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Winterthur is back in the Super League after 37 years. At the start, the promoted team welcomes FC Basel on the Schützenwiese.
Legend:
fun in training
The FCW players are in a good mood before the start of the season.
KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza
The rush to get up is hardly over and the next highlight is already waiting for Winterthur. Less than two months after the heartbeat ascent, the Super League venture begins with a home game against FC Basel with a bang.
For the third time in a row, Basel will start the season against the respective promoted team. They won 2-0 against GC in 2021, a year earlier FC Vaduz won a point at St. Jakob-Park. Overall, the record of the red-blue against newcomers is rather mixed: they have only won two of the last eight games. In the Schützenwiese stadium, the Winterthur team now want to spoil the start of the season for the favourites.
Last duel went to Winterthur
Winterthur definitely has good memories of the last game against FCB: the then Challenge League club swept Basel out of the cup 6-2 in February 2021. Almost a year and a half later, however, hardly anyone from the FCB squad remained from the cup shame. Only offensive player Darian Males is still in the club.
The situation at FC Winterthur is different. With Samir Ramizi, Gezim Pepsi and Roman Buess, the promoted team can also count on three of the five goalscorers from that game. So how to score goals against Basel should be known.
From Winterthur to Basel
Nevertheless, FC Basel is the clear favorite going into this first game of the season. The runner-up has strengthened himself in various positions. With winger Sayfallah Ltaief, a new signing from Basel played for the opposition last season. Goalie Marwin Hitz, who returned to Switzerland after 14 years in Germany, also has a past at FCW. He played his only professional games in Switzerland in 2008 for “Winti”.
It will also be a special encounter for neo-FCB coach Alex Frei. He coached Winterthur to rise, then left the Eulachstadt team in the direction of the Rheinknie. The 43-year-old is now returning to his old place of work at the first opportunity.
Legend:
joy of ascent
In the last game as FCW coach, Alex Frei made promotion clear with his team.
KEYSTONE/Urs Flueeler
The euphoria in Winterthur is huge after the first return to first class after 37 years. All season tickets were sold in no time, the stadium will be full at the start. Then the first points on the way to relegation should be retracted.