FC Basel Quiz

Basel sample questions & answers

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1. Which Scottish club did Basel eliminate in Champions League qualifying in 2002?

   • Rangers
   • Hearts
   • Aberdeen
   • Celtic
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   Answer: Celtic

   Basel lost 3-1 at Celtic Park but won 2-0 at home on 28 August 2002 to go through 3-3 on away goals.

2. In which country was Ivan Rakitic born?

   • Austria
   • Switzerland
   • Croatia
   • Germany
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   Answer: Switzerland

   Rakitic was born in Rheinfelden, Switzerland, to Croatian parents, and joined Basel's youth academy as a boy.

3. Xherdan Shaqiri rejoined Basel in August 2024 from which club?

   • Chicago Fire
   • Liverpool
   • Inter Miami
   • Lyon
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   Answer: Chicago Fire

   Shaqiri came home after three seasons with Chicago Fire in MLS, and inspired Basel's title win that season.

4. Basel signed Mohamed Salah in 2012 from which club?

   • Zamalek
   • Al Ahly
   • ENPPI
   • El Mokawloon
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   Answer: El Mokawloon

   Salah signed a four-year deal from El Mokawloon in April 2012, with the Egyptian league suspended after the Port Said disaster.

5. In which year did Gigi Oeri become president of FC Basel?

   • 2006
   • 2010
   • 1999
   • 2002
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   Answer: 2006

   Oeri joined the board as a patron in 1999 and served as president from 2006 until 2012, the era in which Basel became Switzerland's dominant club.

6. Who took over the majority of shares in FC Basel Holding AG from Bernhard Burgener in May 2021?

   • Alex Frei
   • David Degen
   • Bernhard Heusler
   • Marco Streller
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   Answer: David Degen

   Degen, a former Basel player, bought out Burgener in May 2021 before selling part of his stake to fellow board members.

7. Which two players scored Basel's goals in the 2-1 win over Manchester United on 7 December 2011?

   • Alexander Frei and Granit Xhaka
   • Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabian Frei
   • Marco Streller and Alexander Frei
   • Valentin Stocker and Benjamin Huggel
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   Answer: Marco Streller and Alexander Frei

   Streller and Alexander Frei scored one apiece either side of half-time; Phil Jones replied for United.

8. Basel first watched Mohamed Salah in the flesh in a March 2012 friendly against which side?

   • Egypt's under-23 team
   • Al Ahly
   • Egypt's senior team
   • Zamalek
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   Answer: Egypt's under-23 team

   Salah came on at half-time for Egypt's under-23s at the Stadion Rankhof and scored twice in a 4-3 win; Basel invited him to train with them that week.

9. Basel's 2002 championship was the club's first league title since which year?

   • 1973
   • 1977
   • 1980
   • 1986
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   Answer: 1980

   Basel had gone twenty-two years without a title before Christian Gross's side won the 2002 double.

10. At the end of which season did Marco Streller retire from professional football?

    • 2011-12
    • 2014-15
    • 2016-17
    • 2018-19
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    Answer: 2014-15

    Streller hung up his boots after the 2014-15 campaign, having captained Basel through the middle of their title run.

11. Yann Sommer's 2014 move from Basel to the Bundesliga saw him replace which player who had just left for Barcelona?

    • Marc-André ter Stegen
    • Roman Bürki
    • Ron-Robert Zieler
    • Bernd Leno
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    Answer: Marc-André ter Stegen

    Ter Stegen's 2014 move to Barcelona opened the door, and Sommer was signed from Basel to take his place.

12. Basel striker Josef Hügi scored a hat-trick in Switzerland's 7-5 defeat in the 1954 World Cup quarter-final against which country?

    • Hungary
    • Austria
    • Uruguay
    • West Germany
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    Answer: Austria

    In searing heat at Lausanne, Switzerland led 3-0 before Austria won 7-5 — Hügi's hat-trick came in a losing side.

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