1928–29 FC Basel season

FC Basel

1928–29 season
Chairman	Hans Rupprecht
First team coach	Gyula Kertész
Ground	Landhof, Basel
Serie A	Group Stage: 2nd
Swiss Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Karl Bielser (15) All: Karl Bielser (20)
Highest home attendance	5,500 on 30 December 1928 vs Nordstern Basel and on 7 April 1929 vs Young Boys
Lowest home attendance	3,000 on 30 September 1928 vs Grenchen and on 3 March 1929 vs FC Bern
Average home league attendance	4,250
← 1927–28 1929–30 →

The FC Basel 1928–29 season was their thirty sixth season since the club's foundation on 15 November 1893. The club's new chairman was Hans Rupprecht who took over the presidency from Karl Ibach at the AGM on 7 July 1928. FC Basel played their home games in the Landhof in the district Wettstein in Kleinbasel.

Overview[]

The former Hungarian international footballer Gyula Kertész was appointed as coach/manager at the beginning of the 1928–29 Serie A season. After Percy Humphreys (1913–14) and Max Breunig (1922–23), Kertész was just the third professional trainer that the club had engaged up until this point. The decision to employ a professional football trainer/manager was made because FC Basel had slipped well below the level of their local rivals Nordstern, who had qualified for the finals three times in the last five years.^[1]

Basel played a total of 29 matches in their 1928–29 season. 16 of these were in the domestic league, three were in the Swiss Cup and 10 were friendly matches. Of these 10 friendlies three were played at home in the Landhof and seven were away games. Apart from the away game against Mulhouse all other matches were in Switzerland. Basel scored 24 goals in these friendlies and conceded 32.^[2]

The 1928–29 Swiss Serie A was divided into three regional groups, each group with nine teams. The teams that won each group continue to the finals and the last placed team in each group had to play a barrage against relegation. Basel were allocated to the Central group together with the other three local clubs Concordia Basel, Nordstern Basel and Old Boys Basel. The other five teams allocated to this group were Young Boys Bern, FC Bern, Aarau, Grenchen and Solothurn. This season was a very competitive one. After a defeat against YB in the first match, it was obvious that a professional coach was at work, because the team won eight of the next ten matches. The team rose to the top of the table, thanks to the good goal scoring of their best forwards Alfred Schlecht, Karl Bielser and Alfred Enderlin. But then, an unawaited 1–4 home defeat against lower placed local rivals Concordia changed everything. In the last five matches Basel managed only three draws and were defeated twice.^[3] The top five teams ended the season within four points of each other and each team won eight of their 16 matches. With 20 points Basel ended the season in second position, just one point behind group winners Young Boys, who advanced to the finals and then won the championship.^[4]

Basel scored 48 league goals and conceded 32. Karl Bielser was the team's top league goalscorer with 15 goals, Alfred Schlecht was second top scorer with 14 goals and Alfred Enderlin scored nine. Further goal scorers were Walter Müller with four, Max Strasser with three, Paul Schaub with two and Otto Meier one.^[5]

In the Swiss Cup Basel were drawn against Baden in the preliminary round, against Bülach in the first round, but were eliminated by Concordia Basel in the second round. Concordia continued the competition and reached the semi-final, there losing to Urania Genève Sport, who won the final against Young Boys 1–0, which was played in the Stade de Frontenex in Geneva.^[6]

Players[]

Squad members

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   SUI Traugott Märki — GK   SUI Ernst Zorzotti — DF   SUI Armando Ardizzoia — DF  FRG Hermann Enderlin (II) — DF   SUI Peter Riesterer — DF   SUI Ernst Weber — DF   SUI — MF   SUI Max Galler (II) — MF   SUI Georg Heimann

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   SUI Otto Meier — MF   SUI Paul Schaub — FW   SUI Karl Bielser — FW  FRG Alfred Enderlin (I) — FW   SUI Walter Müller — FW   SUI Max Oswald — FW   SUI Alfred Schlecht — FW   SUI Max Strasser — FW   SUI Karl Wüthrich — FW   SUI

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   SUI Ernst Christ — GK   SUI Arthur Fahr — DF   SUI Jakob Bürgin — FW   SUI Emil Arlt — DF   SUI — FW  FRA Max Lehmann

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   SUI — FW   SUI Hans Rau — FW   SUI Hans Streng — DF   SUI — FW   SUI Franz Zeiser — FW   SUI ? Weber

Results[]

Legend[]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendly matches[]

Pre- and mid-season[]

Winter break to end of season[]

Serie A[]

Central Group results[]

Central Group table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Young Boys	16	8	5	3	34	22	+12	21	Group winners / Advance to finals
2	Basel	16	8	4	4	48	32	+16	20
3	Nordstern Basel	16	8	2	6	46	32	+14	18
4	FC Bern	16	8	2	6	29	29	0	18
5	Concordia Basel	16	8	1	7	33	30	+3	17
6	Grenchen	16	6	2	8	20	24	−4	14
7	Old Boys	16	5	3	8	29	32	−3	13
8	Solothurn	16	5	2	9	34	49	−15	12
9	Aarau	16	4	3	9	26	49	−23	11	Relegation play-off

Swiss Cup[]

See also[]

• History of FC Basel
• List of FC Basel players
• List of FC Basel seasons

References[]

Sources[]

• Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2027-6
• Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. ISBN 978-3-7245-2305-5
• FCB team 1928–29 at fcb-archiv.ch
• Switzerland 1928-29 at RSSSF

External links[]

• FC Basel official site