1997–98 FC Basel season

Pre-season

Jörg Berger was appointed as the new trainer at the start of the season, but in October 1997 he was sacked and was replaced by Salvatore Andracchio (ad interim) until Guy Mathez was appointed as trainer from 1 January 1998. The club's priority aim was to remain in the top flight of Swiss football.

The club made many new signings as the season started. Amongst these, there were many experienced players, such as Oliver Kreuzer from Bayern Munich, Marco Sas from Bradford City, Maurizio Gaudino from Eintracht Frankfurt, Jürgen Hartmann from Hamburger SV and Nestor Subiat from Grasshopper Club. There were also young players such as Marco Pérez from Vaduz, Jan Berger from Grasshopper Club and Fabinho Santos from Joinville (Brazil) as well as Luís Calapes and Alexander Frei from the club's own youth section.^[1]

Goalkeeper Thomas Grüter retired from professional football. Many other players also left the club, under them Mariano Armentano who transferred to Vélez Sarsfield, Adrian Falub who returned to Universitatea Cluj and Alex Nyarko who transferred to Karlsruher SC. The loan contracts with Franco Foda and Markus Schupp came to an end and because Basel did not opt to buy them, they both moved on to Sturm Graz. The youngsters Bruno Sutter transferred to Zürich and Hakan Yakin transferred to Grasshopper Club. At the end of the transfer window two further players left the squad, last season's top scorer Gaetano Giallanza transferred to Nantes in September and Jean-Pierre La Placa signed for Toulouse also in September.^[2]

In the pre-season friendly games Basel first played against a Regional 11 of local players in Alsace and then against a Regional 11 of local players from BS/BL. Basel then played in the Sempione Cup, which was a club tournament played in summer at Sportanlage Moos, Balsthal, during the years 1987 to 2004. Curiosity, in both Basel games, semi-final and third place match, the decision fell in a penalty shoot-out. The semi-final was undecided after five penalties each and had to be continued. In the end all 22 players including the goalkeepers hat to shoot a penalty. Both goalkeeps missed their penalty-shots and eventually Basel lost the shoot-out 8–9. The third placed match need 14 penalties for the decision and Basel won this shoot-out 5–4.^[3] Another curiosity in the mid-season friendly against amateur club FC Rothrist. Basel won the game 13–2. Alexander Frei scored six goals and all six in the first half and Maurizio Gaudino scored five goals, all five in the second half of the game.^[4]

Domestic league

The clubs priority aim for the team was to remain in the top flight of Swiss football and this was to be achieved by reaching the championship group before the winter break. The teams next aim was to reach at least a top five place in the table and perhaps even qualify for the UEFA European competitions. The football league season did not start the way that head-coach Berger had hoped. Four of the first six games ended in a defeat, the team conceding 12 goals and scoring just three. Berger was put under pressure by the club's board of directors, but things did not improve. After six consecutive defeats, a period during which Giallanza and La Placa both left, Berger was sacked. He was replaced ad interim by trainer Salvatore Andracchio, who had helped out the previous season. The team managed to improve their results, but could not correct the slip into the Relegation Group.

During the winter break Guy Mathez was appointed as new head-coach. Soon after this the newly signed Nemtsoudis left the club and Nestor Subiat's loan contract was ended and the contract with Marco Sas was dissolved. Under new trainer Mathez, the first few games were good. But after a period with three away defeats and two home draws, it seemed that the team were heading for relegation. A dramatic finish with three straight victories over the three better placed teams Young Boys, SC Kriens and finally Solothurn saved Basel from the relegation drop. They finished the promotion/relegation group with six wins, four draws and four defeats. They had scored 27 goals and conceded 22.^[5]

Swiss Cup

Basel entered the Swiss Cup with a bye in the third and fourth principal round and started in the fifth. The opponents here were lower tier SC Buochs. Despite an early lead through Dario Zuffi, a penalty and a goal just after half time gave the lower tier a lead. Basel were down 1–2 right up until the 86th minute. Then Nestor Subiat poked the ball into the goal out of the crowd of players who had gathered in the six yard box, the equalizer. In the extra period Basel had no further problems and the Buochs players had no more stamina. Two more Subiat goals, two from Adrian Knup and the final goal from Fabrice Henry was followed by the final whistle.^[6]

In the round of 16 Basel's opponents were Xamax, who were stronger and won by two goals to nil. The cup final was played between Lausanne-Sport and St. Gallen, this ended with a two all draw after extra time. Lausanne won the penalty shoot out winning the trophy and qualifying for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.^[7]

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

Regional 11 Alsace v Basel

18 June 1997 Pre-season Exhibition game	Regional 11 Alsace	0–8	Basel	Munster
19:00		FCB summary	16' (0:1) Barberis 20' (0:2) Knup 34' (0:3) Zuffi 36' (0:4) Giallanza 44' (0:5) Knup 66' (0:6) Giallanza 68' (0:7) Tschopp 83' (0:8) Tschopp	Attendance: 200 Referee: Thierry Keigler
Note: FCB without Salvi, Henry and Disseris (all injured). 70th minute: Kreuzer was substituted out with a minor facial injury and not replaced.

Basel v Regional 11 BS/BL

21 June 1997 Pre-season	Basel	3–1	Regional 11 BS/BL	Tannenbrunn, Sissach
16:30	Giallanza 23' (1:0) Giallanza 25' (2:0) Gaudino 36' (3:0)	FCB summary	89' (3:1) Schreiber	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Andreas Schluchter / Vroni Schluchter (Schönenbuch)
Note: From the 46th minute, assistant referee Vroni Schluchter (Schönenbuch) led the game, as Andreas Schluchter went out with a thigh injury.

Basel v Zürich

24 June 1997 Sempione-Cup Semi-final	Basel	1–1 (8–9 p)	Zürich	Moos, Balsthal
19:30	Frick  27' Frei 60' (1:0)	FCZ summary FCB summary	63' (1:1) Sutter  78' Guzik 85′ Tarone	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Serge Muhmenthaler (Grenchen)
	Penalties
	Zuffi Frei Hartmann Giallanza Gaudino Tschopp Barberis Ceccaroni Schmidiger Buess Huber		Gambino Guzik Sutter Brugnoli Santa'Anna Tejeda Weiler Castillo Tarone Shorunmu Konjić
Note: The Sempione Cup was a club tournament played in the summer at Sportanlage Moos, Balsthal, during the years 1987 to 2004.[3] Corners: 1:10

Basel v Luzern

28 June 1997 Sempione-Cup 3rd place match	Basel	1–1 (5–4 p)	Luzern	Moos, Balsthal
15:30	Giallanza 27' (1:1)	FCB summary	11' (0:1) Sawu	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Bruno Bachmann
	Penalties
	Zuffi Pérez Kreuzer Schmidiger Gaudino Barberis		Wyss Knez Moser Koilov Brega Baumann
Note: The Sempione Cup was a club tournament played in summer at Sportanlage Moos, Balsthal, during the years 1987 to 2004.[3] FCL with test-players Brega and Aklie.

Basel v Borussia Dortmund

5 July 1997 Pre-season	Basel	1–0	Borussia Dortmund	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Knup 13' (1:0)	FCB summary		Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno)
Note: FCB were without the injured Salvi, Henry, La Placa, Konde, Disseris, and Hasler. Dortmund were without the recovering Möller, Schneider, Cesar, and Sousa. 20th minute, a shot from Herrlich hit the post. Good pitch conditions despite the continuous rain.

SC Dornach v Basel

5 September 1997 Mid-season	SC Dornach	1–5	Basel	Gigersloch, Dornach
	Weidmann 27' (pen. 1:2)	FCB summary	5' (0:1) Kondé 7' (0:2) Gaudino 50' (1:3) Marco Sas 54' (1:4) Giallanza 80' (1:5) Dobrovoljski	Attendance: 350 Referee: Dieter Schoch (Attiswil)
Note: Dornach without Magro, Donelli, and Sorg (all injured) and without Rudin (absent); FCB without Zuffi (Swiss national team), Frick (Liechtenstein national team), Kreuzer (rested due to Achilles tendon irritation), Huber, Knup, Salvi, Mendi, and Buess (all injured). Fabrice Henry returns after a six-month injury layoff (torn cruciate ligament). 40th minute: Barberi hits the crossbar. 61st minute: Cecere's goal disallowed for handball. 68th minute: Ceccaroni's cross hits the post.

FC Rothrist v Basel

19 September 1997 Mid-season	FC Rothrist	2–13	Basel	Stampfi, Rothrist
18:45	Berisha 46' (1:7) Roth 88' (2:12)	FCB summary	7' (0:1) Frei 9' (0:2) Frei 14' (pen. 0:3) Gaudino 21' (0:4) Frei 23' (0:5) Frei 40' (0:6) Frei 42' (0:7) Frei 48' (1:8) Giallanza 59' (1:9) Giallanza 64' (1:10) Giallanza 75' (1:11) Giallanza 86' (1:12) Kondé 90' (2:13) Giallanza	Attendance: 600 Referee: Marcel Vollenweider (Rüti, Zürich)
Note: Basel without Henry, Huber (both recovering), Knup, Disseris, Hasler and Ceccaroni (all injured). 80th minute: Frei hits the crossbar. Corners 0:12

Winter break

Basel v Zürich

28 January 1998 Exhibition game	Basel	3–0	Zürich	Athletics stadium, Basel
	(Jean-Copain Nonda) 7' (o.g.) Knup 73' (2:0) Henry 84' (3:0)	FCZ summary FCB summary		Attendance: 500 Referee: Heinz Käser
Note: Zürich without Ike Shorunmu and Shabani Nonda, but with his brother Jean-Copain Nonda as test-player.

Sheriff v Basel

31 January 1998 Winter break	Sheriff	1–1	Basel
	60' (1:0)	FCB summary	75' (1:1) Gaudino

APOP Paphos v Basel

4 February 1998 Training camp	APOP Paphos	1–5	Basel	Pafiako Stadium, Paphos, Cyprus
	83' (1:4)	FCB summary	16' (0:1) Gaudino 33' (0:2) Hartmann 43' (0:3) Kondé 62' (0:4) Fabinho 85' (1:5) Knup	Attendance: 800

Metalurh Donetsk v Basel

6 February 1998 Training camp	Metalurh Donetsk	2–0	Basel	Pafiako Stadium, Paphos, Cyprus
	33' (pen. 1:0) 90+2' (2:0)	FCB summary		Attendance: 100

Basel v Lokomotiv Moscow

11 February 1998 Winter break	Basel	0–0	Lokomotiv Moscow	Europastadion, Rheinfelden (Baden)
15:00		FCB summary	70' Loskov	Referee: Bernhard Zerr (Ottersweier)

Luzern v Basel

14 February 1998 Winter break	Luzern	3–0	Basel	Unterallmend, Root
14:30	Ibrahim 24' (1:0) (Webber) 43' (o.g. 2:0) Kögl 79' (3:0)	FCB summary		Attendance: 800 Referee: Markus Nobs, (Wohlen)
Note: FCB without Knup (rested), Gaudino (ill), Sas and Fabinho (both injured). Fair game, No cautions. For FCB after the break, among others: Dobrovoljski as striker for Frick, who moved to the right wing. Konde for Hartmann in midfield, Salvi at left-back.

Nationalliga A

Qualifying Phase

Basel v Aarau

5 July 1997 Round 1	Basel	P–P	Aarau	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Note: Match posponed and rescheduled to allow Aarau to play the match in the Intertoto Cup against 1. FC Köln.

Lausanne-Sport v Basel

9 July 1997 Round 2	Lausanne-Sport	3–0	Basel	Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
19:30	Piffaretti 40' (1:0) N'kufo 43' (2:0) Udovič 87' (3:0)	FCB summary	32' Barberis  33' Frick  69' La Placa	Attendance: 7,100 Referee: Marcel Vollenweider (Rüti, Zürich)
Note: Lausanne were without Savovic (who was ill), Ohrel, Hottiger (both injured), Sané and Triki (both with their national teams). FCB without Salvi, Henry, Konde, Disseris and Hasler (all injured). 53rd minute, a header from Thurres hit the crossbar.

Basel v Etoile Carouge

12 July 1997 Round 3	Basel	0–0	Etoile Carouge	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Hartmann  27' Ceccaroni  62' Knup  75'	FCB summary	25' Mosca  78' Duchosal	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Dominique Tavel (Lonay)
Note: FCB without Henry, Kondé, Salvi, Disseris, and Hasler (all injured), as well as La Placa (not in the squad). Carouge were without Negri, Bertone, Escofet, and Giuntini (all injured). 73rd minute: a shot from Gaudino landed on the top of the crossbar.

Basel v Servette

19 July 1997 Round 4	Basel	1–3	Servette	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Gaudino 57' (pen.) Zuffi  70' Ceccaroni  76'	FCB summary	14' Barea 34' (0:1) Cantaluppi  45' Samuele MargariniMargarini 55' (0:2)  23'Sesa 77' (pen.) Durix	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Philippe Leuba (Chexbres)
Note: FCB without Salvi, Henry, Kondé, Disseris, and Hasler (all injured) and La Placa was not in the squad. Servette were without Karlen, Costantino, Nava, and Jenny (all injured). Barea and Juarez had to leave the game injured. National coach Rolf Fringer and Borussia Dortmund's sporting director Ottmar Hitzfeld were in the stands.

Zürich v Basel

26 July 1997 Round 5	Zürich	0–0	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
19:30	Tarone  59' Tejeda  70' Yekini  89'	FCZ summary FCB summary	17' Zuffi	Attendance: 15,500 Referee: Roland Beck (Triesenberg)
Note: FCZ without Huber and Weiler (both injured). FCB without Ceccaroni (suspended), Barberis, Disseris, Hasler, Henry and Konde (all injured). 25th minute: a goal from Nondas was disallowed. 50th minute: Shorunmu deflects a shot from Sas onto the goal-post.

Basel v Sion

2 August 1997 Round 6	Basel	1–3	Sion	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Sas  23' Giallanza 41' (1:1) Hartmann  61'	FCB summary	3' (0:1) Camadini 64' (1:2) Camadini  68' Zambaz 80' (1:3) Tholot	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno)
Note: FCB without Knup, Tabakovic, Konde, Disseris, Hasler, and Henry (all injured); Sion without Gaspoz, Biaggi, Chassot, Veiga, Sylvestre, Assis, and Vanetta (all injured). National coach Rolf Fringer and former FCB coach Claude Andrey in the stands. 36th minute: a shot from Hartmann hits the crossbar. Tactical change Gaudino reverts to playing behind the strikers after a quarter of an hour, with Frick in attack; La Placa, after coming on as a substitute (62nd minute), moves into attack, with Frick replacing Salvi in left midfield; FCB played without a libero after Sas' substitution (79th minute).

Kriens v Basel

10 August 1997 Round 7	Kriens	3–1	Basel	Stadion Kleinfeld, Kriens
16:00	Esposito 7' (1:0) Gross  74' Schwizer 63' (2:0) Erni 73' (3:0)	FCB summary	43' Frick  57'  70' La Placa 76' (3:1) Giallanza  84' Salvi	Attendance: 4,100 Referee: Kurt Zuppinger (Bremgarten, Aargau)
Note: SC Kriens without Schnarwiler (injured); FCB without Ceccaroni (ill), Knup, Konde, Hasler, Henry and Disseris (all injured). 90th minute, a shot from Giallanza hit the post.

Basel v Aarau

15 August 1997 Round 1	Basel	2–1	Aarau	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Ceccaroni  14' Gaudino 21' (1:0) Giallanza 31' (2:0) Frick  67' Kreuzer  87'	FCB summary FCA summary	19' Aloisi 61' (2:1) Drakopulos  65' Zdrilic  70' de Napoli  78' Kilian	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers)
Note: This match was rescheduled after its postponement from 5 July due to FC Aarau's participation in the Intertoto Cup. Basel without La Placa, Tschopp (both suspended), Henry, Knup, Konde, Disseris and Hasler (all injured); Aarau without Roembiak (suspended), Heldmann, Kirik and Benito (all injured).

Basel v St. Gallen

23 August 1997 Round 8	Basel	3–2	St. Gallen	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Zuffi 23' (1:0) Dobrovoljski 77' (2:2) Frick 82' (3:2) Kreuzer  87' Salvi  88'	FCB summary	4' Hellinga  18' Stiel 35' (1:1) Vurens 42' (1:2) Regtop  61' Slavchev  87' Herrera	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Claude Detruche (Thônex)
Note: FCB without Knup, Henry, Disseris, Hasler (all injured). St. Gallen without Mouidi and Sène (both injured). 10th minute: a corner-kick from Contini rebounded off the post. Basel goalkeeper Huber substituted out with a torn ligament, Ceccaroni substituted out with a back contusion.

Xamax v Basel

30 August 1997 Round 9	Xamax	3–0	Basel	Stade de la Maladière (1924), Neuchâtel
19:30	Martin  57' Leśniak 65' (1:0) Sandjak 78′ Martinović 83' (2:0) Kunz 90' (3:0)	FCB summary	66' Kreuzer  77' Ceccaroni	Attendance: 8,100 Referee: Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno)
Note: Neuchâtel Xamax were without Jeanneret and Rueda (both injured). FCB without Zuffi (suspended), Huber, Tabakovic, Henry, Knup, Disseris, and Hasler (all injured). 78th minute: the penalty kisk from Sandjak rebounded from the post. 89th minute: a shot from Gaudino hit the post.

Basel v Luzern

2 September 1997 Round 10	Basel	3–4	Luzern	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Frick 20' (1:0) Gaudino  28' Frick 71' (2:1) Giallanza 74' (3:1)	FCB summary	4' van Eck  24' Joller  43' Brunner 58' (1:1) Aleksandrov  67' Izzo 82' (3:2) Kögl 87' (3:3) Aleksandrov 89' (3:4) Ibrahim	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Kurt Zuppinger (Bremgarten, Aargau)
Note: FCB without Huber, Salvi, Tabakovic, Henry, Knup, Mendi, Disseris, and Hasler (all injured). FCL without Gmür, D. Wyss, Brown, Sermeter, Yenay, Achermann, and Braga (all injured). Basel's Reimann was substituted out at halftime with heart problems and taken to hospital. After the break, FCB played a 3-5-2 formation with Schmidiger as libero and Frick and Giallanza as strikers.

Grasshopper Club v Basel

13 September 1997 Round 11	Grasshopper Club	3–2	Basel	Hardturm, Zürich
19:30	Subiat 6' Esposito 13' Gren  48' Kavelashvili  78' 78'	FCB summary	13' Ceccaroni 15' Barberis 61' Gaudino  69' Giallanza  90+1' Frick	Attendance: 9,150 Referee: Jürg Herrmann (Hinterkapplen (Wohlen bei Bern))
Note: GC without Moldovan, Comisetti, and Gämperle (all injured). FCB without Zuffi (suspended), Knup, La Placa, Huber, Henry, and Salvi (all injured). Representatives from Tyrol and Croatia Zagreb in the stands.

Aarau v Basel

24 September 1997 Round 12	Aarau	1–0	Basel	Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau
19:30	Roembiak  32' Kilian  68' Ćirić 75'	FCB summary FCA summary	64' Kreuzer	Attendance: 5,600 Referee: Dieter Schoch (Attiswil)
Note: FCA without Bader, Heldmann (both injured) and Zitola (suspended). FCB without Knup, Henry, Salvi, Hasler, Disseris (all injured), Frick and Ceccaroni (both suspended). After the break Hartmann right-back, Gaudino for Frei in the attack. In the stands Thomas Bickel and national coach Rolf Fringer.

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

28 September 1997 Round 13	Basel	0–1	Lausanne-Sport	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30		FCB summary	27' Rehn  31' Thurre  38' Ohrel  64' Piffaretti	Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona)
Note: Basel without Kreuzer (suspended) as well as Salvi, Knup, Hasler and Disseris (all injured). Fabrice Henry returns after a six-month injury layoff (torn cruciate ligament). Lausanne with full squad. 3rd minute a shot from Subiat hit the crossbar. 21st minute: Lausanne goalkeeper Martin Brunner leaves the field injured.

Etoile Carouge v Basel

5 October 1997 Round 14	Etoile Carouge	2–1	Basel	Stade de la Fontenette, Carouge
16:00	Aguilar 67' Hertig 81' (pen.)	FCB summary	45' Subiat  46' Orlando  51' Barberis  55' Ceccaroni  81' Huber	Attendance: 1,775 Referee: Marcel Vollenweider (Rüti, Zürich)
Note: Carouge without Cravero, Bertone, Giuntini, Nourou, Negri (all injured) and Millereau (suspended); FCB without Salvi, Knup, Buess, Schmidiger, Disseris and Hasler (all injured).

Basel v Zürich

19 October 1997 Round 15	Basel	3–3	Zürich	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Kreuzer 11' Hartmann  30' Zuffi 44' Subiat 88'	FCZ summary FCB summary	29' Nonda 73' Tarone 90'  47' Hodel	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Urs Meier (Wettingen and Würenlos)
Note: FCB without Huber (calf strain), Knup, Salvi, Hasler, and Disseris (all injured). FCZ without Brugnoli (suspended), Baldassarri, Castillo, and Weiler (all injured). Yekini (thigh) and Sas (back) left the field injured. A very good refereeing trio.

Servette v Basel

26 October 1997 Round 16	Servette	4–1	Basel	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
14:30	Rey 13' (1:0) Durix 25' (2:0) Potocianu  61' Sesa 85' (3:1) Durix 89' (4:1)	FCB summary	71' Reimann 75' (2:1) Frei  77' Frick	Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Roland Beck (Triesenberg)
Note: Servette were without Karlen, Ippoliti, Tato, Salou (all injured) and Juarez (suspended). FCB without Knup, Salvi, Buess, Subiat (all injured) and Hartmann (suspended). Shots on the post: 4th minute, Cantaluppi; 68th minute, Barberis; 87th minute, free kick from Sesa hit the crossbar. As conseqence to this defeat (the seventh defeat in the last eight games) FCB club president René C. Jäggi dismissed head-coach Jörg Berger.

Sion v Basel

2 November 1997 Round 17	Sion	2–2	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
14:30	Seoane 9' Milton 73'	FCB summary	15' Frick 19' Barberis  41' Kreuzer  87' Ceccaroni	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Serge Muhmenthaler (Grenchen)
Note: Sion were without Gaspoz, Assis, Chassot, Quennoz, Eydelie, and Sylvestre (all injured). FCB without Sas, Gaudino, Buess, Disseris, and Hasler (all injured). 46th minute (first half) shot from Subiat hit the post. FCB with ad-interim coach Salvatore Andracchio on the side line.

Basel v Kriens

8 November 1997 Round 18	Basel	4–1	Kriens	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
17:30	Frick  10' Mendi 11' (1:0) Mendi 29' (2:0) Kreuzer  30' Frick 59' (3:0) Subiat 61' (4:0)	FCB summary	17' Schnüriger  48' Colatrella 78' Melina	Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Michael Herrmann
Note: FCB without Zuffi, Gaudino and Disseris (both injured) as well as La Placa and Sas (not in the squad). Jan Berger's debut. Kriens without Bonnafous and Stoop (suspended) and Pascale (injured). A minute's silence for the late Bruno Michaud. This week-end saw a number of Swiss referees in the German leagues and a number of German referees performing in Switzerland.

St. Gallen v Basel

19 November 1997 Round 19	St. Gallen	3–1	Basel	Espenmoos, St. Gallen
19:30	Slavchev 10' (1:0) Regtop 20' (2:0) Dal Santo  60' Vurens 67' (3:0)	FCB summary	21' Kreuzer 79' (3:1) Barberis	Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Claude Detruche (Thônex)
Note: St. Gallen were without Mouidi (injured) and Tsawa (suspended). FCB without Gaudino, Sas, La Placa (not in the squad), Mendi, Konde (both U-18 national team), Buess and Disseris (both injured).

Basel v Xamax

22 November 1997 Round 20	Basel	1–4	Xamax	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
17:30	Henry  60' Dobrovoljski 64' (1:4) Pérez  84'	FCB summary	26' (0:1) Gazic 32' (0:2) Jeanneret 39' (0:3) Hamann 45' (0:4) Kunz	Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Massimo Busacca (Monte Carasso/Bellinzona)
Note: FCB without Ceccaroni (calf contusion), Subiat (thigh strain), and Disseris (injured), as well as Konde, Mendi (both U-18 national team), and Gaudino (not in the squad). Xamax were without Rueda, Sandjak, Martinovic, Moret, Delay, and Boughanem (all injured), and Friedli (U18 national team). - 66th minute: Dobrovoljski hits the post.

Basel v Grasshopper Club

30 November 1997 Round 21	Basel	1–0	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Frick  22' Subiat 56' (1:0)	FCB summary	18' Gämperle  63' Haas  90+1' Tikva	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Serge Muhmenthaler (Grenchen)
Note: FCB without Sas and Ceccaroni (both injured). GC without Comisetti (injured), Gren, Smiljanic, and Esposito (all suspended). Barberis (strain) and Frick (shin injury) left the game injured. Referee Serge Muhmenthaler was honored before his last match before his retirement in Basel.

Luzern v Basel

7 December 1997 Round 22	Luzern	0–1	Basel	Stadion Allmend Luzern
14:30	Sawu 30′ Fink  73'	FCB summary	7' Hartmann  21' Kondé 47' (pen.)	Attendance: 9,050 Referee: Philippe Leuba (Chexbres)
Note: FCL without Kögl, Lehmann, Koilov, Yenay, Baumann, Daniel Wyss, Brown (all injured), Gmür (recovering) and van Eck (suspended); Basel without Subiat, Knup, Nemtsoudis, Ceccaroni, Barberis, Sas and Schmidiger (all injured). NLA debut of Louis Crayton (20/Liberia) in the FCL goal. 21st minute: a shot from Sawu hits the crossbar. 30th minute: FCB goalkeeper saved the penalty kick from Agent Sawu.

Promotion/relegation group

Solothurn v Basel

1 March 1998 Round 1	Solothurn	2–3	Basel	Stadion FC Solothurn, Solothurn
14:30	Plaschy  1' Fluri  64' Edward 75' (1:3) Bürgisser  79' Fluri 81' (2:3) Edward  83'	FCB summary	12' Gaudino 20' (0:1) Gaudino 71' (0:2) Berger 74' (0:3) Berger  80' Zuffi  90+4' Barberis	Attendance: 6,750 Referee: Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers)
Note: Solothurn without Du Buisson and Maiano (both suspended). FCB without Henry (suspended), Sas, Fabinho (both injured) and Salvi was not in the 16-man squad (18 were allowed on the match sheet at that time). FCB with new head-coach Guy Mathez. Yellow card against Plaschy after just 42 seconds for a dangerous foul.

Basel v Kriens

7 March 1998 Round 2	Basel	4–2	Kriens	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
17:30	Henry 8' (1:0) Kreuzer  25' Frick 39' (2:2) Frick 64' (3:2) Henry  89' Knup 90+2' (4:1)	FCB summary	1' Egli  19' Schwizer 32' (1:1) Benson 38' (1:2) Zwyssig	Attendance: 7,800 Referee: Dieter Schoch (Attiswil)
Note: FCB without Zuffi (suspended), Hartmann, Fabinho, Sas and Salvi (all injured). 69th minute: Frick substituted out with a bruised pelvis; 79th minute: Webber substituted out with an ankle injury. Kriens were without Burri (injured).

Young Boys v Basel

15 March 1998 Round 3	Young Boys	2–2	Basel	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
14:30	Smajić  5' Lengen  23' Smajić 50' (1:0) Ivanov  74' Ivanov 85' (pen. 2:2)	FCB summary	67' Kreuzer  68' Mathez (head-coach, not on pitch) 73' (1:1) Barberis  73' Gaudino 76' (1:2) Kreuzer  87' Henry	Referee: Claude Detruche (Thônex)
Note: YB without Lingenhag, Streun, Vukotic, Brechbühl (all injured) and Eich (youth team). FCB without Salvi, Sas and Fabinho (all injured). YB honored as National League B champions before the match. Shots on the goal post: (46th minute/1st half) Knup. 58th minute, Bekirovski. 68th minute: FCB coach Mathez sent onto the stands. 85th minute, Smajic substituted out with a broken shoulder. Inadequate, erratic refereeing. Lacking feel for the game, inconsistent, and unfocused in set-piece decisions. Very poor condition of the pitch.

Basel v Xamax

21 March 1998 Round 4	Basel	3–6	Xamax	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
17:30	Gaudino 2' (1:0) Frick  24' Webber  29' Pérez 51' (2:3) Knup 53' (3:3) Mathez (head-coach, not on field) 64' Gaudino  66' Mendi 80'	FCB summary	7' (1:1) Rueda  8' Hamann 25' (1:2) Halili 38' (1:3) Rothenbühler 61' (3:4) Zambaz 81' (3:5) Maslov 90+1' (3:6) Zambaz	Attendance: 10,500 Referee: René Rogalla Wallisellen
Note: FCB without Salvi, Sas, Fabinho, and Disseris (all injured), as well as Kreuzer, Henry, and Hasler (all suspended). Xamax were without Isabella (injured). 64th minute, FCB coach Guy Mathez was sent to the stands for dissent. The refereeing trio's performance was inconsistent.

Lugano v Basel

29 March 1998 Round 5	Lugano	0–0	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
14:30	Fernandez  41' Wegmann  48' Lendvai  51' Giannini  55' Anderson  85'	FCB summary	22' Zuffi  34' Tschopp  55' Knup	Attendance: 3,900 Referee: Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers)
Note: Lugano without Gimenez, Vieira, Allenspach (all injured) and Bullo (suspended); FCB without Kreuzer, Frick, Gaudino, Webber, Hasler (all suspended), Fabinho, Sas, Salvi, Disseris (all injured). Luis Calapes made his debut.[12]. FCB coach Guy Mathez watched the game from the opposite stand due to a suspension. 31st minute, tactical change after the Lugano substitution from Enrique to Andersen, Andersen played in the center forward position.

Basel v Etoile Carouge

4 April 1998 Round 6	Basel	3–1	Etoile Carouge	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
17:30	Gaudino 11' (1:0) Barberis  31' Kondé  49' Orlando  55' Gaudino 72' (2:0) Gaudino 77' (3:1)	FCB summary	10' Djorkaeff  42' Duchosal 76' (2:1) Hertig	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Jürg Herrmann (Hinterkapplen (Wohlen bei Bern))
Note: Basel were without Frick (suspended), Hartmann, Fabinho, and Salvi (all injured). Carouge were without Croci, Giuntini, and Cissé (all suspended), Bertone and Rapo (both injured), as well as Villiot and Bazdarevic (both not in the squad). 79th-minute, a goal from Mendi was disallowed (offside?).

Baden v Basel

8 April 1998 Round 7	Baden	3–1	Basel	Esp Stadium, Fislisbach
19:30	Dnibi 39' (1:1) Casamento 56' (2:1) Lüthi 71' (3:1)	FCB summary	6' (0:1) Knup  70' Pérez  78' Calapes (not on pitch).	Attendance: 3,450 Referee: Roland Beck (Triesenberg)
Note: Baden were without Viera, Torghele, Rossi (all suspended), Oldani, Hubeli and Wallon (all injured). Basel were without Salvi, Hartmann, Fabinho and Disseris (all injured). 78th minute, yellow card for Calapes for kicking the ball away, as substitute warming up, not on the pitch).

Basel v Baden

19 April 1998 Round 8	Basel	0–0	Baden	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Gaudino  69' Calapes  74'	FCB summary	62' Rossi  70' Adriano	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Roberto Ferrari
Note: Basel without Huber, Zuffi, Hartmann, Fabinho and Salvi (all injured). Baden without Oldani, Hubeli (both injured) and Okolosi (trial in France). 53rd minute, a shot from Gaudino rebounded off the post.

Etoile Carouge v Basel

25 April 1998 Round 9	Etoile Carouge	2–0	Basel	Stade de la Fontenette, Carouge
17:30	Elmira  37' Croci  57' Djorkaeff 78' (1:0) Rothenbühler 86' (2:0)	FCB summary	46' Barberis  59' Hartmann	Attendance: 1,180 Referee: Guido Wildhaber (Kerzers)
Note: Etoile Carouge were without Duchosal, Aeby, Cravero (all injured), Escofet (ill) and Bazdarevic (Studying). FCB without Huber, Salvi, Zuffi, Konde, Fabinho (injured) and Webber (ill).

Basel v Lugano

29 April 1998 Round 10	Basel	0–0	Lugano	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Ceccaroni  53'	FCB summary	44' Giménez  88' Giannini	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Marcel Vollenweider (Rüti, Zürich)
Note: FCB without Huber, Salvi, Henry, Fabinho (all injured) and Barberis (suspended). Lugano were without Brenna, Enrique (both suspended), Vivas (international duty), Andersen, Vieira and Allenspach (all injured). 58th minute, FCB tactical change Zuffi played in midfield, Reimann in defense.

Xamax v Basel

2 May 1998 Round 11	Xamax	2–1	Basel	Stade de la Maladière (1924), Neuchâtel
19:30	Wittl 16' (1:1) Martinović 45' (2:1) Maslov  70' Delay  81'	FCB summary	1' Knup 11' (0:1) Frick  57' Ceccaroni	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: André Daina (Eclepens)
Note: Xamax were without Perret (suspended), Chanlot (internally suspended), Corminbúuf, Moret, and Isabella (all injured). Basel were without Huber, Salvi, Henry, Gaudino, and Fabinho (all injured). 9th minute, Rueda left the field with a strain. Czech U21 international Pechoucek made his debut for Basel.[13] The refereeing trio delivered a simply inadequate and error-prone performance.

Basel v Young Boys

9 May 1998 Round 12	Basel	4–1	Young Boys	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:30	Frick 25' (1:0) Pěchouček 32' (2:0) Kreuzer  34' Knup  43' Frick 47' (3:0) Gaudino 52' (4:0) Kondé  71'	FCB summary	71' (pen.) Vukotić	Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Carlo Bertolini (Vira-Gambarogno)
Note: FCB without Salvi, Henry, Barberis and Fabinho (all injured) as well as Ceccaroni (suspended). YB without Streun, Smajic and Bekirovski (all injured) as well as Gerber (suspended).

Kriens v Basel

17 May 1998 Round 13	Kriens	1–3	Basel	Stadion Kleinfeld, Kriens
16:00	Esposito  16' Disler  66' Erni  68' Rölli 73' (1:1) Burri 89′	FCB summary	3' Reimann  12' Pěchouček  45' Zuffi 49' (0:1) Frick 75' (1:2) Frick 90+3' Zuffi	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Dieter Schoch (Attiswil)
Note: Kriens were without Bonnafous (injured) and Stoop (not in the squad). FCB without Ceccaroni, Knup, Konde (all suspended), Henry, Salvi, Barberis, and Fabinho (all injured). After Pechoucek's sending-off, Basel played with Zuffi in midfield and Frick as their lone striker. 89th minute, FCB goalkeeper Stefan Huber saved the penalty-kick from Reto Burri. There were disturbances after the final whistle by Basel "fans" who attacked the refereeing trio.

Basel v Solothurn

24 May 1998 Round 14	Basel	3–0	Solothurn	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
16:00	Kreuzer 4' (1:0) Gaudino 41' (2:0) Reimann  49' Frick 57' (3:0) Pérez  64'	FCB summary	40' Roth  42' Aebi	Attendance: 36,500 (sold-out) Referee: Urs Meier (Wettingen and Würenlos)
Note: Basel were without Pechoucek (suspended), Salvi, Henry, Knup, Dobrovoljski, and Fabinho (all injured). Solothurn were without Knutti and Vifian (both injured). In the 50th minute, Konde replaced Disseris as man-marker, with Tschopp moving into midfield. No disturbances occurred before, during, or after the match. This was the last match in the St. Jakob Stadium before it was knocked down and replaced by the St. Jakob-Park.

Swiss Cup

SC Buochs v Basel

15 November 1997 Round 5	SC Buochs	2–7 (a.e.t.)	Basel	Stadion Seefeld, Buochs
16:00	Cavallucci 22' (pen. 1:1) Meier  33' Bieri 54' (2:1) Von Flüe  90' Barmettler  119'	FCB summary	17' (0:1) Zuffi  22' Nemtsoudis  54' Henry 86' (2:2) Subiat 96' (2:3) Subiat 101' (2:4) Subiat 112' (2:5) Knup 117' (2:6) Knup 120+1' (2:7) Henry	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: René Rogalla (Wallisellen)
Note: SC Buochs played the 1997–98 season in the 1. Liga (fourth-tier). SC Buochs ​​without Baumann (injured); FCB without Gaudino and Sas (not in the squad), Mendi (U-18 national team), Salvi (ill, on the bench). 66th minute, tactical change for Basel, Berger played on the left after coming on, Frick on the right in midfield, Barberis at full-back. After coming on, Knup played as a striker, Zuffi in midfield.

Xamax v Basel

21 February 1998 Round 6	Xamax	2–0	Basel	Stade de la Maladière (1924), Neuchâtel
18:15	Wittl  34' Jeanneret  50' Martinović 64' (1:0) Halili 71' (2:0) Hamann  76'	FCB summary	15' Webber  20'  45' Henry  90+1' Gaudino	Attendance: 3,900 Referee: Massimo Busacca
Note: Xamax without Alicarte, Moret and Boughanem (all injured); Hamann as libero after the break. FCB without Fabinho (injured). 91st minute: a shot from Jeanneret bounced off the post.