2015–16 FC Basel season

FC Basel

2015–16 season
Chairman	Bernhard Heusler
Manager	Urs Fischer
Ground	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
Super League	Champions
Swiss Cup	Eliminated in Quarterfinal
Champions League	Eliminated in Play-off round
Europa League	Group stage 1st Eliminated in Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Marc Janko (16) All: Marc Janko (21)
Highest home attendance	Swiss League: 33,360 vs. Young Boys (25 October 2015) Champions League: 18,200 vs. Lech Poznań (5 August 2015) Europa League: 22,550 vs. Fiorentina (26 November 2015)
Lowest home attendance	Swiss League: 24,558 vs. Thun (10 May 2016) Champions League: 15,620 vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015) Europa League: 17,275 vs. Belenenses (22 October 2015)
Home colours Away colours

The 2015–16 FC Basel season was the 123rd season in club history and the club's 21st consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football. Basel were the reigning Swiss Super League champions. They prepared their season with various warm-up matches against teams from Ukraine, Germany and Netherlands. Their 2015–16 Swiss Super League season began on 19 July with a home game against Vaduz. By the winter break, having won fourteen and drawing one of the first 18 games, Basel led the league table by 10 points ahead of the Grasshoppers and 15 ahead of the Young Boys.

Basel were qualified for the 2015–16 Champions League in the Third qualifying round. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015 and they were drawn against Lech Poznań. The first leg was played on 28 July in INEA Stadion, the return leg on 5 August 2015 in St. Jakob-Park. In the Play-off round, their opponents were Maccabi Tel Aviv, but Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League groups stage. Because Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, they dropped into the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage, where were drawn into Group I alongside Fiorentina, Lech Poznań and Belenenses. Basel's first match was played away in Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on 17 September 2015. Because they finished as group winners, Basel continued in the knockout phase (which started in February 2016), playing an away game against Saint-Étienne. In the round of 16, Basel played Sevilla, losing 0–3 on aggregate.

In the first round of the 2015–16 Swiss Cup, which was played on 15 August 2015, Basel were drawn away against Meyrin FC, winning 4–0. In the second round, played on 20 September 2015, Basel were drawn away against YF Juventus, winning 4–1. Then in the third round, played on 28 October, Basel were drawn away against SV Muttenz, winning 5–1. The fourth round was played on 13 December 2015, where Basel lost away at the Stade Tourbillon against Sion after a penalty shootout.

Club

Management

Paulo Sousa quit his Trainer position in Basel at the end of the 2014–15 season. On 18 June 2015, Basel announced that Urs Fischer had signed a three-year contract as first team manager. His assistants are Marco Walker and Markus Hoffmann. Massimo Colomba remained the Goalkeeper coach. Massimo Ceccaroni is head of the FCB Youth System. Coach of the Youth Team (U–21) was Thomas Häberli until October, at which time, due to the bad results, he had to step back and then Ceccaronii coached the team.

Position	Staff
Manager	Urs Fischer (since 18 June 2015)
1 Assistant manager	Marco Walker
2 Assistant manager	Markus Hoffmann
Goalkeeper Coach	Massimo Colomba
Team Administration	Gustav Nussbaumer
Youth Team Coach	Thomas Häberli Massimo Ceccaroni (since October 2015)
Youth Team Co-Coach	Roland Heri

Last updated: 1 July 2015
Source: FCB Official Site

Further information

Chairman	Mr Bernhard Heusler
Vice Chairman	Mr Adrian Knup
Finances	Mr Stephan Werthmüller
Sportdirector	Mr Georg Heitz
Marketing	Mr René Kamm
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	St. Jakob-Park (38,512) (37,500 for international matches) / 120x80 m)

Updated to match played 1 July 2015
Source: FCB Official Site

Overview

Off-season and pre-season

At the end of the 2014–15 FC Basel season four first team players left the club to continue their careers elsewhere. These were Fabian Schär to 1899 Hoffenheim, Fabian Frei to Mainz 05, Giovanni Sio to Rennes and Arlind Ajeti. Also no longer in the team for this season was Marco Streller, who retired from professional football. As mentioned above Urs Fischer was the new first team manager. Basel's biggest signings for the beginning of the new season were Daniel Høegh from Odense, Zdravko Kuzmanović from Internazionale, Michael Lang from Grasshopper and Marc Janko, who came in on a free transfer from Sydney FC. Also new to the team are Manuel Akanji, who transferred in from FC Winterthur, and Mirko Salvi, who returned from his one-year loan to FC Biel-Bienne. Because Streller retired, Matías Delgado was named as captain; Marek Suchý and Kuzmanović were named as his vice-captains.

Mid-season break

During the winter break, there were a number of changes to the Basel squad. Ivan Ivanov, who spent the last two years recovering from an injury, left the club by mutual consent. Also outwards were Zdravko Kuzmanović, on loan to Udinese and Albian Ajeti, who never quite managed to enter into the first team; he transferred to FC Augsburg. Also Yoichiro Kakitani, who only played a minor role in manager Fischer's team, transferred back to Japan to rejoin Cerezo Osaka. However, the one transfer deal that made the most news was midfielder Mohamed Elneny's departure to English Premier League side Arsenal.

There were also a few players on the inwards direction. As early as 8 December 2015, the club announced that Andraž Šporar had signed a four-and-a-half-year contract up until the end of June 2020. Then, on 2 January 2016, the club announced it had signed Alexander Fransson, also on a four-and-a-half-year contract. Again, on 12 January, they announced that Renato Steffen had also joined them on yet another four-and-a-half-year deal.

2016–17 off-season

On 4 May, Basel announced that they had signed 18-year-old Paraguayan defender Blás Riveros on a five-year deal. Due to Riveros' commitments with the Paraguay national team at the upcoming Copa América Centenario, he will not be expected to join the Basel first team until the beginning of July. On 10 May, Basel also announced that they had signed Egyptian defender Omar Gaber from Zamalek on a four-year deal.

The campaign

Super League

Basel's priority aim for the season is to win the league championship for the seventh time in a row. Basel's 2015–16 Swiss Super League season began well with a home victory on 18 July against Vaduz. In fact, they started the season very well, winning each of their first eight games, scoring 22 goals conceding 7. They suffered their first defeat in the Stade de Suisse 3–4 against Young Boys. Four of the next five games were won; the away game against Zürich in Letzigrund ended in a 2–2 draw. Two defeats were followed by two victories. By the winter break, Basel led the league table with 43 points, 10 points ahead of the Grasshoppers and 15 ahead of the Young Boys. They had won 14 and drawing 1 of the first 18 games, scoring 43 goals and conceding just 20. Basel started the second half of the season with three straight wins, a further 2–2 draw against Zürich and another three straight wins. In round 31, on 30 April, the home win against Sion gave Basel a 16-point lead in the league table with just five games left to play and thus the championship title. Basel ended the season with two defeats in the last three games, but won the championship with 83 points and were 14 points ahead of Young Boys and 29 points ahead of Luzern. Basel had won 26 games drawing five and had suffered five defeats; they had scored 88 goals, conceding 38.

Swiss Cup

Basel's clear aim for the 2015–16 Swiss Cup is to regain the title that they last won four seasons ago. In the previous three seasons they had ended the cup competitions as runners-up, in 2013 against Grasshopper Club Zürich, in 2014 against Zürich and the previous season 2015 against Sion. In the first round of this season's competition, which was played on 15 August 2015, Basel are drawn away against Meyrin FC, winning 4–0. In the second round, Basel were drawn away against YF Juventus, which was played on 20 September. Because of safety reasons, however, the game was not played at YF Juventus' home ground, the Utogrund, but instead at St. Jakob-Park. Then in the third round, played on 28 October, Basel were drawn away against SV Muttenz, marking the first time that these two teams played against each other. The game was played at the Sportplatz Margelacker with a stadium record crowd of 5,800. The match was a 5–1 win for Basel. The fourth round was played on 13 December 2015 away in the Stade Tourbillon against Sion, where Basel lost after a penalty shootout.

Champions League

Basel entered into this season's Champions League in the Third qualifying round. Their initial aim was to remain in the competition and reach the group stage. The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015 and they were drawn against Lech Poznań and in the play-off round against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Lech Poznań (29 July 2015)

The first leg was played in INEA Stadion. Basel took the lead as Michael Lang, in the 24th minute, scored after a corner taken by Luca Zuffi. Just two minutes later, however, Lech Poznań equalized through Denis Thomalla. Although Shkëlzen Gashi missed a penalty in the 67th minute, Marc Janko (77th minute) and Davide Callà (92nd minute) completed the 3–1 away win.

Lech Poznań (5 August 2015)

The return leg at St. Jakob-Park ended in a home victory for Basel. Birkir Bjarnason scored his first goal for his new club in injury time to give Basel a 1–0 win.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015)

The first leg was played in Basel. Eran Zahavi put Maccabi in the lead with their first chance, in the 31st minute. Basel were awarded a penalty in the 39th minute which captain Matías Delgado netted to equalize. Breel Embolo scored in the 88th minute to give Basel a 2–1 lead, but Zahavi equalised six minutes into added time for Maccabi as the match ended 2–2.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (19 August 2015)

The return game had a sold out Bloomfield Stadium crowd of 13,350. Luca Zuffi gave the visitors an early lead with a free-kick in the 11th minute. Eran Zahavi's seventh goal of this season's competition levels the score in the 24th minute. Maccabi reached the Champions League group stage for the first time in a decade, progressed on the away goals rule.

Europa League

Because Basel failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage, they dropped into the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage. The draw was held on 28 August 2015, 13:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Basel were drawn into Group I, together with Fiorentina, Lech Poznań and Belenenses.

Fiorentina (17 September 2015)

Basel's first match was played away at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence. Fiorentina's new first team manager was Basel's ex-manager, Paulo Sousa. Nikola Kalinić scored a fourth-minute opener for Fiorentina and they held the lead until well into the second half of the game. Fiorentina captain Gonzalo Rodríguez was sent off after 66 minutes and following his dismissal the Swiss club took charge and managed to draw level. Birkir Bjarnason beat Luigi Sepe with a low drive from the edge of the area on 71 minutes. Eight minutes later, Mohamed Elneny capped the fightback in style. His super-rising drive from outside the box completed the comeback success. With this 2–1 win, Basel extended their unbeaten run to five matches in Europe this term.

Lech Poznań (1 October 2015)

The first home game in the Europa League group stage was against Lech Poznań, who had been opponents in the Champions League qualifying earlier in the season. Lech's Swiss midfielder Darko Jevtić was signed from Basel after a successful loan spell. The 22-year-old was born in Basel and came through the youth ranks at the Swiss club. The first half passed without much action, but the home team dominated. Icelandic midfielder Birkir Bjarnason brought a long ball down with his chest at the edge of the penalty area, kept his balance under pressure, and then turned a finish past Maciej Gostomski to give the hosts the lead after 55 minutes. In the 90th minute, Luca Zuffi made a cross from the right, Marc Janko controlled with his chest and laid off for the waiting Breel Embolo, who finished with a powerful low volley. The final score 2–0 was a deserved result.

Belenenses (22 October 2015)

The third game in the group stage was the home match against Belenenses. Basel took an early lead after 15 minutes, Matías Delgado kicked an inswinging corner to the back post from the left and Michael Lang jumped highest to power his header into the goal from five metres. Belenenses leveled after 27 minutes with their first chance. A long ball forward was headed clear by Marek Suchý, but it dropped to Luís Leal, who was 25 metres from goal. He hammered a low volley into the bottom corner and the ball bounced to evade the dive of Germano Vailati. During the extra time of the first half, Leal ran clear on the right flank, rushed into the area, playing the ball across the face of goal to Kuca Miranda who had easyest of finishes, tapping in from just three metres. During the second half, Basel played forward non-stop but were unable to score the equalizer. Until this 1–2 defeat, Basel had been unbeaten this season, in the domestic league (nine games) and in Europe (six).

Belenenses (5 November 2015)

The return game against Belenenses was played in Estádio do Restelo two weeks after the home game. Basel took early command, a first chance from Breel Embolo hit the post after nine minutes, and Basel continued to dominate their opponents entirely. But it was not until very nearly half time that their efforts were rewarded. In the 44 minute, Embolo was fouled in the penalty area by Filipe Ferreira, and Marc Janko scored from the spot. Embolo himself scored the second goal after being played free by Luca Zuffi's long deep pass into the penalty box which was flicked on by Janko. With this 2–0 victory, Basel avenged their matchday three loss.

Fiorentina (26 November 2015)

Basel's third and last home match in the Europa League group stage was the return game against Fiorentina. Paulo Sousa returned to St. Jakob-Park, but this time to the visitors' bench. Basel's first choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík injured himself shortly before kick-off and was replaced by Germano Vailati. Federico Bernardeschi ended his personal run of 11 games without a goal with a first-half double (23 and 36 minutes) to give Fiorentina a two-goal lead. After 26 minutes, Facundo Roncaglia was punished with a red card after elbowing Breel Embolo in the face. Basel fought back into the game, with Marek Suchý cutting the gap before half-time (40th minute) and Mohamed Elneny equalizing on 74 minutes. The game ended in a 2–2 and Basel advance as Group I winners after recovering from being two down.

Lech Poznań (10 December 2015)

As written above, Basel were certain to finish top of the section before matchday six. For the last match in the group stage Basel had to travel to the INEA Stadion in Poznań. Lech Poznań had already lost to Basel three times this season and only a win would have given them any chance of making it through Group I. Unable to play were defenders Manuel Akanji, Philipp Degen and Daniel Høegh (all due to injury), as well as Marek Suchý, who was out suspended. Walter Samuel made his 100th UEFA club competition appearance playing this match. Reserve goalkeeper Germano Vailati was again Basel's starter because of first choice goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík's injury. In the 44th minute, Vailati himself also suffered an injury as he played a long pass forward. Just before half-time, third-choice goalkeeper Mirko Salvi was introduced and made his professional debut for the club. Adonis Ajeti also made his debut for the club after coming on as a substitute at half-time in place of Michael Lang. Jean-Paul Boëtius scored the only goal five minutes after half-time, it was his first goal for the Swiss champions.

Because Basel ended this stage as group winners, they continued (seeded in the draw) in the knockout phase, which started in February 2016. The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015, where Basel were drawn against French side Saint-Étienne. The first leg was played on 18 February at 19:00 and the return leg in the St. Jakob-Park played on 25 February 2016 at 21:05.

Saint-Étienne (18 February 2016)

The first leg of the round of 32 was played in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, but without Basel supporters due to the high security alert following the terror attacks in Paris two months earlier. Basel came back from 2–0 down but ended up losing. Moustapha Sall in the fifth minute and Kévin Monnet-Paquet in the 39th minute put the hosts 2–0 in the lead. Then Walter Samuel started Basel's fight-back just before half-time in the 44th minute, becoming the second-oldest scorer in the UEFA Europa League at age 37 years and 332 days; he is surpassed only by Molde FK's Daniel Hestad, who scored at age 40 years and 98 days in this season's group stage. Marc Janko, via a penalty in the 56th minute, put Basel level and the guests pressed for their third goal. After a long clearance, however, defender Jean-Christophe Bahebeck scored for the hosts in the 79th against the run of play, and the final score ended 3–2 in favour of Saint-Étienne.

Saint-Étienne (25 February 2016)

The return game against was played a week later and Basel had to win to qualify for the next round. This was very apparent as Basel played forwards immediately and levelled the aggregate as midfielder Luca Zuffi curled in a 25-yard free-kick on 15 minutes. Saint-Étienne went close, but goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík saved the shot from substitute Romain Hamouma. Both teams were later reduced to ten men: In the 82nd minute, Saint-Étienne midfielder Valentin Eysseric collected two quick yellow cards for a foul and then a clash with Renato Steffen, while Basel's 19-year-old attacker Breel Embolo followed him off the pitch for a second caution. Saint-Étienne thought they had won it when captain Moustapha Sall netted from close range with just one minute of regular time left, only for Zuffi to crash the ball home in added time to level the tie at 4–4 and send Basel through on away goals.

Sevilla (10 March 2016)

The first leg of the round of 16 was played in the Basel and Sevilla had not won a European away game all season, so the goalless draw in Switzerland represented an improvement. Three second-half saves from Basel goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík kept the home team in contention, but reigning Europa League title holders Sevilla cannot be unhappy with a goalless draw in this first leg. Marc Janko jumped high to head Basel's first chance just a little bit wide as early as the seventh minute – easily Basel's best chance of the first half – with Sevilla dominating possession thereafter. Steven Nzonzi went quite close with headers at either end of the period, while Éver Banega twice found Coke with free-kicks but the Sevilla captain was unable to find the target from either position. Basel's resolve returned after the half time break, if not their composure, Birkir Bjarnason blazing off target from a loose ball after a Renato Steffen shot was blocked. The Icelandic midfielder then pulled a decent ball across from the right, only for substitute Adama Traoré to scuff his attempted conversion. However, it could have been worse for the Swiss team but for Vaclík, who was very awake and saved with his feet after Nzonzi was played in and then kept out Kevin Gameiro's low drive, going to ground once more to repel Yevhen Konoplyanka as time ticked down. Midfielder Nzonzi's dismissal near the end of the game offered Basel hope, but Sevilla held firm.

Sevilla (17 March 2016)

The return game against was played a week later on 17 March 2016 at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. Defender Adil Rami opened the scoring as he stooped to head a José Antonio Reyes corner in off the post. The match then slipped out of Basel's reach inside two minutes at the end of the first half. Reyes danced through the Basel defence and his low cross gave Kevin Gameiro an easy finish from close range. A minute later, Michael Krohn-Dehli advanced with a quick run and was the provider of the cross that found Gameiro. The striker's header came back off the underside of the crossbar and bounced in off his leg to make it 3–0 at half-time. Basel showed only small signs of a fightback. Luca Zuffi's effort from 25 yards out was still rising as it flew over the crossbar. Breel Embolo missed two chances late in the game as the Swiss side were dumped out of the competition. The result extended Sevilla's run of Europa League home wins to 11 – the longest in the competition's history and put a dent in Basel's impressive away record in Europe this season.

Players

First team squad

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 18 July but subsequently left the club after that date.

As of 27 August 2015

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	CZE	Tomáš Vaclík
3	DF	CIV	Adama Traoré
4	DF	SUI	Philipp Degen
5	DF	SUI	Michael Lang
6	DF	ARG	Walter Samuel
7	MF	SUI	Luca Zuffi
8	MF	ISL	Birkir Bjarnason
9	FW	SVN	Andraž Šporar
10	MF	ARG	Matías Delgado (Captain)
11	MF	ALB	Shkëlzen Gashi
14	FW	JPN	Yoichiro Kakitani
15	MF	SWE	Alexander Fransson
16	DF	SUI	Manuel Akanji
17	DF	CZE	Marek Suchý (vice-captain)
18	GK	SUI	Germano Vailati
19	DF	SWE	Behrang Safari

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
21	FW	AUT	Marc Janko
22	MF	SRB	Zdravko Kuzmanović
23	GK	SUI	Mirko Salvi
24	MF	SUI	Renato Steffen
26	DF	DEN	Daniel Høegh
27	DF	ALB	Naser Aliji
28	MF	SUI	Robin Huser
30	MF	SUI	Cedric Itten
33	MF	EGY	Mohamed Elneny
34	MF	ALB	Taulant Xhaka
36	FW	SUI	Breel Embolo
38	FW	SUI	Albian Ajeti
39	MF	SUI	Davide Callà
40	GK	SUI	Dario Thürkauf
41	DF	SUI	Eray Cümart
42	DF	SUI	Charles Pickel
77	FW	NED	Jean-Paul Boëtius

Out on loan

19	MF	SUI	Musa Araz (on loan at Winterthur until 30 June 2016)
20	MF	SRB	Veljko Simić (on loan at Schaffhausen from 30 December 2015 until 30 June 2016)
22	MF	SRB	Zdravko Kuzmanović (on loan at Udinese until 30 June 2016)
23	GK	SUI	Mirko Salvi (on loan at Lugano from 7 January until 30 June 2016)
24	FW	EGY	Ahmed Hamoudi (on loan at Zamalek until 30 June 2016)
27	DF	ALB	Naser Aliji (on loan at Vaduz from 1 July until 10 September 2015)
35	FW	PRK	Pak Kwang-ryong (on loan at Biel-Bienne until 30 June 2016)

2015 summer transfers

In

5	DF	SUI	Michael Lang (from Grasshopper Club Zürich Free Transfer)
8	MF	ISL	Birkir Bjarnason (from Pescara)
21	FW	AUT	Marc Janko (from Sydney FC Free Transfer)
22	MF	SRB	Zdravko Kuzmanović (from Internazionale)
26	DF	DEN	Daniel Høegh (from Odense BK)
77	FW	NED	Jean-Paul Boëtius (from Feyenoord)

Out

—	FW	PAR	Derlis González (to Dynamo Kyiv)
—	DF	SUI	Fabian Schär (to 1899 Hoffenheim)
—	MF	SUI	Fabian Frei (to Mainz 05)
—	GK	SUI	Pascal Albrecht (to St. Gallen II Free Transfer)
—	DF	ALB	Arlind Ajeti (to Unattached)
—	DF	ARG	Gastón Sauro (to Columbus Crew)
—	FW	IRL	Giovanni Sio (to Rennes)
—	FW	SUI	Marco Streller (end of career)

2015–16 winter transfers

In

9	FW	SVN	Andraž Šporar (from Olimpija Ljubljana)
15	MF	SWE	Alexander Fransson (from IFK Norrköping)
24	MF	SUI	Renato Steffen (from Young Boys)

Out

11	FW	ALB	Shkelzen Gashi (to Colorado Rapids)
15	DF	BUL	Ivan Ivanov (contract beended mutual agreement)
38	FW	SUI	Albian Ajeti (to FC Augsburg)
14	FW	JPN	Yoichiro Kakitani (to Cerezo Osaka)
33	MF	EGY	Mohamed Elneny (to Arsenal)

Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET

Legend

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches

Preseason

FC Basel v 1860 München

3 July 2015 (2015-07-03) Pre-season	FC Basel	1 – 2	1860 München	Isarau Stadium Geretsried (Germany)
20:00	Kakitani 5'	FCB Report	31' (o.g.) Vaclík 34' Hain	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Florian Kornblum (TSV Chieming)

FC Basel v Shakhtar Donetsk

9 July 2015 (2015-07-09) Pre-season	FC Basel	1 – 3	Shakhtar Donetsk	Stade du Christ-Roi, Lens (Switzerland)
19:00	Janko 5'	FCB Report	33', 70' Hladkyy 85' Marlos	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Stephan Klossner

PSV v Basel

11 July 2015 (2015-07-11) Pre-season	PSV	2 – 3	Basel	Stadion FC Solothurn, Solothurn (Switzerland)
17:00	Bergwijn 37' Narsingh 81'	FCB Report	23' (pen.) Gashi 45+2' Embolo 90+3' Callà	Attendance: 1,950 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v Bayer Leverkusen

15 July 2015 (2015-07-15) Pre-season	Basel	2 – 1	Bayer Leverkusen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Embolo 23' Al. Ajeti  84', 52' Kuzmanović  69'	FCB Report	15' Bender 21' Bellarabi  69' Stafylidis	Attendance: 13,224 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Winter break

Basel v FC Biel

9 January 2016 Friendly	Basel	3 – 2	FC Biel	FC Basel Campus, Basel (?)
14:30	Delgado 33' Itten 50', 64'	(FCB Report) Template:De icon	52' Kololli 55' Kilezi	Attendance: 500 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Basel v FC Augsburg

16 January 2016 Friendly	Basel	0 – 2	FC Augsburg	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:00		(FCB Report) Template:De icon	6' Hong 78' Morávek	Attendance: 150

Basel v SC Freiburg

21 January 2016 Friendly	Basel	1 – 1	SC Freiburg	Marbella Football Center, San Pedro de Alcántara
16:00	Höhn 44' (o.g.)	(FCB Report) Template:De icon	57' Grifo	Attendance: 75 Referee: Juan Pedro Guarnido Peters

Austria Wien v Basel

29 January 2016 Friendly	Austria Wien	3 – 1	Basel	Generali Arena, Vienna
18:00	Kayode 5' Grünwald 45' Gorgon 61'	(FCB Report) Template:De icon	36' Janko  66' Xhaka	Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Vladimir Lukenic

Basel v Xamax

2 February 2016 Friendly	Basel	4 – 2	Xamax	FC Basel Campus, Basel (?)
16:00	Steffen 4' Delgado 32' (pen.), 54', 61'	(FCB Report) Template:De icon	1', 34' (pen.) Doudin	Attendance: 500 Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Basel)

Swiss Super League

Main article: 2015–16 Swiss Super League

First half of season

Basel v Vaduz

19 July 2015 Round 1	Basel	2 – 0	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Delgado 10' (pen.) Elneny  74' Kakitani 80' Traoré  85'	FCB Report		Attendance: 27,066 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Grasshopper Club v Basel

25 July 2015 Round 2	Grasshopper Club	2 – 3	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Dabour 30' Caio 32',  90+1'	FCB Report	17' Kuzmanović 21' Gashi 38',  80' Janko 68' Lang  84' Xhaka  88' Elneny	Attendance: 9.600 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Sion

1 August 2015 Round 3	Basel	3 – 0	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
15:00	Delgado 27' Xhaka  45+1' Traoré 69' Lacroix 89' (o.g.)	Summary FCB Report	25' Follonier  34' Salatić  45+1' Jagne  67' Zverotić  90+3' Lacroix	Attendance: 27,792 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Luzern v Basel

8 August 2015 Round 4	Luzern	1 – 3	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
20:00	Lezcano 3' Sarr  50' Jantscher  78'	[1]	27', 33'  78' Embolo  29' Bjarnason  43' Safari  53' Degen  76' Callà 90' Delgado	Attendance: 14,748 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Thun

12 August 2015 Round 5	Basel	3 – 1	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Janko  55', 4', 49' Lang  29' Bjarnason  37' Gashi 78' (pen.) Traoré  90'	[2]	29' (pen.) Frontino  52' Reinmann  78' Schindelholz  84' Bürki	Attendance: 27,034 Referee: Alain Bieri

Lugano v Basel

22 August 2015 Round 6	Lugano	1 – 3	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
17:45	Piccinocchi 9' Urbano  35' Sabbatini  49'	FCB Report	11' (pen.), 48' Callà 42' Elneny  62' Boëtius  75' P. Degen	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Zürich

30 August 2015 Round 7	Basel	3 – 1	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Lang 5' Gashi 71' Janko 85' (pen.)	FCB Report	38' Kecojević  41' Cabral  53' Schneuwly  84' Nef	Attendance: 30,579 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Basel v St. Gallen

12 September 2015 Round 8	Basel	2 – 1	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Delgado 2' (pen.) Suchý  42' Janko 82' Xhaka  90+3'	FCB Report	18' Mutch  40' Gelmi 88' Aratore	Attendance: 27,736 Referee: Sascha Amhof

Young Boys v Basel

22 September 2015 Round 9	Young Boys	4 – 3	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
20:30	Sulejmani 5', 45' Lecjaks  15'  89' Gerndt 65', 81' Mvogo  86' Steffen  90' Vilotić  90+1'	FCB Report	17' Aliji 23' Embolo  54' Kuzmanović 74' Suchý  76',  finished' Xhaka 90+1' Janko	Attendance: 19,409 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Lugano

26 September 2015 Round 10	Basel	3 – 1	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Zuffi 39', 57' Kuzmanović  81' Bjarnason 84'	FCB Report	90+4' Čulina	Attendance: 26,083 Referee: Sébastien Pache

Zürich v Basel

3 October 2015 Round 11	Zürich	2 – 2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Gavranović 35' Sadiku 90+3'	(Report)	49' Lang 52' Janko  81' Kuzmanović 84' Al. Ajeti  90+4' Samuel	Attendance: 10,467 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Sion v Basel

18 October 2015 Round 12	Sion	0 – 2	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
13:45	Kouassi  28' Assifuah  90+1'	Summary	Janko 5', 89' Manuel Akanji  56' Elneny  67' Gashi  79' Vaclík  90+1'	Attendance: 10,700 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Basel v Young Boys

25 October 2015 Round 13	Basel	1 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Embolo  17', 31' Safari  59' Janko  85'	Summary	Wüthrich  26'  67' Zakaria  30' Vilotić  53' Bertone  75'	Attendance: 33,360 Referee: Alain Bieri

Vaduz v Basel

31 October 2015 Round 14	Vaduz	1 – 2	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
20:00	Avdijaj 2' Caballero  61'	Summary	Bjarnason 6' Suchý  20' Aliji  67' Janko 80',  84'	Attendance: 4,897 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Basel v Grasshopper

8 November 2015 Round 15	Basel	2 – 3	Grasshopper	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Boëtius  27' Callà 62' Embolo 74'	(Report)	15' Bauer 19',  8' Källström 25' (o.g.) Suchý  52' Pnishi  65' Barthe 80',  90' Dabour	Attendance: 31,669 Referee: Sascha Amhof

St. Gallen v Basel

22 November 2015 Round 16	St. Gallen	2 – 1	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
13:45	Tafer 38', 68' Tréand  79' Everton  88'	(Report)	5' Janko	Attendance: 15,740 Referee: Harald Lechner

Basel v Luzern

29 November 2015 Round 17	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Bjarnason  25', 7' Callà 26' Elneny 32',  84' Zuffi  90+2'	(Report)	1' Lezcano  30' Affolter  58' Basha  84' Lustenberger  90' Freuler	Attendance: 29,691 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Thun v Basel

6 December 2015 Round 18	Thun	0 – 2	Basel	Stockhorn Arena, Thun
16:00		(Report)	5' Samuel  55' Xhaka 67', 70' Janko	Attendance: 7,156 Referee: Fedayi San

Second half of season

Basel v Luzern

7 February 2016 Round 19	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Safari  43' Bjarnason 50' Delgado 72' Steffen 85',  90+1'	(Report)	67' Jantscher  82' Lustenberger  90+2' Rogulj	Attendance: 25,821 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Grasshopper Club v Basel

14 February 2016 Round 20	Grasshopper Club	0 – 4	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
16:00	Bašić  25' Lüthi  34'	(Report)	12', 54' Lang 20' Suchý  31' Janko  70' Delgado 90+3' Zuffi	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Basel v Vaduz

21 February 2016 Round 21	Basel	5 – 1	Vaduz	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Embolo  42' Lang 51' Fransson 57' Zuffi 66' Bjarnason 73', 87'	(Report)	8' Bühler  36' Muntwiler  65' Untersee	Attendance: 25,195 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Thun v Basel

28 February 2016 Round 22	Thun	1 – 1	Basel	Stockhorn Arena, Thun
13:45	Munsy 5'	(Report)	21' Akanji 44' Steffen	Attendance: 6,807 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Lugano v Basel

6 March 2016 Round 23	Lugano	PP	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
13:45		(Postponed)

Basel v St. Gallen

13 March 2016 Round 24	Basel	4 – 2	St. Gallen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Janko 5', 49', 54' Suchý  50' Steffen 90+2'	(Report)	12' Salli 22' Angha  33' Aratore	Attendance: 27,305 Referee: Fedayi San

Sion v Basel

20 March 2016 Round 25	Sion	0 – 1	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
16:00	Zverotić  20' Rüfli  83'	(Report)	35' Janko 67' (pen.) Delgado	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni

Basel v Young Boys

3 April 2016 Round 26	Basel	2 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
16:00	Embolo 46' Janko  71' Steffen 90+4'	(Report)	87' Florent Hadergjonaj	Attendance: 31,642 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Zürich

10 April 2016 Round 27	Basel	2 – 2	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
13:45	Suchý  14' Embolo  65' Safari  76' Delgado 83' (pen.) Bjarnason 85'	[ (Report)]	60' Buff 61' Kerzhakov 70' Bua  73' Brunner  82' Nef  90+3' Koch	Attendance: 31,257 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Lugano v Basel

13 April 2016 Round 23	Lugano	1 – 4	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
18:30	Veseli  22' Rey  40' Čulina 47' Urbano  54'	[ (Report)]	10' Bjarnason 13' Samuel 22' (pen.) Delgado 44' Itten	Attendance: 3,085 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

St. Gallen v Basel

17 April 2016 Round 28	St. Gallen	0 – 7	Basel	AFG Arena, St. Gallen
16:00	Gaudino  49'	(Report)	29', 67', 78',  56' Steffen 47' (o.g.) Angha 62' (o.g.) Gaudino 64' Callà 72' Embolo  76'Itten	Attendance: 14,876 Referee: Pascal Erlachner

Basel v Lugano

20 April 2016 Round 29	Basel	3 – 0	Lugano	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Suchý  38' Embolo 44', 56' Boëtius 90+1'	(Report)	52' Datković  73' Veseli	Attendance: 24,938 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Vaduz v Basel

24 April 2016 Round 30	Vaduz	0 – 0	Basel	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz
16:00		(Report)	22' Itten  62' Suchý	Attendance: 5,543 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Basel v Sion

30 April 2016 Round 31	Basel	2 – 1	Sion	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Delgado 24' (pen.) Steffen  30' Bjarnason 67' Embolo  85'	(Report)	87' Carlitos  11', 90+2' Salatić	Attendance: 32,244 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

Zürich v Basel

7 May 2016 Round 32	Zürich	2 – 3	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Koch 16' Buff 60' Vinícius  69' Nef  76'	(Report)	10' Delgado 55' Callà  58' Aliji 88' (pen.) Embolo	Attendance: 9.636 Referee: Nikolaj Hänni (Gams SG)

Basel v Thun

10 May 2016 Round 33	Basel	1 – 1	Thun	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:45	Bjarnason 81' Suchý  84'	(Report)	43' Schirinzi  46' Wieser  86' Joss	Attendance: 24,558 Referee: Sébastien Pache

Luzern v Basel

16 May 2016 Round 34	Luzern	4 – 0	Basel	Swissporarena, Luzern
16:00	Schneuwly 7' Jantscher 10' Hyka 48' Affolter  56' Haas 60'	(Report)	79' Steffen  85' Aliji	Attendance: 16,500 Referee: Sandro Schärer

Young Boys v Basel

21 May 2016 Round 35	Young Boys	2 – 3	Basel	Stade de Suisse, Bern
16:00	Lecjaks  25' Von Bergen  58' Nuzzolo 80' Hadergjonaj  86' Hoarau 90+1'	(Report)	10',  16' Delgado 31', 44' Boëtius  45' Callà	Attendance: 21,721 Referee: Fedayi San (Gebenstorf)

Basel v Grasshopper

25 May 2016 Round 36	Basel	0 – 1	Grasshopper	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:30	Boëtius  77'	(FCB report) (Summary)	41' (o.g.) Traoré  51' Bašić  52' Dabour  52' Källström  80' Kamberi	Attendance: 30,682 Referee: Stephan Klossner

Swiss Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Swiss Cup

Meyrin FC (GE) v Basel

15 August 2015 Round 1	Meyrin FC (GE)	0 - 4	Basel	Stade des Arberes, Meyrin
18:00 CET	Matteo Rezzonico  56' Fitim Rugovaj  75'	Summary (Report) Template:De icon	34', 59' Al. Ajeti 58' Elneny 60' Delgado	Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

YF Juventus v Basel

20 September 2015 Round 2	YF Juventus	1 - 4	Basel	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
14:00	Mychell Da Silva  45' 85' (pen.) Nicolas Huber  52'	(Report)	15', 80' Callà 30', 50' Delgado  85' Samuel	Attendance: 4,606 Referee: Alain Bieri (Solothurn)

SV Muttenz v Basel

28 October 2015 Round 3	SV Muttenz	1 - 5	Basel	Sportplatz Margelacker, Muttenz
19:30	Manuel Jenny  64', 48' (pen.)	(Report)	25',  46' Høegh 35', 62', 72',  64' Gashi 75' (pen.) Al. Ajeti	Attendance: 5,800 (stadium record) Referee: Sascha Amhof

Sion v FC Basel

13 December 2015 Quarterfinal	Sion	2 - 2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	FC Basel	Stade de Tourbillon, Sion
15:30	Pa Modou 37' Salatić  55' Assifuah 66' Kouassi  69' Adão  84' Lacroix  113' Fernandes  116'	(Report)	32' Delgado  50' Lang  54' Samuel  78' Bjarnason 79',  90+1' Elneny 89' (pen.),  120'Janko  96' Safari	Attendance: 9,200 Referee: Stephan Klossner
	Penalties
	Bia Ziegler Salatić Carlitos Pa Modou		Elneny Janko Bjarnason Samuel Callà

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League

Third qualifying round

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 17 July 2015. The first leg is to be played on 29 July, and the second leg will be played on 5 August 2015.

Lech Poznań v Basel

29 July 2015 First leg	Lech Poznań	1 – 3	Basel	INEA Stadion, Poznań
20:45	Thomalla 36'	Report	Lang 34' Janko 77' Callà 90+2'	Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Basel v Lech Poznań

5 August 2015 Second leg	Basel	1 – 0 (4 – 1 agg.)	Lech Poznań	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:15	Suchý  44' Lang  55' Callà  80' Bjarnason 90+1'	Report	Linetty  44' Kamiński  56' Douglas  86'	Referee: Ruddy Buquet

Basel won 4–1 on aggregate.

Play-off round

The draw was held on 7 August 2015.

Basel v Maccabi Tel Aviv

19 August 2015 First leg	Basel	2 – 2	Maccabi Tel Aviv	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:45 CET	Delgado 39' (pen.) Embolo 88'	Report	Zahavi 31', 90+6'	Attendance: 15,620 Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Basel

25 August 2015 Second leg	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1 – 1 ((a) 3 – 3 agg.)	Basel	Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv
20:45 CET	Zahavi 24'	Report	Zuffi 11'	Attendance: 13,350 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

Maccabi Tel Aviv won on away goals rule.

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League

Group stage

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage

The draw was held on 28 August 2015, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and Basel were drawn into Group I. Template:2015–16 UEFA Europa League Group I table

Fiorentina v Basel

17 September 2015 Round 1	Fiorentina	1 – 2	Basel	Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
21:05	Kalinić 4' Roncaglia  35' Rodríguez  65'	Report	34' Xhaka  56' Suchý 71' Bjarnason 79' Elneny  83' Janko	Attendance: 15,212 Referee: Michael Oliver

Basel v Lech Poznań

1 October 2015 Round 2	Basel	2 – 0	Lech Poznań	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Samuel  41' Bjarnason 55' Embolo 90'	Report	42'  59' Linetty	Attendance: 17,567 Referee: Ognjen Valjić

Basel v Belenenses

22 October 2015 Round 3	Basel	1 – 2	Belenenses	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Lang 15' Suchý  73'	Report	27',  87' Leal  34' Ferreira 45+1' Kuca	Attendance: 17,275 Referee: Simon Lee Evans (Wales)

Belenenses v Basel

5 November 2015 Round 4	Belenenses	0 – 2	Basel	Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon
21:05	Silva  65' Pinto  66' Caeiro  70'	Report	45+1' (pen.) Janko  60' Elneny 64' Embolo  66' Janko  89' Lang	Attendance: 4,802 Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)

Basel v Fiorentina

26 November 2015 Round 5	Basel	2 – 2	Fiorentina	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Safari  26' Bjarnason  29' Suchý  65' 40' Janko  45+1' Elneny 74' Zuffi  78'	Report	23', 36' Bernardeschi  26' Roncaglia  45+1' Rodríguez  45+3' Badelj  75' Valero	Attendance: 22,550 Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

Lech Poznań v Basel

10 December 2015 Round 6	Lech Poznań	0 – 1	Basel	INEA Stadion, Poznań
21:05		Report	Boëtius 50'	Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)

Knockout phase

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Europa League knockout phase

Round of 32

The draw for the round of 32 was held on 14 December 2015. The first leg was played on 18 February, and the second leg played on 25 February 2016.

Saint-Étienne v Basel

18 February 2016 First Leg	Saint-Étienne	3 – 2	Basel	Saint-Étienne, France
19:00	Sall 9' Monnet-Paquet 39' Tannane  60' Pajot  72' Bahebeck 77'	Report	25' Steffen 44',  74' Samuel 56' (pen.),  88' Janko  60' Xhaka	Stadium: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Attendance: 27,013 Referee: Tasos Sidiropoulos (Greece)

Basel v Saint-Étienne

25 February 2016 Second leg	Basel	2 – 1	Saint-Étienne	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
21:05	Zuffi 15', 90+2' Embolo  55'  84'	Report	31' Tannane  63' Pogba  82'  82' Eysseric 90' Sall	Attendance: 20,976 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

4–4 on aggregate. Basel won on away goals.

Round of 16

The draw was held on 26 February 2016. The first leg played on 10 March, and the second leg played on 17 March 2016.

Basel v Sevilla

10 March 2016 (2016-03-10) Round	Basel	0 – 0	Sevilla	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
19:00	Samuel  8' Steffen  90'	Report	37' Banega  41' Cristóforo  85' Trémoulinas  75'  87' Nzonzi	Attendance: 22,403 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Sevilla v Basel

17 March 2016 (2016-03-17)	Sevilla	3 – 0	Basel	Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville
21:05	Kolodziejczak  7' Rami 35' Gameiro 44', 45'	Report	39' Steffen  90+4' Embolo	Attendance: 35,546 Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

Sevilla won 3–0 on aggregate.