Pre-season

Helmut Benthaus was first team manager for the tenth consecutive season. There were a few amendments to the team. Josef Kiefer, now coming to the end of his active career, went on to play for FC Breitenbach. Kiefer had been with the club for 12 seasons. Between the years 1962 and 1974 he had played a total of 355 games for Basel, 170 of these games were in the domestic league. He had won the championship five times and the Swiss Cup once. A number of other players also left the club, Teófilo Cubillas went on to Porto, Rudolf Wampfler to Fribourg, Peter Wenger went on to Nordstern Basel and Felix Tschudin moved on to local club SC Binningen. In an inwards directions Fritz Wirth joined on loan from Grenchen, Roland Schönenberger signed from Wangen bei Olten and Danish international Eigil Nielsen signed from Winterthur.

Basel played a total of 51 games in their 1974–75 season. 26 in the domestic league, seven in the Swiss Cup, four in the Swiss League Cup, five in the Cup of the Alps and nine were friendly matches. The team scored a total of 123 goals and conceded 66. Basel won all nine friendly games, of which three were played at home and the other six away.^[1]

Domestic league

The Nationalliga A season 1974–75 was contested under 14 teams. These were the top 12 teams from the previous 1973–74 season and the two newly promoted teams Luzern and Vevey-Sports. The championship was played in a double round robin. The champions would qualify for the 1975–76 European Cup, the second and third placed teams were to qualify for 1975–76 UEFA Cup and the last two teams in the table at the end of the season were to be relegated. Zürich won the championship six points ahead of both BSC Young Boys who were second and Grasshopper Club who were third. Basel finished in fourth position with 31 points. They won 11 of their 26 league games, drew nine and lost six games. They scored a total of 49 goals conceding 33. Ottmar Hitzfeld was the team's top goal scorer with 13 league goals, Roland Schönenberger second top scorer with six, Peter Ramseier, Walter Mundschin and Walter Balmer each scored five league goals. The poor results in this and the two previous seasons were now also being reflected in the match attendances. Where as in the 1971–72 season each but one match had attracted more than 10,000 spectators, this season only two games were attended by more than 10,000 people. The average number of spectators had halved within just three years.^[2]

Swiss Cup and League Cup

In the 50th Swiss Cup tournament Basel played the round of 32 on 21 September 1974 away against Chiasso in the Stadio Comunale and in the round 16 away against Zürich in the Letzigrund. The quarter-finals were two legged fixtures. Basel played the first leg on 30 October 1974 away in Stade de la Fontenette and the return leg on 3 November 1974 in the St. Jakob Stadium against Étoile Carouge. Both games ended with a 2–1 victory and so Basel qualified 4–2 on aggregate for the next round. The semi-finals were played in March against Chênois and was also a two legged fixture. In the first leg, played in Stade des Trois-Chêne, Basel achieved a 4–1 victory and the second leg ended with a 2–1 victory. The final was played on 31 March 1975 in the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern against Winterthur. Otto Demarmels scored the opening goal for Basel, E. Meyer equalised and so the game went into extra time. Walter Balmer scored the winning goal for Basel after 115 minutes. Basel were Swiss Cup winners for the fifth time in the club's history.^[3]

The Swiss League Cup ended for Basel in the semi-final as they were beaten 1–3 at home against Grasshopper Club. They had beaten Young Boys in the round of 32, Luzern in the round of 16, and Aarau in the quarter-final. Basel were not qualified to play European matches, but they played in the Coppa delle Alpi and won the group stage and thus reached the final, only to lose 1–2 against BSC Young Boys.^[4]

Coppa delle Alpi

In the Cup of the Alps Basel were drawn into group B. The first match was played at home against French team Olympique Lyonnais. The match was drawn 1–1 on 13 July 1974, Fritz Wirth equalised for Basel soon after half time after Ildo Maneiro had put the French team ahead shortly before the break. On 20 July the second round was played and Basel travelled to France to play against Nîmes Olympique. Basel won 4–2 thanks to a hat-trick from Eigil Nielsen and a goal from Ottmar Hitzfeld. Matchday three was on 23 July in Lyon and Basel won the return game against Olympique Lyonnais 3–1, thanks to goals from Jörg Stohler, Walter Balmer and Roland Schönenberger. Despite the fact that FCB lost the return game against Nîmes Olympique they were group winners and advanced to the final. The final was played on 30 July in the St. Jakob Stadium against Young Boys, but this ended with a 1–2 defeat.^[5]

Friendly matches

Pre-season and mid-season

Basel v Concordia Basel

July 1974 Pre-season	Basel	4 – 0	Concordia Basel	Basel
		Summary

FC Pratteln v Basel

July 1974 Pre-season	FC Pratteln	1 – 7	Basel	Pratteln
		Summary

Basel v Lazio

1 October 1974 Mid-season	Basel	4 – 3	Lazio	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Schönenberger 44' (1:1) Schönenberger 56' (2:1) Mundschin 65' (3:2) Tanner 69' (4:2)	Summary	17' (o.g. 0:1) 60' (2:2) Chinaglia 89' (pen. 4:3) Chinaglia	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: André Favre Echallens

Winter break and mid-season

Basel v Servette

2 February 1975 Winter break	Basel	5 – 1	Servette	Landhof, Basel
14:30	Morgenegg 38' (o.g. 1:0) Mundschin 53' (2:0) Stohler 63' (3:0) Schönenberger 64' (4:0) Wirth 85' (5:1)	Summary	66' (pen. 4:1) Pfister	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Wertli Volketswil

Karlsruher SC v Basel

8 February 1975 Winter break	Karlsruher SC	1 – 2	Basel	Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe
	Haunstein 3' (1:0) Trenkl 77′	Summary	65' (1:1) Balmer 85' (1:2) Schönenberger	Attendance: 4,000

Basel v Zürich

15 February 1975 Winter break	Basel	3 – 0	Zürich	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
18:00	Balmer 2' (1:0) Stohler 39' (2:0) Hasler 69' (3:0)	Summary		Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Rudolf Renggli Luzern

Nordstern Basel v Basel

22 February 1975 Winter break	Nordstern Basel	0 – 1	Basel	Stadion Rankhof, Basel
14:30		Summary	74' (0:1) von Wartburg	Attendance: 2,600 Referee: Haldimann Lugnorre

FC Fribourg v Basel

1 March 1975 Winter break	FC Fribourg	3 – 5	Basel	Stade Universitaire Saint-Léonard, Fribourg
	Dorthe 25' (1:3) Dorthe 50' (2:4) Degen 58' (3:4)	Summary	8' (0:1) Demarmels 15' (0:2) Hitzfeld 18' (0:2) Ramseier 37' (1:4) Balmer 73' (3:5) Balmer	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Zbinden Düdingen

Manchester United v Basel

8 May 1975 Mid-season	Manchester United	1 – 3	Basel	Stadtstadion Lörrach
17:30	Longhnane 86' (1:3)	Summary	29' (0:1) Hitzfeld 55' (0:2) Schönenberger 73' (0:3) Schönenberger	Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Ehrenfried Grether

Nationalliga

League matches

Basel v Xamax

17 August 1974 Round 1	Basel	2 – 2	Xamax	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hitzfeld Mundschin	Summary	44' Richard  66' Lusent	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Roland Racine Prilly

Lausanne-Sport v Basel

24 August 1974 Round 2	Lausanne-Sport	1 – 1	Basel	Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
20:30	Traber 84' (1:1)	Summary	61' (0:1) Ramseier	Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Walter Hungerbühler St. Gallen

Basel v Winterthur

31 August 1974 Round 3	Basel	5 – 0	Winterthur	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hitzfeld 42' (1:0) Balmer 52' (2:0) von Wartburg 80' (3:0) Hitzfeld 88' (pen. 4:0) Hitzfeld 90' (5:0)	Summary		Attendance: 6,500 Referee: René Matthieu

Sion v Basel

7 September 1974 Round 4	Sion	1 – 1	Basel	Stade Tourbillon, Sion
20:15	Valentini  60' Luisier 75' (1:1)	Summary	17' (0:1) Hitzfeld  76' Hasler	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Giovanni Fazzini Osogna

Grasshopper Club v Basel

11 September 1972 Round 5	Grasshopper Club	1 – 1	Basel	Hardturm, Zürich
20:15	T. Niggl 12' (1:0) Grahn  85'	Summary	31' (1:1) Ramseier	Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Roland Racine Prilly

Basel v Luzern

14 September 1974 Round 6	Basel	3 – 0	Luzern	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Christen 65' (o.g. 1:0) Hitzfeld 81' (2:0) Balmer 90+1' (3:0)	Summary	41' Coray	Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Ulysse Darbellay Roche

Servette v Basel

Round 7	Servette	PP	Basel	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
		[ Summary]

Basel v Zürich

5 October 1974 Round 8	Basel	1 – 0	Zürich	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Odermatt  19' Hitzfeld  30' Hitzfeld 90+1' (pen. 1:0)	Summary	20' Zigerlig  89' Botteron	Attendance: 18,000 Referee: André Favre Echallens

Young Boys v Basel

12 October 1974 Round 9	Young Boys	4 – 4	Basel	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
20:15	Cornioley 7' (1:0) Muhmenthaler 31' (2:2) Muhmenthaler 34' (3:2) Andersen 68' (4:4)	Summary	9' (1:1) Nielsen 30' (1:2) Nielsen 35' (3:3) Hitzfeld 45' (o.g. 3:4) Schmocker Hasler	Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Walter Hungerbühler St. Gallen

Basel v Vevey-Sports

19 October 1974 Round 10	Basel	3 – 0	Vevey-Sports	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Ramseier 72' (1:0) Schönenberger 73' (2:0) Demarmels 84' (3:0)	Summary	Tippelt	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: André Longaretti Neuchâtel

St. Gallen v Basel

26 October 1974 Round 11	St. Gallen	2 – 0	Basel	Espenmoos, St. Gallen
17:30	Schneeberger 57' (1:0) Seger  69' Labhart 89' (2:0)	Summary	62' Mundschin  64' Fischli	Attendance: 4,700 Referee: Ernest Guignet Yverdon

Lugano v Basel

10 November 1974 Round 12	Lugano	2 – 0	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
14:30	Brenna 29' (pen. 1:0) Bressan  44' Brenna 50' (2:0)	Summary		Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Otto Isler Zürich

Basel v Chiasso

17 November 1974 Round 13	Basel	2 – 0	Chiasso	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Schönenberger 4' (1:0) Demarmels  34' Hitzfeld 55' (pen. 2:0)	Summary	18' Mustapha  55' Bizzini	Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Roland Racine Prilly

Servette v Basel

24 November 1974 Round 7	Servette	2 – 1	Basel	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
14:45	Pfister 3' (1:0) Pfister (52)	Summary	1' Ramseier 27' (1:1) Tanner  86' Fischli	Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Anton Bucheli Luzern

Xamax v Basel

16 March 1974 Round 14	Xamax	2 – 2	Basel	Stade de la Maladière (1924), Neuchâtel
14:30	Guillaume 58' (1:2) Mathez 63' (2:2) Müller  86'	Summary	22' (0:1) Balmer  35' Odermatt 57' (0:2) Hitzfeld	Attendance: 6,200 Referee: Walter Hungerbühler St. Gallen

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

23 March 1975 Round 15	Basel	3 – 2	Lausanne-Sport	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Hitzfeld 25' (1:1) Balmer 30' (2:1) Mundschin 79' (3:2)	Summary	23' (0:1) Zappella 41' (2:2) Traber  90' Loichat	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: René Matthieu

Winterthur v Basel

5 April 1975 Round 16	Winterthur	2 – 0	Basel	Schützenwiese, Winterthur
16:30	Künzli 5' (1:0) Fischbach 44' (2:0)	Summary	10' Odermatt	Attendance: 7,000 Referee: René Matthieu

Basel v Sion

13 April 1972 Round 17	Basel	2 – 3	Sion	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hitzfeld 9' (1:0) Balmer 34' (2:1)	Summary	21' (1:1) Cucinotta 58' (2:2) Barberis 80' (2:3) Cucinotta	Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Jean Dubach Nidau

Basel v Grasshopper Club

16 April 1972 Round 18	Basel	0 – 1	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Fischli  89'	Summary	81' Becker 88' (0:1) Santrac	Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Ernest Guignet Yverdon

Luzern v Basel

20 April 1975 Round 19	Luzern	1 – 2	Basel	Stadion Allmend, Luzern
15:00	Schaller 52' (1:1) Coray  80'	Summary	3' Ramseier 33' (0:1) Ramseier 55' (1:2) Odermatt	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: André Favre Echallens

Basel v Servette

26 April 1975 Round 20	Basel	1 – 0	Servette	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hitzfeld 20' (1:0)	Summary	Guyot	Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Roland Racine Prilly

Zürich v Basel

3 May 1975 Round 21	Zürich	1 – 2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
17:00	Martinelli 62' (1:1)	Summary	24' Nielsen 47' (0:1) Mundschin 70' (1:2) Ramseier	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Bruno Della Bruna Lumino

Basel v Young Boys

17 May 1975 Round 22	Basel	0 – 0	Young Boys	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Schönenberger  55'	Summary	85' Schild	Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Otto Wyniger Wetzikon

Vevey-Sports v Basel

24 May 1975 Round 23	Vevey-Sports	1 – 2	Basel	Stade de Copet, Vevey
20:15	Grobet 63' (1:2)	Summary	1' (0:1) Odermatt 62' (0:2) Tanner	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Willy Utz Oensingen

Basel v St. Gallen

31 May 1975 Round 24	Basel	8 – 2	St. Gallen	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Mundschin 12' (1:0) Schönenberger 18' (2:0) Schönenberger 32' (3:1) Tanner 43' (4:1) Odermatt 48' (5:1) Odermatt 54' (6:2) Hasler 56' (7:2) Mundschin 58' (8:2)	Summary	24' (2:1) Blättler 52' (5:2) Nasdalla	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Gottlieb Barmettler Luzern

Basel v Lugano

7 June 1975 Round 25	Basel	2 – 2	Lugano	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:15	Schönenberger 41' (1:0) Schönenberger 54' (2:1)	Summary	36' Arigoni 55' (1:1) Conigliaro 82' (2:2) Gröbli	Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Otto Isler Zürich

Chênois v Basel

14 June 1975 Round 26	Chênois	1 – 1	Basel	Stade des Trois-Chêne, Thônex
20:15	Bizzini 85' (1:1)	Summary	70' Mundschin 77' (0:1) Wirth  82' Demarmels	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: A. Häring

Swiss Cup

Chiasso v Basel

21 September 1974 Round of 32	Chiasso	0 – 1	Basel	Stadio Comunale, Chiasso
20:30	Sulmoni  35'	Summary	25' (0:1) Odermatt  65' Tanner	Attendance: 3,600 Referee: Rudolf Renggli Luzern

Zürich v Basel

16 Obtober 1974 Round of 16	Zürich	1 – 3	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:15	Martinelli 6' (1:0) Zigerlig  18' Bionda  61' Heer  81'	Summary	12' (1:1) Hitzfeld  16' Hasler  26' Fischli  40' Odermatt 52' (1:2) Ramseier 62' (1:3) Hitzfeld	Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Bruno Della Bruna Lumino

Étoile Carouge v Basel

30 October 1974 Quarter-final First leg	Étoile Carouge	1 – 2	Basel	Stade de la Fontenette, Carouge
20:15	Manai 8' (1:0) Fatton  78' Manai  82'	Summary	19' (1:1) Balmer  26' Balmer  58' Ramseier 80' (pen. 1:2) Hitzfeld	Attendance: 3,600 Referee: Gérard Racine Biel/Bienne

Basel v Étoile Carouge

3 November 1974 Quarter-final Second leg	Basel	2 – 1 (4 – 2 agg.)	Étoile Carouge	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Hitzfeld 19' (1:0) Mundschin 42' (2:0)	Summary	78' (o.g. 2:1) Ramseier	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Pierre Despont Lausanne

Chênois v Basel

9 March 1975 Semi-final First leg	Chênois	1 – 4	Basel	Stade des Trois-Chêne, Thônex
15:00	Marietan  28' Mundschin 79' (o.g. 1:1)	Summary	2' (0:1) Hitzfeld  25' Fischli 80' (1:2) Hitzfeld 82' (1:3) Stohler 87' (1:4) Demarmels	Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Ulysse Darbellay Roche

Basel v Chênois

11 March 1975 Semi-final Second leg	Basel	2 – 1 (6 – 2 agg.)	Chênois	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Rahmen 64' (1:0) Hitzfeld  65' Hitzfeld 83' (2:0)	Summary	70' Clivaz 90' (2:1) Bizzini	Attendance: 5,800 Referee: Bruno Della Bruna Lumino

Basel v Winterthur

31 March 1975 Final	Basel	2 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Winterthur	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
14:30	Demarmels 48' Walter Balmer 115'	Summary	66' E. Meyer	Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Gérard Racine Biel/Bienne

Swiss League Cup

Young Boys v Basel

3 August 1974 Round of 32	Young Boys	2 – 4	Basel	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern
20:15	Leuzinger 24' (1:0) Bruttin  35' Bruttin 42' (2:1)	Summary	35' (1:1) Nielsen 47' (2:2) Balmer Schönebeck 87' (2:3) Wirth 90' (2:4)	Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Otto Isler Zürich

Basel v Luzern

7 August 1974 Round of 16	Basel	5 – 2	Luzern	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Wirth 9' (1:0) Tanner 17' (2:0) Tanner 19' (2:0) Ramseier 65' (4:0) von Wartburg 69' (5:1) Tanner  78'	Summary	68' (4:1) Küttel 79' (5:2) Schaller	Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Mario Osta Oberuzwil

Basel v Aarau

13 August 1974 Quarter-final	Basel	4 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Aarau	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hitzfeld 86' (1:1) Schönenberger 94' (2:1) Schönenberger 98' (3:2) Ramseier 119' (4:2)	Summary	27' (0:1) Ponte 96' (2:2) Caduff	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Walter Gallmann Oberrieden

Basel v Grasshopper Club

25 September 1974 Semi-final	Basel	1 – 3	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Mundschin 29' (1:2)	Summary	25' (0:1) Elsener 27' (0:2) Noventa 87' (1:3) Ohlhauser	Attendance: 5,800 Referee: Ernest Guignet Yverdon

Cup of the Alps

Group B results

Basel v Olympique Lyonnais

13 July 1974 round 1	Basel	1 – 1	Olympique Lyonnais	St. Jakob Stadium Basel
20:00	Wirth 54' (1:1)	Summary	41' (0:1) Maneiro	Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Robert Helies

Nîmes Olympique v Basel

20 July 1974 round 2	Nîmes Olympique	2 – 4	Basel	Stade Jean-Bouin, Nîmes
	Piermayer 36' (1:2) Dellamore 80' (2:3)	Summary	14' (0:1) Nielsen 22' (0:2) Hitzfeld 64' (1:3) Nielsen 82' (2:4) Nielsen	Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Jean Dubach Nidau

Olympique Lyonnais v Basel

23 July 1974 round 3	Olympique Lyonnais	1 – 3	Basel	Lyon
20:30	Lacombe 7' (1:0)	Summary	8' (1:1) Stohler 13' (1:2) Balmer 64' (1:3) Schönenberger	Attendance: 2,200 Referee: André Longaretti Neuchâtel

Basel v Nîmes Olympique

27 July 1974 round 4	Basel	1 – 2	Nîmes Olympique	St. Jakob Stadium Basel
20:00	Nielsen 74' (1:2)	Summary	35' (0:1) Girard 64' (0:2) Dellamore	Attendance: 3,400 Referee: Roger Machin

NB: teams did not play compatriots

Final

Basel v Young Boys

30 July 1974 Final	Basel	1 – 2	Young Boys	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Stohler 37' (1:0)	Summary	78' (1:1) Conz 83' (1:2) Schild	Attendance: 5,700 Referee: André Favre Echallens