FC Concordia Basel

Concordia Basel
Basic data
Surname	Soccer Club Concordia Basel
Seat	Basel , Switzerland
founding	July 7, 1907
president	Balz Bigler, Reto Fluri, Thomas Steinemann
Board	Guido Buchmeier, Niklaus Hübscher, Niklaus Röthlisberger, Manfred Schädler, Marcel Thommen, Elly Trachsel
Website	congeli.ch
First soccer team
Head coach	Peter Schädler
Venue	Athletics stadium St. Jakob , Münchenstein
Places	5000
league	2nd league
2017/18	2nd rank
home

The football club Concordia Basel is a football club of the city of Basel and was founded on June 7, 1907. He is referred to as the “little brother” of FC Basel and is popularly known as Congeli .

FC Concordia is currently playing its home games in the St. Jakob athletics stadium , Münchenstein. He currently plays in the 2nd league , the sixth highest Swiss division

history

Beginnings, cup win and dominance of the second division (1907–1923)

FC Concordia was founded on June 7, 1907 by football enthusiasts, including the first President of Concordia, Max Zehnder.

FC Concordia joined the Basel cantonal football association in the year it was founded. At the beginning, FC Concordia only played friendly matches. The game was only started in the 1908/09 season , in which Concordia was able to win the championship of the cantonal football association Basel straight away, although it is still unclear whether Congeli had won in Serie A or B. In September 1908, the club's first football pitch was rented; it was located on the corner of Dornacherstrasse and Delsbergerallee in the Gundeli district , near the SBB train station .

On August 1, 1909, FC Concordia joined the Swiss Football Association, today's SFV . The FC Concordia started in the 1909/10 season in the second division, the then Serie B. There Congeli was divided into the Central Switzerland group. In the end, Concordia finished 4th in its first season in the SFA. A season later, they finished 2nd, which entitles them to participate in the Series B finals. These were won by city rival Nordstern . Also in 1910/11 Concordia won the Och Cup , the predecessor of today's Swiss Cup .

Another year later, Concordia won Series B for the first time, because Concordia won the finals this time, which theoretically entitles them to promotion to Serie A. However, Concordia's application for membership was rejected by the SFA, although the reason may seem quite unusual - FC Concordia was refused promotion due to “lack of tradition”.

At that time, Series B consisted of 3 regions with a total of 8 groups. In 1912/13 , the group winners in the Central Switzerland region were FC Concordia, FC Basel II and FC Breite Basel. The latter finally prevailed in the Central Switzerland finals.

In the years that followed until 1921/22 , FC Concordia took first place in its group without exception - eleven times in a row from 1911/12 . The subsequent Central Switzerland finals were won by FC Concordia five more times after 1911/12: 1914/15 , 1916/17 , 1917/18 , 1918/19 and 1921/22. As the winner of the Central Switzerland finals, they qualified for the nationwide series B 3-way finals, with the winners from Eastern Switzerland and Western Switzerland as opponents. This final poultry was won at the last attempt with a 4-2 win against Forward Morges and a forfait win against FC Lugano . At the same time, this success justified promotion / relegation games against Old Boys Basel as the last-ranked team in Serie A, Central Switzerland region. However, these two games were lost 1: 3 and 2: 3, so that promotion to Serie A did not materialize that year either.

During that season, Concordia also opened the Heiligholz football field in Münchenstein, acquired one season earlier, with the cup game against Helvetik Basel.

In 1922/23 the football association introduced a new league, the Promotion series: This was the second highest division after Serie A and before the new third highest division Serie B. Thanks to the strong performance of the 1921/22 season, FC Concordia was allowed to participate in this Premiere of the series Promotion mittun. At the same time, Ludwig Huber became the club's first full-time coach. With him, FC Concordia was able to celebrate as Central Switzerland's winner of the Promotion series - thanks to a 3-1 win in the Central Switzerland final against FC Grenchen . In the subsequent national final poultry SC Veltheim kept the better end against Concordia and Étoile Carouge , but thanks to the expansion of Serie A from 24 to 27 teams, all three teams rose to the top division.

First division, cup scare and forced relegation (1923–1931)

FC Concordia finished the first season in the top division as 7th of nine teams in the Central Switzerland group. Group winners were FC Nordstern Basel . In the following years there were no better rankings, the three following seasons ended in 8th place.

Also in the 1927/28 season the championship ended in 7th place in the lower part of the table, but there was a stir in the Swiss Cup . Concordia only failed in the semi-finals to Urania Geneva , the game was lost 2-1. For a long time it was to be the best cup classification in the club's history, because the Och Cup, won in 1911, is now regarded as the forerunner of the Swiss Cup, but the winners are not counted as official Swiss Cup winners.

Two more years passed in Serie A before Concordia had to relegate for the first time in 10 years in the 1930/31 season . Due to a reform of the divisions, the three-track Serie A was replaced by the two-track National League, Concordia was forcibly relegated to the newly created 1st league, Central Switzerland Group, at the “Green Table”.

Resurgence, renewed descent and anniversary (1931–1939)

One season later, Concordia achieved direct promotion back to the top division. In 1932/33 Concordia reached the 4th of eight places in the National League, Group II, then - for the first and only time - the Challenge National was played, in which each team competed against all teams in the other group. Concordia reached 5th place there. The national league was reformed again after only two years and was single-tracked for the next season, Concordia qualified this time.

Concordia finished the first national championship in 10th place. In 1934/35 the national league was reduced from 16 to 14 teams, FC Concordia only finished 13th and had to relegate after three years. In the 1st league, group Eastern Switzerland, the FC finished the season 1935/36 on the 10th of 12 places, thus the second relegation in a row was barely prevented.

In the next season Emil Gall was coach of the team, but he could not really convince in his first season as Concordia coach, the club only reached 9th place. A year later, however, Concordia was able to improve on the last two years and finished the championship in 1937/38 in second place. In October 1937 the club celebrated its 30th anniversary. Concordia was second in the group in the following season.

Difficult time and fall into the third division (1939–1947)

FC Concordia came third in the so-called "Mobilization Championship " in 1939/40 . In April 1940 Concordia had to sell its Heiligholz sports field due to empty coffers. This was followed by another two years in which Concordia escaped descent by a hair's breadth. In 1942/43 you only reached the 11th and penultimate rank and had to go into the relegation round.

First you played against the bottom of the table against direct relegation. The FC Blue Stars Zurich was defeated 2-1, thus preventing relegation for the time being. Then it was all or nothing in the playoff against the eleventh place in the western group, FC Monthey . The first two games produced no result, the results were 1: 1 and 0: 0. In the third game Concordia managed a 1-0 victory, so they finally stayed in the second division.

At the end of the following 1943/44 season , the divisions were reformed again. The National League B was introduced, for which the FC Concordia as the bottom of the table in the 1st League , Eastern Group, could not qualify. With this, Concordia had become third-rate for the first time in its club history. The club was divided into the central group of the 1st league, which from then on represented the new third level. There, FC Concordia missed group victory in the last game, as they lost 0-1 to FC Pratteln .

In the second season in the 1st division Concordia managed to win the group, but failed in the promotion games to qualify for the National League B.

Three years after relegation, Concordia qualified again for the National League B, before they had become group winners. In the promotion games you met FC Chiasso and Vevey Sports .

Second and Third League (1947–1959)

In 1947/48 Concordia was back in second class, but at the end of the season it was immediately relegated to the first division . There they reached second place in the Central Group a year later, in 1949/50 they were able to move up to the NLB again after winning the group again, after meeting FC Winterthur and ES FC Malley LS in the promotion games .

1950/51 Concordia could not keep in the NLB again and rose to the end of the season again after only one season in the first division . For six years they stayed in continuously in the 1. Liga , 1956/57 implemented the Basel under then coach Roger Quinche the resurgence in the NLB.

Concordia was able to hold on to the NLB for two years, after which it was relegated to third class again.

Cup stumbling block and close relegation (1959–1976)

1959/60 to 1968/69 Concordia spent in the first division without winning the group. On the other hand, headlines were made in the Swiss Cup when, in 1960/61, the B-division club FC Bern and the “big brother”, NLA participant FC Basel , were thrown out of the cup. In 1962/63 , Cantonal Neuchâtel was another NLB club.

1969/70 was one of the most turbulent seasons for FC Concordia. In the Central group they only occupied the 12th of 13 places and thus actually had to relegate to the 2nd division , the fourth highest division. During the season, B-division team Neuchâtel Xamax and 1st division participant FC Cantonal Neuchâtel merged. Since the new Neuchâtel club would compete in the NLB, a place became available in the first division, so that one team had to accept relegation less. The first division committee then set a decision-making round between the penultimate of the three first division groups. Concordia prevailed against ES FC Malley LS and Juventus Zurich .

Three years it was again very close for Concordia. Against FC Turgi you had to play a deciding game for relegation as eleventh in the table, which ended 2-2 after extra time. Since Concordia had a better relationship with FC Turgi by one goal, the club had escaped relegation again.

1975/76 it was enough for FC Concordia again only for the penultimate place in the table and therefore had to go back to the decisive round. The decisive game was won 3-1 against FC Tössfeld and relegation was secured again. In the cup, the club was only eliminated in the 4th round against NLA participants FC Winterthur .

Years in the third and fourth division (1976-2001)

Three solid first league years later, Concordia reached its playing low point: relegation to the second league could no longer be prevented. For the first time in the club's history, Concordia was only fourth class.

Again three years later, Concordia was able to make the return to the first division perfectly under the Basel football legend Karl Odermatt . However, FC Bümpliz was only defeated 4-1 in the replay after both teams had won their respective home games 1-0.

1982/83 to 1985/86 Concordia played third class again, before he had to relegate to the second division again after four years . In addition, the first women's team was founded in 1986. In 1989/90 , after three years, the Basel team missed the chance to win the group on average. Together with FC Nordstern Basel they were at the top, but Concordia lost the decisive game for group victory against Nordstern with 1: 4, which meant second place at the end of the season.

Two seasons later, Concordia achieved promotion to the first division after the playoffs against FC Ibach .

Again only two years later, Concordia relegated to the second division again, but immediately managed to get promoted again, after victories against FC Wyler Bern and FC Wädenswil. In 1996/97 Concordia had to enter the relegation poultry of the 1st division. They saved themselves against FC Dübendorf in the first round with a 1-0 win.

Return to professional business and license withdrawal (2001–2009)

At the end of the 2000/01 season , FC Concordia became group winners of the first division, Central Switzerland Group, for the first time in a long time. After 42 years of absence, Concordia qualified again for the second division, the National League B, via qualification and final rounds.

In the 2008/09 season , after a long period of time, the Swiss Cup caused a sensation again, so Concordia advanced to the quarter-finals, where they failed at FC Luzern with 0-2. Previously, the super league team Neuchâtel Xamax had been thrown 4-0 out of the competition.

At the end of the 2008/09 season the big upheaval came. The license for the coming season was refused because the conditions were not met. The current venue, the Rankhof , no longer meets the requirements of the Swiss Football League. Only a new stadium could have prevented a forced relegation to the first division . The initiative for a new stadium “Rankhof, new?” was rejected by the government council of the canton of Basel-Stadt, but the then Concordia president Stephan Glaser refused to accept the renovation of the Rankhof offered by the canton.

Concordia has been looking for a new location for a long time, including the ABB site in Arlesheim . Ultimately, however, all efforts failed, which meant relegation for the club. However, an appeal was lodged against this decision. On May 29, 2009, FC Concordia withdrew its appeal. The chosen measure resulted in the automatic forced relegation to the first division. However, everything turned out differently again. The club submitted a waiver for the 1st division. According to the regulations of the SFV, this would have meant a crash into the 4th division , the second lowest division in Switzerland.

Ambiguity and a new beginning (from 2009)

Concordia was still looking for a way to compete in the 2nd league interregionally or in the 2nd league . Otherwise Concordia, just like the other relegated team in the Challenge League , FC La Chaux-de-Fonds , would have had to make a fresh start in the lowlands of Swiss football.

The regional football association Northwestern Switzerland (FVNWS) decided that Concordia would get a starting place in the 2nd regional league in the new season . In return, Concordia Basel waived a possible promotion.

For the new season, FC Concordia Basel moved from the Rankhof to the St. Jakob athletics stadium . In return, FC Basel II , which previously played in the LA stadium, moved to the Rankhof.

The restart in the fifth division of Switzerland turned out to be extremely resinous. During the entire preliminary round, the team was on a relegation zone, so it threatened to fall into the third division . After the winter break, however, the FC increased from round to round, the relegation ranks could be left. Two laps before the end of the season Concordia could no longer be displaced from a non-relegation place, so they had achieved the goal of relegation. The first season since the restart, FC Concordia finished in seventh place.

The second team of FC Concordia, which was represented in the 4th division in the 2009/10 season, secured first place three rounds before the end of the season and thus entered the 3rd division in the coming season. The 2010/11 season ended the FC Concordia in sixth place, the second team was able to prevent an immediate relegation with rank 10.

In the 2011/12 season, Concordia secured promotion to the 2nd interregional league a few rounds before the end , which, however , is now only the fifth level due to the introduction of the new third division, the 1st league promotion . The second team saved itself in the last round by beating FC Lausen 72 and thus remains in the 3rd division.

As the second-placed team, the 1st team will be promoted to the 1st League Classic after the 2012/13 season. In addition, the Fanion team qualified again for the Swiss Cup 2013/14 after a few years . For the third time in a row, Res Jost's U16 juniors celebrate the Swiss championship title and the women repeat last year's victory in the Grosspeter Basler Cup final.

After two relegations in a row, FC Concordia has been playing in the 2nd regional division since 2016 . In the long term, however, the return to the first division remains the goal.

Women

The women's team of FC Concordia rose to the 2008/09 season in the women's national league and was able to ensure relegation towards the end of the season. This would mean that the women's team would have competed again in the top league of Swiss women's football for the 2009/10 season, but a cooperation with FC Basel led to the takeover of the women's team by FCB before the start of the season.

The newly founded women's team is represented in the fourth division, the second division. However, the women do not compete in the Northwestern Switzerland Football Association, but in the Solothurn Football Association.

In the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons the women win the Grosspeter BaslerCup.

Venue

Soccer field Delsbergerallee (1908–?)

The first venue for FC Concordia Basel was a soccer field on the corner of Delsbergerallee and Dornacherstrasse in Basel's Gundeldingen district , behind the SBB train station .

Heiligholz football field (1920–1940)

The Heiligholz football field in Münchenstein served as the venue for FC Concordia for twenty years. With the acquisition of the site, Concordia could boast of being the first football club in the city of Basel to have its own sports field. In April 1940 Concordia had to sell the holy wood because of financial difficulties.

St. Jakob Stadium (1955–1966)

After the World Cup in 1954, the “homeless” FC Concordia was able to rent the stadium, which had been vacant after the World Cup and which has now officially become its home stadium.

Landhof (1967–?)

At FC Basel, after Helmut Benthaus was signed, a sporting rise began, so that the Landhof as the home stadium of FC Basel became too small. That is why FC Basel increasingly played its home games in the St. Jakob Stadium. In 1967 it officially became the home stadium of FC Basel and FC Concordia moved to the Landhof in return.

Rankhof stadium

The stadium Rankhof informed the FC Concordia with FC Nordstern Basel as a home venue. The audience capacity is generally estimated at 7,000, with the stadium record from earlier years being around 30,000. Due to the safety regulations of the SFV, FC Concordia Basel was forced to build a new stadium, as the Rankhof no longer meets the requirements of the Swiss Football League.

A new building was therefore planned at the same location, whereby the new stadium should have a capacity of 10,000–15,000 spectators. The initiative "Rankhof, new?" brought to life. The government of the canton of Basel-Stadt did not approve the project, so the new stadium cannot be realized for the time being. This resulted in the withdrawal of the license in the 2008/09 season .

St. Jacob LA Stadium

The St. Jakob athletics stadium is part of the sports center of the same name. So far, the second team of FC Basel used the stadium as their home ground, but Concordia and FCB II swapped for the new season, so that the first team of FC Concordia will play its games in the athletics stadium. The stadium has a maximum capacity of around 5,000 spectators.

successes

• Winner Och-Cup 1911, semi-finals Och-Cup 1922/23
• Quarter-finals Swiss Cup ( 2008/09 )

Trainer

• Murat Yakin (2006-2007)

Youth department

Many former juniors of FC Concordia Basel managed to fight their way to the top in Swiss football, for example Yann Sommer , Beg Ferati or the brothers Murat and Hakan Yakin .

A former junior of Concordia FC who played in a top league internationally is Simone Grippo , who was under contract with AC Chievo Verona in the Italian Serie A from 2008-2012 .

Web links

• Official club website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Club history anniversary book 1907-1916 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Club history anniversary book 1917-1926 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
3. ↑ ^{a b} rogerkaufmann.ch - Football Statistics ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 15, 2012.  
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Club history anniversary book 1927-1936 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Club history anniversary book 1937-1946 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
6. ^ Club history anniversary book 1947–1956 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Club history anniversary book 1957–1966 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Club history anniversary book 1967-1976 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Club history anniversary book 1977–1986 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Club history anniversary book 1987–1996 , accessed on December 22, 2009.
11. ↑ 1997 to 2007 :: FC Concordia
12. ↑ 1997 to 2007 :: FC Concordia
13. ↑ From the dream: Congeli loses against Lucerne. Basler Zeitung, accessed on July 26, 2009 . 
14. ↑ Xamax is embarrassed in the Swiss Football Cup. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, accessed on July 26, 2009 . 
15. ↑ Concordia withdraws from professional football - News Basel: Stadt - bazonline.ch
16. ↑ Congeli gives up professional football - Challenge League - look
17. ^ First League - First League
18. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives:
19. ↑ RESULTS + RANKINGS ( Memento from January 15, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
20. ↑ Basler Zeitung: FC Concordia: A crash with an announcement
21. ↑ 1907 to 1916 :: FC Concordia ( Memento from August 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
22. ↑ 1917 to 1926 :: FC Concordia ( Memento from August 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
23. ↑ 1937 to 1946 :: FC Concordia ( Memento from August 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive )