Basel Struggles Amidst Season of Setbacks

 Basel Struggles Amidst Season of Setbacks

Fiorentina's Italian midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura (L) is challenged by FC Basel's Swiss forward Dan Ndoye (R) during the UEFA Conference League semi-final second leg football match between Fiorentina and Basel, at the Saint Jakob-Park stadium, in Basel, Switzerland, on May 18, 2023(Image-Getty)

Swiss club Basel has encountered a series of setbacks this season, experiencing a downward spiral since the commencement of their campaign in July. Their recent struggle intensified in October, as they endured a goal drought, failing to secure any goals throughout the entire month. Consequently, the club was unable to announce a worthy recipient for the coveted "goal of the month" accolade on Tuesday.

October proved to be particularly challenging for Basel, as they faced four consecutive defeats, conceding a total of 10 goals while failing to find the back of the net themselves. Reflecting their frustration, the club took to their social media accounts to share an image of an empty goal net, accompanied by the caption "No goals in October = No goal of the month."

Presently situated at the bottom of the Swiss league table, Basel's performance has been lackluster, with only one victory in 11 games. Their European journey also came to an early end, with an early elimination from the Europa Conference League during the second qualifying round at the hands of FC Tobol from Kazakhstan.

The current predicament stands in stark contrast to the previous season, during which Basel not only secured a respectable fifth-place finish in the league, securing qualification for European competition, but also made it to the semi-finals of the Conference League.

Regrettably, the team's manager Heiko Vogel bore the brunt of the team's disappointing start to the season, leading to his departure from the club. On Tuesday, Basel officially announced the appointment of Fabio Celestini as his replacement, coinciding with Celestini's 48th birthday.

As Celestini steps into his new role, the team is gearing up to face third-tier side SC Kriens in the Swiss Cup. Basel has demonstrated their goal-scoring prowess in the previous two rounds of the competition, netting a total of 16 goals. With this upcoming match, the team hopes to turn their fortunes around and generate some positive momentum, aiming to have a more substantial pool of potential goals for consideration in the upcoming November "goal of the month" award.