# 2022–23 FC Basel season

The 2022–23 season was FC Basel's 129th season in their existence and the club's 28th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football since their promotion in the 1993–94 season.
The 2022–23 Swiss Super League season started on 16th July 2022 and ended on 29 May 2023. In addition to the Swiss Super League, Basel also participated in this season's edition of the Swiss Cup, reaching the semi-finals. Basel also qualified for the second edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League, beginning play in the second qualifying round and qualifying for the group stage, which they advanced from, eventually reaching the semi-finals of the competition before being knocked out 4–3 on aggregate by Fiorentina.

## Club
### FC Basel Holding AG

The FC Basel Holding AG owns 75% of FC Basel 1893 AG and the other 25% is owned by the club FC Basel 1893 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 both the 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).

### Club management

The club AGM tool place on 23 May 2022 and the board of directors of the club were all confirmed and are:
| Club chairman | Reto Baumgartner |
| Director | Dominik Donzé |
| Director | Benno Kaiser |
| Director | Carol Etter |
| Director | Edward Turner |
| Director | Tobias Adler |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | St. Jakob-Park (38,512 (37,500 for international matches) / 120x80 m) |
Updated to match played 23 May 2022 Source: FCB Official Site

### Team management

On 23 May 2022 the club announced that Alexander Frei had been signed a contract that made him head coach of the new FCB first team. On 30 May they announced that Frei had brought his assistant Davide Callà from Winterthur with him. On 10 June the club announced that the coaching staff had been completed and that Martin Andermatt had been signed as assistant coach and Björn Rekelhof had signed as athletics and Gabriel Wüthrich as goalkeeper coach. Wüthrich replaced Massimo Colomba, who had been team goalkeeper from 2009 until 2012 and then became coach.
On 28 November 2022, FCB announced that they had taken Heiko Vogel under contract as their new sporting director, as per 1 January 2023.
On 7 February 2023, it was announced that Frei had been removed from his position as head coach and that sporting director Heiko Vogel would take over his duties ad interim.
| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Alexander Frei until 7 February 2023 |
| Manager | Heiko Vogel (interim) |
| Assistant coach | Martin Andermatt |
| Assistant coach | Davide Callà |
| Athletics coach | Bjorn Rekelhof |
| Goalkeeper coach | Gabriel Wüthrich |
| Youth Team U-21 coach | Ognjen Zaric |
| Youth Team U-21 co-coach | Erkan Aktas |
| Youth Team U-21 co-coach | Michaël Bauch |
Source: FCB Official Site

## Overview
### Off and pre-season

During the off-season a number of players left the team. The loan contracts of 5 youngsters came to an end, these being Gonçalo Cardoso, Sebastiano Esposito, Tomás Tavares, Albian Hajdari and Joelson Fernandes and they returned to their clubs of origin. The contracts with Pajtim Kasami and Andrea Padula were not renewed. Raoul Petretta decided himself not to renew his contract and he became free agent. Petretta had started his youth football with Basel in 2005. He played in all their U-teams and advanced to their first team in 2017. Here, between the years 2017 and 2022 Petretta played a total of 199 games for Basel scoring a total of 11 goals. 109 of these games were in the Nationalliga A, 13 in the Swiss Cup, 30 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League and 47 were friendly games. He scored 7 goals in the domestic league, 1 in the Cup, 2 in Europa and the other was scored during the test games.
Valentin Stocker ended his active career. During his time with the club Stocker won the Swiss championship six times and the Swiss Cup four times. Between the years 2007 and 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022 he played a total of 515 games for Basel scoring a total of 116 goals. 286 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 33 in the Swiss Cup, 57 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League, Europa League and Conference League and 99 were friendly games. He scored 74 goal in the domestic league, 9 in the Cup and 18 in the European competitions, the other 15 were scored during the test games.
In the other direction, on 20 May FCB announced that the ex-international goalkeeper Marwin Hitz had signed in from Borussia Dortmund on a three-year contract. Another player who signed in from BVB was Bradley Fink. The youngster had played for their reserve team and he signed in on a four-year contract. Four players came in on loan contracts. Two for Basel interesting loan signings were the Swiss international players Zeki Amdouni from Lausanne-Sport and Andi Zeqiri from Brighton and Hove Albion. The other two were Kasim Nuhu from Hoffenheim and Andy Diouf from Rennes On 18 June FCB announced that they had signed Jean-Kévin Augustin| from FC Nantes in a three-year deal.
The team had five pre-season test games, two of which were against Xamax and these were both played in the Youth Campus Basel. The first was won the second was drawn. Two games were played in the training camp, against SpVgg Greuther Fürth and Botoșani and both were won. One game was played in St. Jakob-Park, against Hamburger SV, and this ended with a high defeat. Because the new head coach Alexander Frei changed the formation in each game, mostly substituting all 11 players during the break, all players received playing time, but to the spectators, it seemed that the team hadn't found their form.

## 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 16 July 2022, 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 | GER | Noah Katterbach (on loan from Köln) |
| 4 | DF | ESP | Arnau Comas |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Michael Lang |
| 6 | DF | BFA | Nasser Djiga |
| 7 | FW | CAN | Liam Millar |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Andy Diouf (on loan from Rennes) |
| 9 | FW | SUI | Zeki Amdouni (on loan from Lausanne-Sport) |
| 10 | FW | FRA | Jean-Kévin Augustin |
| 11 | FW | HUN | Ádám Szalai |
| 13 | GK | SUI | Mirko Salvi |
| 14 | FW | SUI | Bradley Fink |
| 15 | DF | GHA | Kasim Nuhu (on loan from Hoffenheim) |
| 16 | GK | SUI | Nils de Mol |
| 17 | FW | SUI | Andi Zeqiri (on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion) |
| 18 | MF | GHA | Emmanuel Essiam |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | SUI | Darian Males (on loan from Inter Milan) |
| 20 | MF | SUI | Fabian Frei (captain) |
| 21 | DF | FRA | Andy Pelmard |
| 22 | DF | GER | Sergio López |
| 23 | MF | NED | Wouter Burger |
| 24 | FW | SUI | Tician Tushi |
| 26 | FW | SEN | Kaly Sène |
| 27 | MF | SUI | Dan Ndoye (on loan from Nice) |
| 28 | DF | FRA | Hugo Vogel |
| 29 | MF | GER | Adriano Onyegbule |
| 30 | FW | GER | Anton Kade |
| 33 | DF | ITA | Riccardo Calafiori |
| 34 | MF | ALB | Taulant Xhaka (vice-captain) |
| 40 | MF | SUI | Liam Chipperfield |
| 42 | MF | TUN | Sayfallah Ltaief |
| 72 | MF | SUI | Andrea Padula |
| 96 | MF | POR | Joelson Fernandes (on loan from Sporting) |

### Players out on loan

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 |
| — | GK | GER | Felix Gebhardt (at Hallescher FC until 30 June 2023) |
| — | GK | SUI | Tim Spycher (at Yverdon-Sport until 30 June 2023) |
| — | DF | BFA | Nasser Djiga (at Nimes until 30 June 2023) |
| — | MF | TUN | Sayfallah Ltaief (at FC Winterthur until 30 June 2023) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | SUI | Carmine Chiappetta (at Winterthur until 30 June 2023) |
| — | FW | SUI | Andrin Hunziker (at Aarau until 30 June 2023) |
| — | FW | SUI | Tician Tushi (at Xamax until 30 June 2023) |

### Transfers summer 2022
#### 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 |
| 1 | GK | SUI | Marwin Hitz (from Borussia Dortmund) |
| 4 | DF | ESP | Arnau Comas (from FC Barcelona) |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Andy Diouf (on loan from Rennes) |
| 9 | FW | SUI | Zeki Amdouni (on loan from Lausanne-Sport) |
| 10 | FW | FRA | Jean-Kévin Augustin (from FC Nantes) |
| 13 | GK | SUI | Mirko Salvi (from Yverdon-Sport) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | FW | SUI | Bradley Fink (from Borussia Dortmund II) |
| 15 | DF | GHA | Kasim Nuhu (on loan from Hoffenheim) |
| 17 | FW | SUI | Andi Zeqiri (on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion) |
| 26 | FW | SEN | Kaly Sene (return from loan to Grasshopper Club) |
| 28 | DF | FRA | Hugo Vogel (from Olympique Lyonnais) |
| 33 | DF | ITA | Riccardo Calafiori (from Roma) |
| 42 | MF | TUN | Sayfallah Ltaief (from FC Winterthur) |

#### 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 |
| 1 | GK | AUT | Heinz Lindner (to Sion) |
| 3 | DF | POR | Gonçalo Cardoso (end of loan from West Ham) |
| 6 | DF | BFA | Nasser Djiga (on loan to Nîmes Olympique) |
| 7 | MF | SUI | Pajtim Kasami (end of contract) |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Sebastiano Esposito (end of loan from Inter Milan) |
| 13 | GK | SRB | Đorđe Nikolić (to Újpest Budapest) |
| 14 | MF | SUI | Valentin Stocker (end of active playing career) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 28 | DF | ITA | Raoul Petretta (end of contract) |
| 30 | DF | POR | Tomás Tavares (end of loan from Benfica) |
| 35 | MF | ARG | Matías Palacios (to Al Ain) |
| 46 | GK | GER | Felix Gebhardt (out on loan at Hallescher FC) |
| 49 | DF | SUI | Louis Lurvink (on loan at Schaffhausen) |
| 72 | MF | SUI | Andrea Padula (end of contract) |
| 76 | DF | SUI | Albian Hajdari (end of loan from Juventus U23) |
| 96 | MF | POR | Joelson Fernandes (end of loan from Sporting) |

## Results and fixtures

Kickoff times are in CET.

### Legend

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

### Swiss Super League

The league fixtures were announced on 17 June 2022.

#### Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Young Boys (C) | 36 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 82 | 30 | +52 | 74 | Qualification for Champions League play-off round |
| 2 | Servette | 36 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Lugano | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 57 | Qualification for Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Luzern | 36 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 50 | Qualification for Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Basel | 36 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 47 | Qualification for Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 6 | St. Gallen | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 66 | 52 | +14 | 45 | |
| 7 | Grasshopper | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 56 | 64 | −8 | 44 | |
| 8 | Zürich | 36 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 44 | |
| 9 | Winterthur | 36 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 66 | −34 | 32 | |
| 10 | Sion (R) | 36 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 41 | 73 | −32 | 31 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
* ↑ As Swiss Cup winners Young Boys qualify for UCL play-off round, the third placed Lugano qualifies for the UEL play-off round. UECL spots are awarded to 4th and 5th ranked teams, Luzern and Basel, respectively.

### Swiss Cup

The matches of the first round were drawn on 5 July 2022 and took place between 19 and 21 August 2022. Home advantage was granted to the team from the lower league

### UEFA Europa Conference League
#### Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 15 June 2022.
Basel won 3–1 on aggregate.

#### Third qualifying round

2–2 on aggregate. Basel won 3–1 on penalties.

#### Play-off round

Basel won 2–1 on aggregate.

#### Group stage
##### Group table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SLO | BSL | PYU | ZAL |
| 1 | Slovan Bratislava | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 11 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 3–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| 2 | Basel | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 11 | Advance to knockout round play-offs | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| 3 | Pyunik | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 6 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Žalgiris | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 5 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Slovan Bratislava 4, Basel 1.

#### Knockout round play-offs

Basel won 2–1 on aggregate.

#### Round of 16

4–4 on aggregate. Basel won 4–1 on penalties.

#### Quarter-finals

Basel won 4–3 on aggregate.