1967–68 FC Basel season
The 1967–68 season was Fussball Club Basel 1893's 74th season since their foundation. It was their 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of Swiss football following their promotion the season 1945–46. They played their home games in the St. Jakob Stadium. The Chairman of the board was Harry Thommen for the second consecutive year.
| 1967–68 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Harry Thommen |
| Manager |  Helmut Benthaus |
| Ground | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| Nationalliga A | 5th |
| Swiss Cup | Round 5 |
| 1967–68 European Cup | First Round |
| Cup of the Alps | 8th |
| Top goalscorer | League: Roberto Frigerio (9) Helmut Hauser (9) Dieter Rüefli (9) All: Helmut Hauser (13) |
| Highest home attendance | 37,000 on 31 March 1968 vs. Lugano |
| Lowest home attendance | 5,000 on 18 May 1968 vs. Bellinzona |
| Average home league attendance | 14,753 |
Overview
Helmut Benthaus was the club player-manager for the third consecutive season. He and his team were the defending league champions. There were no big amaêndments to the squad, one reserve goalkeeper left and one reserve goalkeeper advanced to them and defender Manfred Schädler joined from local club FC Birsfelden and striker Dieter Rüefli joined from Winterthur. Basel played a total of 42 matches in this season. 26 of these games were in the domestic league, two were in the Swiss Cup, two were in the European Cup, five were in the Cup of the Alps and seven were friendly matches. Of these seven test games five were won and two ended with a draw.[1]
There were 14 teams contesting in the 1967–68 Nationalliga A. These were the top 12 teams from the previous 1966–67 season and the two newly promoted teams Luzern and Bellinzona. Basel, as reigning champions, played a mediocre season. Although they were within reach of the table top all the time, they messed everything up towards the end of the season as they lost five games out of seven. Therefore they finished the season in fifth position. They were seven points behind the trio Zürich, Grasshopper Club and Lugano who all ended the season with 38 points. These three team then had to play a championship play-off round and Zürich won both games and became champions. Basel won 13 of the league 26 games, drawing five, losing eight times, and they scored 49 goals conceding 33.[2] The trio Roberto Frigerio, Helmut Hauser and Dieter Rüefli were the team's top goal scorers in the domestic league, each netted nine times.[3]
In the Swiss Cup Basel started in the round of 32 with a home match against lower classed FC Le Locle. But the game had to go into overtime. After Le Locle took the lead just after half time break, Frigerio netted the equaliser shortly before the end. In the overtime player-manager Helmut Benthaus managed the winning goal. In the next round Basel played an away game against FC Zürich, but were defeated 0–1 and this campaign was ended very quickly.[4]
As reigning champions Basel were qualified for the 1967–68 European Cup. In the first round they were drawn against Danish team Hvidovre. The first leg was in the St. Jakob Stadium. Despite an early lead scored by Hauser, the Danes turned the game and won. In the return leg in stadium Idrætsparken in Copenhagen, Hauser again scored the early lead. Again the Dames turned the match and shortly after half time went into a 3–1 lead. This time Basel were fighting against the defeat and drew level at 3–3 but could not manage to score a winning goal, which would have put them through to the next round.[5]
Players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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- Players who left the squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Results
- Legend
Win Draw Loss Postponed
Pre-season
| 29 July 1967 Pre-season | Karlsruher SC | 3 – 3 | Basel | Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe |
Kafka  5' (1:0)Hausser 9' (2:1)Zaczyk 23' (3:3) |
Summary | 7' (1:1) Frigerio 15' (2:2) Rüefli 17' (2:3) Odermatt |
Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Eisenmann |
| 2 August 1967 Pre-season | SV Schopfheim | 1 – 8 | Basel | Oberfeldstadion, Schopfheim |
|
Summary | (4x) Rüefli (2x) Frigerio (1x) Hauser (1x) Odermatt |
| 5 August 1967 Pre-season | Basel | 2 – 2 |  SK Slavia Prague | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Frigerio 67' (1:1) Hauser 74' (2:1) |
Summary | 8' (0:1) Novak 79' (2:2) Vesely |
Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Eugen Boller Bottmingen |
Winter break and mid-season
| 11 February 1968 Winter break | Basel | 4 – 0 | St. Gallen | Landhof, Basel |
| 14:30 | Rüefli 29' (1:0) Ramseier 59' (2:0)Hauser 70' (3:0)Rüefli 88' (4:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 3,000 Referee: J. Heymann Arlesheim |
| 18 February 1968 Winter break | Basel | 4 – 0 | Schaffhausen | Landhof, Basel |
| 14:30 | Rüefli 6' (1:0) Rüefli 30' (2:0)Mundschin 31' (3:0)Rüefli 85' (4:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 1,300 Referee: H. R. Keller Basel |
| 24 February 1968 Pre-season | Basel | 4 – 0 | Solothurn | Landhof, Basel |
| Ramseier 9' (1:0) Rüefli 10' (2:0)Ramseier 41' (3:0)Odermatt 73' (4:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 300 Referee: Peter Hänggi Aesch |
| 16 March 1968 Mid-season | Thun | 1 – 4 | Basel | Stadion Lachen, Thun |
| Balmer 5' (1:0) |
Summary | 23' (1:1) Rüefli 48' (1:2) Hauser 48' (1:3) Rüefli 66' (1:4) Hauser |
Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Gerber Langenthal |
Nationalliga A
League matches
| 20 August 1967 Round 1 | Luzern | 4 – 2 | Basel | Stadion Allmend, Luzern |
| 16:00 | Richter 1' (1:0) Richter 14' (2:0)Wechselberger 63' (3:2)Bertschi 90+1' (4:2) |
Summary | 43' (2:1) Hauser 54' (2:2) Odermatt |
Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Rudolf Scheurer Bettlach |
| 27 August 1967 Round 2 | Sion | 0 – 0 | Basel | Parc des Sports, Sion |
| 16:00 | Summary | Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Roland Keller Bern |
| 2 September 1967 Round 3 | Basel | 3 – 1 | Grenchen | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Hauser 39' (1:0) Pfirter 49' (2:0)Rüefli 83' (3:0) |
Summary | 88' (3:1) Amez-Droz |
Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Luigi Grassi Novazzano |
| 9 September 1967 Round 4 | Lugano | 4 – 2 | Basel | Cornaredo, Lugano |
| 20:45 | Brenna 12' (1:0) Brenna 39' (2:0)Chiesa 42' (3:0)Luttrop 81' (4:1) |
Summary | 64' (o.g. 3:1) Egli 85' (pen. 4:2) Hauser |
Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Mario Clematide Zollikofen |
| 16 September 1967 Round 5 | Basel | 1 – 0 | Young Fellows Zürich | Landhof, Basel |
| 16:00 | Demarmels 47' (1:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 6,800 Referee: Roland Marendaz Lausanne |
| 24 September 1967 Round 6 | Zürich | 1 – 4 | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| 16:00 | Winiger 48' (1:1) |
Summary | 11' (0:1) Hauser 76' (1:2) Wenger 80' (1:3) Wenger 86' (1:4) Demarmels |
Attendance: 9,500 Referee: A. Ceretti Biel/Bienne |
| 8 October 1967 Round 7 | Basel | 2 – 0 | Lausanne-Sport | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 15:00 | Frigerio 44' (1:0) Odermatt  79'Frigerio 80' (2:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Marcel Schneuwly Fribourg |
| 15 October 1967 Round 8 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 3 – 2 | Basel | Stade Charrière, La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| 15:00 | Zappella 51' (1:1) Jeandupeux 65' (2:2)Clerc 90' (3:2) |
Summary | 32' (0:1) Frigerio 54' (1:2) Frigerio |
Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Rudolf Scheurer Bettlach |
| 22 October 1967 Round 9 | Basel | 4 – 0 | Biel-Bienne | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 15:00 | Hauser 6' (1:0) Odermatt 24' (2:0)Rüefli 33' (3:0)Demarmels 67' (4:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Josef Zibung Luzern |
| 26 October 1967 Round 10 | Bellinzona | 0 – 0 | Basel | Stadio Comunale Bellinzona |
| 15:00 | Summary | Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Roland Marendaz Lausanne |
| 5 November 1967 Round 11 | Basel | 4 – 0 | Young Boys | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 14:45 | Frigerio 6' (1:0) Odermatt 12' (2:0)Frigerio 54' (3:0)Benthaus 61' (4:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Marcel Schneuwly Fribourg |
| 26 November 1967 Round 12 | Grasshopper Club | 1 – 1 | Basel | Hardturm, Zürich |
| 14:30 | Aerni 85' (1:1) |
Summary | 50' (0:1) Hauser |
Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Mario Clematide Zollikofen |
| 3 December 1967 Round 13 | Basel | 1 – 0 | Servette | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 14:30 | Hauser 64' (pen.) Hauser 85' |
Summary | 64' Barlie 64' Maffiolo 79' Pazmandy |
Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Roland Keller Bern |
| 3 March 1968 Round 14 | Basel | 3 – 0 | Luzern | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 14:30 | Wenger 12' (1:0) Benthaus 34' (2:0)Rüefli 64' (3:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 12,500 Referee: Mario Clematide Zollikofen |
| 10 March 1968 Round 15 | Basel | 2 – 2 | Sion | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 14:30 | Rüefli 22' (1:0) Frigerio 56' (2:1) |
Summary | 26' (1:1) Savary 88' (2:2) Bruttin |
Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Marcel Despland Yverdon |
| 24 March 1968 Round 16 | Grenchen | 0 – 1 | Basel | Stadion Brühl, Grenchen |
| 15:00 | Summary | 4' (1:0) Rüefli |
Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Roland Marendaz Lausanne |
| 31 March 1968 Round 17 | Basel | 1 – 1 | Lugano | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 15:00 | Rüefli 75' (1:0) |
Summary | 76' (1:1) Chiesa |
Attendance: 37,000 (new record for Swiss football) Referee: Gilbert Droz Marin |
| 7 April 1968 Round 18 | Young Fellows Zürich | 2 – 4 | Basel | Letzigrund, Zürich |
| 14:00 | Chiandussi 6' (1:0) Matus 86' (2:3) |
Summary | 58' (1:1) Wenger 67' (1:2) Wenger 75' (1:3) Demarmels 90' (2:4) Odermatt |
Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern |
| 21 April 1968 Round 19 | Basel | 1 – 2 | Zürich | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 15:00 | Rüefli 15' (1:0) |
Summary | 40' (1:1) Künzli 47' (1:2) Künzli |
Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Rudolf Scheurer Bettlach |
| 27 April 1968 Round 20 | Lausanne-Sport | 3 – 1 | Basel | Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne |
| 20:30 | Hosp 6' (1:0) Vuilleumier 10' (2:0)Vuilleumier 76' (3:0) |
Summary | 65' Benthaus 78' (pen. 3:1) Frigerio |
Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Marcel Schneuwly Fribourg |
| 4 May 1968 Round 21 | Basel | 3 – 1 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:15 | Hauser 13' (1:0) Frigerio 16' (2:0)Benthaus 49' (3:0) |
Summary | 60' (3:1) Duvoisin 88' Duvoisin |
Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Mario Clematide Zollikofen |
| 11 May 1968 Round 22 | Biel-Bienne | 4 – 1 | Basel | Gurzelen Stadion, Biel/Bienne |
| 15:00 | Gnägi 1' (1:0) Renfer 15' (2:0)Gnägi 37' (3:1)Matter 90' (4:1) |
Summary | 36' (2:1) Paolucci 83' Kiefer |
Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Fernand Burioli Lausanne |
| 18 May 1968 Round 23 | Basel | 1 – 0 | Bellinzona | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:15 | Rüefli 54' (1:0) |
Summary | Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Marcel Despland Yverdon |
| 25 May 1968 Round 24 | Young Boys | 3 – 2 | Basel | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern |
| 20:15 | Grosser 40' (1:0) Guggisberg 33' (2:1)Kellas 82' (3:2) |
Summary | 32' (1:1) Rüefli 40' (pen. 2:2) Hauser Ramseier |
Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Werner Mettler St. Gallen |
| 1 June 1968 Round 25 | Basel | 0 – 1 | Grasshopper Club | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:15 | Kiefer  3'Hauser  62′ |
Summary | 82' (0:1) Grahn |
Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Marcel Schneuwly Fribourg |
| 8 June 1968 Round 26 | Servette | 0 – 3 | Basel | Charmilles Stadium, Geneva |
| 20:15 | Summary | 24' (0:1) Demarmels 51' (0:2) Wenger 89' (0:3) Demarmels |
Attendance: 3,800 Referee: Mario Clematide Zollikofen |
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Zürich (C) | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 63 | 27 | +36 | 38 | Swiss Champions, qualified for 1968–69 European Cup |
| 2 | Grasshopper Club Zürich | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 54 | 23 | +31 | 38 | |
| 3 | FC Lugano | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 53 | 30 | +23 | 38 | Swiss Cup winners, qualified for 1968–69 Cup Winners' Cup and entered 1968 Intertoto Cup |
| 4 | Lausanne Sports | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 67 | 43 | +24 | 32 | Entered 1968 Intertoto Cup |
| 5 | FC Basel | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 31 | |
| 6 | FC Lucerne | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 28 | |
| 7 | FC Biel-Bienne | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 25 | Entered 1968 Intertoto Cup |
| 8 | BSC Young Boys | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 37 | 43 | −6 | 25 | |
| 9 | FC Sion | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 24 | |
| 10 | FC La Chaux-de-Fonds | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 22 | Entered 1968 Intertoto Cup |
| 11 | Servette FC Genève | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 42 | −2 | 21 | |
| 12 | AC Bellinzona | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 21 | Entered 1968 Intertoto Cup |
| 13 | Young Fellows Zürich | 26 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 58 | −37 | 12 | Relegated to Nationalliga B |
| 14 | FC Grenchen | 26 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 62 | −43 | 9 | Relegated to Nationalliga B |
Swiss Cup
European Cup
- First round
| 20 September 1967 First leg | Basel | 1 – 2 |  Hvidovre | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Hauser 17' (1:0) |
Report FCB Summary |
58' (1:1) Larsen 80' (1:2) Sørensen |
Attendance: 13,344 Referee: Gyula Emsberger (Hungary) |
| 18 October 1967 Second leg | Hvidovre | 3 – 3 | Basel | Idrætsparken, Copenhagen |
| 19:00 | Hansen 18' Sørensen 39'Olsen 58' |
Report FCB Summary |
2' Hauser 63' Benthaus 78' Benthaus 85' Wenger |
Attendance: 9,363 Referee:  Ken Dagnall (England) |
Hvidovre won 5–4 on aggregate.
Matches
| 14 June 1967 Round 1 | Basel | 0 – 1 |  Torino | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Summary | 4' (0:1) Ferrini |
Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Pius Kamber Zürich |
| 20 June 1967 Round 2 | Basel | 0 – 2 | AS Roma | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Summary | 7' (0:1) Barison 76' (0:2) Barison |
Attendance: 8,600 Referee: Mario Clematide Zollikofen |
| 23 June 1967 Round 3 | Basel | 4 – 4 | TSV 1860 Munich | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Hauser 8' (1:0) Rahmen 26' (2:1)Wenger 30' (3:1)Rüefli 33' (4:1) |
Summary | 19' (1:1) Bründl 43' (4:2) Bründl 43' (4:3) Küppers 54' (4:4) Kohlars |
Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Gottfried Dienst, Basel |
| 27 June 1967 Round 4 | Basel | 0 – 3 | AC Milan | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Summary | 25' (o.g.) Odermatt 68' (0:2) Fortunato 69' (0:3) Trapattoni |
Attendance: 11,400 Referee: Rudolf Scheurer Bettlach |
| 15 August 1967 Round 5 | Basel | 1 – 2 | Eintracht Frankfurt | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel |
| 20:00 | Odermatt 76' (0:1) |
Summary | 53' (pen. 0:1) Solz 74' (0:2) Bechtold |
Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Gilbert Droz Marin |
Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | TSV 1860 Munich | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 7 |
| 3 | AS Roma | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 6 |
| 4 | Torino | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Servette | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| 6 | AC Milan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | Zürich | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 8 | Basel | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
References
- Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Bilanz 1967/68". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Bilanz Saison 1967/68". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Statistik Nationalliga A 1967/68". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "FC Zürich - FC Basel 1:0 (0:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Hvidovre IF - FC Basel 3:3 (2:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
Sources
- Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4
- Switzerland 1967–68 at RSSSF
- Cup of the Alps 1967 at RSSSF