Basel – Shakhtar Donetsk preview (200th post)

As the title states, this is the 200th post for the Switzerland blog. Thanks to those who wrote before me and those who regularly read and comment

Big evening for Swiss football tomorrow: FC Basel will attempt to be successful in the lucrative Champions’ League group phase and will begin against Ukrainian Champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

The game brings back memories of epic campaigns in 2002, Basel had started that incredible season with a 2-0 win over Spartak Moscow, “we have to be inspired by that game” says coach Christian Gross, “an identical beginning would be ideal”.

Yet it’s not going to be easy: Shakhtar has an estimated 75 Million Swiss Franc budget and can count on a coach like Mircea Lucescu and a 50,000 seater stadium. Other than that, Shaktar intend to qualify from the group stage for the first time in 5 attempts. Last year’s last-gasp defeats to Benfica and Celtic had condemned the Ukrainian team to an early exit: will the tale be different this time?
But the championship hasn’t had a great start for Shakhtar who are currently in 7th place, 11 points behind city rivals Metalurh.

Basel can be glad of the return of Derdiyok after a 2-week injury but will have to do without Ivan Ergic (who got injured during the France-Serbia game) and Safari. Streller’s return is also feasible, yet he will not start the game from the beginning.

Coach Gross says “You have to be realistic in this game. The Ukrainians will be glad to start off with the ‘little Swiss team’. The Champions’ League is a pitiless competition, it requires intelligence and courage. But I believe FC Basel will have their chance throughout the six games that await us”.

In 2002, no one would have believed that Basel could qualify from a group including the likes of Liverpool and Valencia, yet they did. Coach Gross admits that “Gimenez’ opener in the Old Trafford (second group phase where Basel played against Juventus, Manchester and Deportivo) will be forever in my memory”.

Let’s hope this campaign will add to the coach’s good memories. HOPP BASEL!!!

In the other game of the group FC Barcelona play at home against Sporting Lisbon.