1971–72 FC Basel season

FC Basel
1971–72 season
Chairman Switzerland Félix Musfeld
Manager Switzerland Helmut Benthaus
Ground St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Nationalliga A Champions
Swiss Cup Runner-up
UEFA Cup R1
Top goalscorer Ottmar Hitzfeld (16)

The 1971–72 season was Fussball Club Basel 1893's 78th season in their existence. It was their 26th consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football after their promotion the season 1945–46. They played their home games in the St. Jakob Stadium.

Overview

Helmut Benthaus was player-manager for the sixth consecutive season. 14 teams contested in the 1971–72 Nationalliga A and Basel won the championship four points ahead of Zürich and five ahead of the Grasshoppers. Of the 26 league games Basel won 18 , drawing seven, losing just once, scoring 66 goals conceding 28. Ottmar Hitzfeld was Basel's top league goal scorer with 16 league goals, Walter Balmer second with 14 league goals and Karl Odermatt third best with 9 goals. The average attendance at the league matches was 18'769 spectators.

For Basel the Swiss Cup strarted in the round of 32 on 24 October 1971 with a 3–1 home win against Monthey. On 21 November in the round of 16 Basel played away from home against La Chaux-de-Fonds. The match resulted with a 3–0 success. The quarter-final was played on 12 March 1972 in Zürich against Grasshopper-Club. The tie ended with a 1–1 draw and this meant a replay three days later. Basel won the replay 3–2 and continued onto the semi-finals against BSC Young Boys. In the Wankdorf Stadium on 3 April Karl Odermatt and Walter Balmer each scored a goal to give Basel a 2–0 victory. The final was played on 22 May 1970 also in the Wankdorf Stadium but Basel were defeated 0–1 by Zürich through a goal by Jeandupeux in extra time.

In the 1971–72 UEFA Cup Basel were drawn against Real Madrid. The first leg, which played on 15 September 1971 in the St. Jakob Stadium attracted 32'059 spectators but ended for Basel with a 1–2 defeat. Madrid won thanks to goals from Francisco Aguilar and Santillana, who turned the result around after the Swiss scored the opener through René Hasler. The return leg on 29 September in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was watched by 61'861 spectators and also ended with the same result. The same two players were the heroes once again, each scoring a goal, to ensure Real Madrid their passage to the next round.

Players

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

No. Position Player
Switzerland GK Marcel Kunz (league games: 23)
France GK Jean-Paul Laufenburger (league games 3)
Switzerland DF Paul Fischli (league games: 6)
Germany DF Josef Kiefer (league games: 10)
Switzerland DF René Hasler (league games/goals: 26/2)
Switzerland DF Walter Mundschin (league games/goals: 26/6)
Switzerland DF Jörg Stohler (league games: 4)
Germany MF Helmut Benthaus (league games: 1)
Switzerland MF Otto Demarmels (league games/goals: 25/4)
Switzerland MF Karl Odermatt (league games/goals: 22/9)
No. Position Player
Switzerland MF Bruno Rahmen (league games: 15)
Switzerland MF Peter Ramseier (league games/goals: 26/1)
Switzerland DF Roland Paolucci (league games: 0)
Switzerland MF Urs Siegenthaler (league games: 26)
Germany MF Jürgen Sundermann (league games/goals: 13/5)
Switzerland FW Walter Balmer (league games/goals: 26/14)
Switzerland FW Rolf Blättler (league games/goals: 18/7)
Germany FW Ottmar Hitzfeld (league games/goals: 24/16)
Switzerland FW Rolf Riner (league games: 3)
Switzerland FW Peter Wenger (league games: 15)

Results

Nationalliga

League standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts Remarks
1FC Basel261871662843Champions
2FC Zürich261754552839
3Grasshopper Club Zürich261664562438
4Lausanne Sports261187503630
5BSC Young Boys261259463129
6FC Winterthur2612410373228
7FC Sion26989373626
8Servette FC Genève2610511394725
9FC Lugano268711333923
10FC Grenchen266119274023
11FC La Chaux-de-Fonds267712254521
12FC St. Gallen264715274615
13FC Lucerne266317244915Relegated
14FC Biel-Bienne26251926679Relegated

Swiss Cup

Legend

      Win       Draw       Loss

Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-final
Quarter-final replay
Semi-final
Final

UEFA Cup

Main article: 1971–72 UEFA Cup
First round

Real Madrid won 4–2 on aggregate.

See also

Sources and References

    External links

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