Since 1999 Christian Gross is the coach and with him Basel won four championships and four national cup titles and reached the second stage of the group phase in the Champions league season 2002."

Rene': “FC Basel is also more than a club. In the City and Region of Basel, the club became part of culture in the late sixties-early seventies, because the club started to be very successful. After many up's and down's in the eighties and nineties, the club has become the most successful Swiss football team in the years since 2001. Together with the new stadium opened in 2001, the club started to dominate Swiss League. In 2002 we won the Championship first time since 22 years. After that we were very successful in the Champions League, by kicking out Celtic Glasgow and FC Liverpool. Since 2002 we have been waiting anxiously to be back in the Champions League, so here we are again. Basel is one of these rare "football cities".

Ramzi: "How is it going so far in the league?"

Dominik: "The start was not optimal so far as we had some main players dealing with injuries as striker Marco Streller and midfielder Ivan Ergic. Also the new players still have to be integrated in the time. Actually we are sharing first place with the FC Zurich."

Rene': "We have had a good start in the league as far as results are concerned, but recent matches were not as good as they should have been. We lost at home against Young Boys Bern and had a draw at Grasshoppers away. Due to that we are only second. Team performance has been moderate at the beginning, then I felt they are getting together by beating Zürich 1-4 away, but since then the performances have been below par."

Ramzi:" And in the Champions League?"

Dominik: "Our results in the Champions league are not what we expected so far. The start with the game against Shaktar Donetsk was bad luck. We lost 1-2 but had a lot of good opportunities. Then came the game against Sporting where we stopped playing football after 60 minutes and then got two goals losing 0-2. The team still needs time to find itself."

Rene': “Well, we were not ready against Donetsk. The team did not perform well, although one has to say that Donetsk are really a good team. In Lissabon we beat ourselves by an own goal, but there the performance was good. I felt they are very cautious, but they played much better than against Donetsk. Then came this unlucky goal and that was it. A draw would have been possible.”

Ramzi: "How can you describe the emotions of FC Basel fans before the big game against Barcelona?"

Dominik: "The game against Barcelona surely is a big thing. But the Champions League as such already brought big emotions and the fans are enthusiastic to see their team playing in the Champions league, regardless of the opponent. Because Barcelona and Basel share the club colors, this game is probably a little more special than others."

Rene': “Huge emotions, that is just great. We know about FC Barcelona and we deeply respect this club, some say it's our "little" brother, you know this rumors about Joan Gamper. But really, it is just wonderful to play in Champions League against such a club like yours, we really appreciate that.”

Ramzi: "What are the expectations for the game? You think a draw will be the ultimate target? Or Basel will be more risky/ambitious? How do you describe Basel's coach philosophy? "

Dominik: "The coach's philosophy is safety first. So far we had one game in the national cup (last Friday), where we played with two strikers. The game is completely different from 2002 when Basel played the Champions League and was known for it's tremendous speed in the first half, striking almost in every game in the first 15 minutes. The coach and the players want to win the game, that's for sure. They know that Barcelona at a normal day is better, but they would never go out on the pitch and think to play a draw. That would be against the coach's philosophy at all."

Rene': “Like for every game, we need three points. We'll see what will be after, but football is also about winning and we don't need to go on the pitch and being happy with a draw right from the beginning. Of course we know very well who you are and what we are, but it's a game 11 against 11 and in football everything is possible. Sometimes the big risk is to be too inpatient in the game, we shall have very few chance and we have to be very effective in using them. But most important is a rock solid defensive performance, we know your guys......

The coach Christian Gross? I very much respect him. Without means, he is the most successful Swiss coach and simply the best. He is a extremely focused guy, living only for football. He is very much result oriented, working very hard on the details. His biggest plus is his personality and character: he is good guy who improved a lot. He is working very hard. Some people say he is sometimes too narrow in his mind, I call it focused on our success.”

Ramzi: “What about the starting line up? And tactics expected?"

Dominik: "Some positions will be decided at Wednesday only, as some player still have some injury problems. But it's almost 100% sure, that the coach will start with a 4-5-1, anything else than one striker would have been a surprise, but I just knew that the coach, Christian Gross, will play two strikers for this game Eren Derdiyok and Marco Streller, both play in the Swiss national team. "

Rene': “Tactics will be 4-5-1 and line up could be: GK: Costanzo, RB: Zanni, LB: Safari, CB: Marque and Abraham, RW: Carlitos or Rubio, Midfielders: Ergic and Huggel and Gelabert , LW: is hard to say, either Stocker or Perovic, forward will be Streller.

There are some questions for me in the line up. Defense is clear, but Carlitos and Chipperfield are not fully fit and we don’t know yet. If Chipperfield is ready he might play in midfield or as left winger, rather in the centre for Gelabert. It also could be that we start with Derdiyok as RW and Rubio on the left. The left-wingers Stocker and Perovic haven't had very solid performances in the last games. So there is some options, all of them are good enough to get a result, it depends a bit on Carlitos & Chipperfield's health and the coach's ideas.”

Ramzi: "Who are the most Dangerous players that may cause threat on Barcelona defense and how? Skilled? Tall and have good headings in the box? Strong shots? And don't worry, it will be our little secret and we will not tell Guardiola about it :)”

Dominik: "The tall striker Marco Streller, Scott Chipperfield with his rushes on a good day and Ivan Ergic and Benjamin Huggel with their sharp shots. Also Marco Perovic is a fantastic player and a free-kick specialist. But coach Christian Gross has let him sit on the bench recently and nobody knows why."

Rene': “On a good day we have many dangerous players. Our goals are made mostly by midfielders. It will not be a single player that will cause threat like Messi, Henry or Eto’o, it can only be the team. We are often successful in free kicks and corners, we've got a bunch of tall guys. Also direct free kicks are potential weapons, on a good day. But for this, we have to come near to your box, which might not be too easy, right?”

Ramzi: “What about the weakness?”

Dominik: "The defense as such is very inexperienced and only plays together since this season. If you have fast players they will get in real trouble..."

Rene': “Speed is a threat; we've seen that against Donetsk. Individual speed of players, but also passing, one touch football.”

Ramzi: "Based on what you mentioned, how do you think Barcelona will cause most of the damage?"

Dominik: "If Barcelona plays fast and over the side, they will cause the most damage."

Rene': “You love speed ball don't you? It's our big problem that the pace in Swiss league is too low and in the Champions league it's a much faster game. Our success depends on how we can adopt to this.”

Ramzi: "Give us your predictions for the result"

Dominik: "If Barcelona will not underestimate Basel, they will win the game, but not with more than two goals differences."

Rene': “I give you two predictions one by my heart and a realistic one: heart says we will win 2-1, realistically we loose both games.”

Ramzi: "A message to Barcelona fans?"

Dominik: "If you have the chance to come to the St. Jakbo Park Stadium, do so. We only have a capacity of 34'000 but our fans are singing and cheering the whole game long. You will be surprised about the enthusiasm Swiss football fans can have."

Rene': “Welcome to all fans in Basel, please visit the "Münster" and enjoy our small but nice city. Looking forward to the re-match in November, it's just a great event for us.”


Ramzi: "Thank you Guys and you are welcomed to share us the moments of the game on the Barcelona Transfer Zone blog"


Now I will not add much, but will only shed a light on the fact that in Pep Guardiola mind, four players are on the top of his rotation list for being so active recently with Barcelona and on international level: Abidal, Alves, Pique and Iniesta. Of course he will not bench them all against Basel FC, but I feel it will be Iniesta and Pique turn this time.

The other remark is that I hope Henry play this game, and I hope pep catches “the moment”, this guy is on the way up, and it's crucial that he get the boost because its exactly the right time to win him back, I say that and I am neither carried away by the assist he made against Athletic Bilbao – where Henry fans made it the game of Henry - neither I turn my back – as some intend to do – for the fact that lately he is doing a great job with Barcelona and for France. But as I always say, I want him to play a striker role, not a winger, so either beside Eto’o while a midfielder open to the left doing the winger role, or by giving Eto’o some rest and using Henry instead, just don’t let him play as a winger because it will be the same old continuous story.

This may turn to be Caceres big opportunity, and Bojan may have a presence but may not start.

Last Remark, it will be FCB against FCB, and the two teams wear same colors – so we will see our men in blue at Basel, all that make the game more interesting.

Unlike my previous Rambles, I will not go too much in analyzing Barcelona starting ups and tactics, I will leave that for you, as I saved my effort to explore the team we will play against, FC Basel (for more statistics about FC Basel click here).

I hope this ramble can act as a warm up so we approach the game with more excitement.

Now pull your socks up, and to the game!