Contents
The second half of the season starts with a bang for FCB. The Mission Champions Group starts away at FC Zurich.
Fabio Celestini celebrated his debut at FC Basel at the beginning of November with a victory in the cup round of 16 in Kriens. He took over the former series champion FCB in last place in the table. There was a single victory after 11 rounds in the championship and Heiko Vogel, the second trainer of the season, was just released.
We now also know that we can win
Although the days became increasingly shorter, the sun has shone more often over the knee of the Rhine since Celestini took office. FCB is still only in second to last place, but has already won 4 times under Celestini. Under him, self-confidence also came back, as the 48-year-old sums it up: “We now know that we can win.”
Stabilized in terms of sport and personnel
The 20-time champion has now found his feet on the field and can enjoy points more regularly than he did under Schultz and Vogel. After the big upheaval in the summer, there were only a few changes in the squad. Here too, FCB brought stability again.
FCB presented three new signings this winter, all three of whom are Super League tested. Including Benjamin Kololli, who played under Celestini at Lausanne from 2016 to 2018 and made his breakthrough in the top Swiss league.
The flipchart doesn’t score goals
The coach implemented the tactical structure with his team. Nevertheless, the players have to make progress on the pitch, because when asked about the tactics, Celestini only says: “The flipchart doesn’t score goals.”
FC Basel needs a few more goals and, above all, points before the league is divided after matchday 33 so that the season doesn’t turn into a disaster. There are currently four teams and seven points between FCB and 6th place.
First endurance test in 2024: The classic
How much FCB can carry over the momentum from the old year into the new year will be shown for the first time on Sunday. Then the Basel team will play the classic against FC Zurich in Letzigrund. The FCZ is currently in third place in the top half.
I’m already looking forward to the game
It’s a special game for two players in the FCB squad, Kololli and Adrian Barisic. After spending time with Celestini at Lausanne-Sports, Kololli moved to FCZ, where, among other things, he reached the round of 16 of the Europa League. Before the FCZ championship season, the now 31-year-old moved to Japan to Shimizu-S-Pulse.
Barisic made his debut against FCZ in September and scored into his own goal to give Zurich the lead. But FCB was able to fight back and, after being 2-0 down, managed to win a point at 2-2.