From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Basel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Žan Celar
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kazeem Olaigbe is on it.
Market28 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Flavius Daniliuc’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Loan watch28 Dec 2026
8 appearances at Lugano and the goals keep coming. Basel are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Match28 Dec 2026
Basel have something to play for
Position 6 on 22 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Basel will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Basel may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Basel
Hannes Delcroix and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Žan Celar asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market21 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Giacomo Koloto’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Philip Otele keeps his manager's vote
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Philip Otele plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Basel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Flavius Daniliuc is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market14 Dec 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Admir Sommer has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market14 Dec 2026
One of our own: Remo Benito joins the Basel first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Remo Benito is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market14 Dec 2026
The Kaio Eduardo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Basel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Bećir Omeragić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Hannes Delcroix
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Hannes Delcroix has come out of that comparison in the side, and Basel have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Squad7 Dec 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Keigo Tsunemoto is on it.
Market7 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Basel know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Silvan Fassnacht was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kazeem Olaigbe is on it.
Market30 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Flavius Daniliuc’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Loan watch30 Nov 2026
8 appearances away from home and 4 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Match30 Nov 2026
Basel in the hunt for Europe
Position 6, 22 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Basel and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Basel keep producing them
24 graduates from an academy now rated 15 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match18 Nov 2026
The small margins put Basel out
Out, 1‑1 to Lugano, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Match18 Nov 2026
Whatever happens, Basel do not lose
12 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Žan Celar says Basel went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
A penalty is the one moment in football with nowhere to hide, and he did not score it. The walk back was long and the week will be longer.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.88 on the card, and the Basel support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Basel deserved better, and so did he.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Nov 2026
Derby days make names, and Kazeem Olaigbe made his against Young Boys. 3‑0, bragging rights secured, and one half of town will be tired of hearing about him by Tuesday.
Match14 Nov 2026
11 unbeaten for Basel
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 11 matches without defeat is a foundation Basel did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Beat anybody else and it is three points. Beat them, with his name on it, and it is a year of bragging rights for Basel and a story that will outlast his contract.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Basel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Flavius Daniliuc is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces16 Nov 2026
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad16 Nov 2026
International break empties Basel
5 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Philipp Akanji kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Xherdan Shaqiri has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Basel will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 60. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match7 Nov 2026
10 unbeaten for Basel
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Basel did not have in the autumn.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ivo Kobel has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Renato Ndoye has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Moussa Cissé and Basel agree another 4 years.
Looking ahead9 Nov 2026
The neighbours are next for Basel
Nothing about the week ahead is ordinary. Young Boys on Saturday, a town that has already started talking about it, and a dressing room that does not need telling what it means.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The team sheet said everything about Kevin Rüegg
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Kevin Rüegg.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.29, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match31 Oct 2026
9 unbeaten for Basel
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Basel did not have in the autumn.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Xherdan Shaqiri. 2‑0 against St. Gallen, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Basel
Marvin Akahomen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Philipp Akanji, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Moussa Cissé
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match24 Oct 2026
8 unbeaten for Basel
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Basel did not have in the autumn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Flavius Daniliuc falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad26 Oct 2026
10 new faces, and Basel are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Basel pick somebody else ahead of Žan Celar
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 7.87 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match17 Oct 2026
Basel end the wait against Vaduz
It had gone 8 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Basel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
7 unbeaten for Basel
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Basel did not have in the autumn.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match17 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rifat Zhemaletdinov. 2‑0 against Vaduz, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Ibrahim Salah at his very best
Marked 8.50. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Basel.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Rifat Zhemaletdinov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.26. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Basel
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Xherdan Shaqiri, 35, rolls back the years — 8.19
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.19 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Basel can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Match10 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Basel
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market12 Oct 2026
One of our own: Nico Steffen joins the Basel first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nico Steffen is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Renato Comert has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Match10 Oct 2026
Basel caught on 87 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Lugano scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 42. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match3 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Basel
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match3 Oct 2026
The goals have deserted Basel
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Basel can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Basel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonas Harder and Basel agree another 5 years.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Nicolas Vouilloz is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Keigo Tsunemoto
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Philipp Akanji was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Basel dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Basel
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match26 Sep 2026
The goals have deserted Basel
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Basel can tell you which week it ends in.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match28 Sep 2026
Basel at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 6, 9 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Flavius Daniliuc is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad28 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and Basel are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Kevin Rüegg
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Philipp Akanji was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Basel dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Basel
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Basel are no longer polite ones.
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a goal for Basel
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Basel
Xherdan Shaqiri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Flavius Daniliuc falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad21 Sep 2026
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
The neighbours are next for Basel
Nothing about the week ahead is ordinary. Zurich on Saturday, a town that has already started talking about it, and a dressing room that does not need telling what it means.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Kevin Rüegg dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Philipp Akanji after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Basel
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Basel are no longer polite ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a goal for Basel
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Basel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Flavius Daniliuc is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Hannes Delcroix was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Loris Benito has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ricardo Rodriguez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Philipp Akanji chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Basel close the window on a squad of their own making
22 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Grasshopper have kept their man, and Basel go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
St. Gallen wanted more than $1.3M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Basel
Hannes Delcroix and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match5 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Basel
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Looking ahead7 Sep 2026
The fixture the calendar is arranged around. Form goes out of the window, the table is not consulted, and for ninety minutes Basel will be judged on one thing only.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
7.55, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Basel had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Benji Siegrist
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 36. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Basel asked and Luzern said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Basel
Bećir Omeragić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match29 Aug 2026
St. Gallen left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Martin Jedlička, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Basel
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Philipp Akanji to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market24 Aug 2026
Hannes Delcroix arrives at Basel in a $5.2M statement of intent
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Basel have paid $5.2M for Hannes Delcroix, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Oxford United had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market24 Aug 2026
Business is business: Mirko Salvi goes
Sion paid $790.0K and Basel took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Basel spend $5.2M on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $5.2M for Hannes Delcroix, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Basel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Flavius Daniliuc was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market24 Aug 2026
St. Gallen pay $90.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Match22 Aug 2026
Grasshopper left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
$5.1M on the table at Lugano. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lugano have kept their man, and Basel go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Julien Duranville at 20 — 7.96
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Julien Duranville did not need any: 7.96, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market17 Aug 2026
Metinho has left for Thun in a $6.0M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Basel sell a favourite for $6.0M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Metinho was one of the reasons people came, and $6.0M does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The offer went to St. Gallen this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Market17 Aug 2026
Basel say no — this time
The offer from Kayserispor for Kaio Eduardo was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Giacomo Koloto and Basel agree another 5 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market10 Aug 2026
Banik Ostrava did not want to sell and the number is why they did. $4.2M for Martin Jedlička, and the expectation that arrives with him is the kind no amount of settling-in period softens.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market10 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Metinho again, and this time the name on the line is Thun. Basel are listening politely and promising nothing.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Basel offered $1.5M; St. Gallen said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Metinho signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Metinho and Basel agree another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Metinho in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Basel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
The town asked, and Basel paid $4.2M
Martin Jedlička was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $4.2M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The offer went to Banik Ostrava this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market3 Aug 2026
Basel may not be able to give Metinho what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Metinho wants continental football; whether Basel can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Xherdan Shaqiri and Basel agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Basel
Metinho was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market3 Aug 2026
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Basel are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Metinho knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Basel, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.