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Brief Club History
The club was formed in 1893, after an advert placed in the Basler newspaper. One of their early captains of the club, Joan Gamper, went on to found FC Barcelona. While not quite as successful as the Spanish giants, Basel are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won 12 domestic titles.
The club were most successful in the 60s and 70s, and suffered relegation in 1987. They returned to the top flight 1994, and have now established themselves back at the top of the league, regularly qualifying for European competitions.
Fans & Foes
Basel's main rivals are FC Zurich and Grasshoppers Zurich, and the rivalry sometimes spills over onto the pitch.
In 2006 there was a pitch invasion at St Jakob Park following a late goal scored by FC Zurich which handed them the Swiss title at the expense of Basel, who were attempting to win the title for the third season in a row. Fans fought with opposition players and police, and the club were fined and had to play their opening matches of the following season behind closed doors.
The rivalry with FC Zurich is seen to be more fierce than that with Grasshoppers, although that is largely down to the relative success of the two sides over recent years - they are typically battling it out at the business end of the season for silverware, heightening tensions.
