I have finally finished season 1, so here is the whole season update:
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Richard Hafer, 39, was born in Bonn, Germany. For 13 years, he played professionally for Varzim Sporte Clube in Portugal and FC Eindhoven in Holland. Over the years, he has gained an enormous amount of footballing experience, but three years ago he retired due a severe thigh-injury that resulted in his being prevented from playing for over two years.
Now, fully-recovered, he has returned to football, this time with the intention of taking charge of a club in the position of manager. The task will of course not be easy, though he has a respectable reputation, that and his experience will not be enough to get him a position at a club such as Newcastle or Benfica.
So, when the end of the 2003/2004 English Season was nearing its end, Hafer started a search of low-ranked teams who had no managers or whose current manager was likely to get the sack. Hafer was interested only in English teams, so he mainly focused on the English Divisions 1 and 2.
After only a few days of searching, Richard Hafer was extremely surprised. It turned out that many teams from English Divisions 1 and 2 were keen on signing him as manager. There were several tempting offers from clubs like Bristol City, S****horpe United, Hull City, Cambridge United, and Walsall.
Eventually, Bristol City, S****horpe United, and Cambridge United turned him down. There were many other offers besides, including an offer from Leeds United in the Championship Division, but he turned them down because they were in a financial crisis. In the end Hafer decided to join Walsall in Division 1 on a two year-contract, but when FC Basel 1893 in Switzerland offered a contract, Hafer couldn't say no, as FC Basel was a great team, and he was to be paid 13500 Euros a month.
After signing the deal, Hafer had a meeting with the FC Basel 1893 Board of Directors, and there he was informed that the Board expect him and the team to win the league, which will prove to be a tough task for him Hafer to achieve.
During the pre-season, Hafer had an excellent time getting to know and becoming friends with the staff, coaches, and players. It did not take much time before he was already hard at work. However, he did get a negative response from the club supporters, who were disgusted that a relatively unknown manager had taken the helm.
Hafer knew that the squad needed improving, so he decided to make a few transfers and bring in some new blood. The transfers he made were few, but they were satisfyingly good deals. He sold Sebastien Barberis to Grasshopper and Alexandre Quennoz to FC Zurich. He signed Akosua Sauda, 19, from Nigeria, for no fee, as Sauda was a free-agent. It was a huge piece of luck, as Sauda is very talented and considered to be better than Jay-Jay Okocha at the same age. He also bought Luke Wilkshire from Bristol City and a young Croatian named Adam Koulac, both on a free-transfers. He also received some other good news : Hafer's former clubmate, Johann Kryznowek the Russian, informed him that his 18-year old son, Jak Kryznowek wanted to play professionally under Hafer's guidance, and Hafer agreed joyfully, as he knew that Jak was very good, even better than his extremely talented father. It was a good deal, as Jak had no current club, so there was no payment involved.
Having completed these transfers, Hafer set about organising the squad's line-ups and team tactics. After a lengthy period, he finally came up with the end result. Basel will be playing with their traditional 4-4-2 formation, and the exact line-up can be seen below.
--------------- Gimenez ----- Sauda ---------------
Chipperfield ----- Koulac ----- Kryznowek ---- Wilkshire
Kleber ---------- Yakin ------- Muller ----- Sterjovski
-------------------- Zuberbuhler ------------------
After several weeks of intense training for the Basel squad, Hafer received from the media the title odds from EuroBets.com and based on the website Basel's chances of winning the title this season are 4-1. This shows that the media/pundits reckon that Basel are title-contenders this season
Just days before the first round of the season, Hafer was asked by a reporter : 'Mr. Hafer, what in your opinion are the chances of Basel winning the league this season? Will it be tough to accomplish?' and Hafer replied to the media : 'Vell, I tink dat ve haf a very gut chance of vinning the division altogether dis season. Ve haf really improved de squad and ve are very confident of promotion dis season.' Over the next few days, Hafer received many questions from all-sorts of sports-media, asking of Basels's chances of winning the title, and every time Hafer replied that Basel were extremely confident. For the past few seasons, Basel have failed to impress, but this season the squad really does feel confident, mainly due to manager Hafer's positive and 'never say die' attitude.
Finally, the day of the first round of the season came. Basel were to play at home against BSC Young Boys, and Basel were determined to prove their worth. It was important for Basel to win this first match, as the result could affect the rest of the entire season in a good or bad way for Basel.
On the day, the atmosphere was great. The teams walked out onto the pitch and both sets of fans applauded what they were hoping would be a win for their respective team. Right from the kick-off, the game was in BSC's hands. Before long, Neri had scored twice for Young Boys. In the second-half, Basel were much more focused, and young star Sauda scored three goals in just seven minutes. Disaster came for BSC when Sauda's header at goal hit a BSC defender and went in as an own goal. Having won the match 4-2, the team was very pleased at the spectacular win.
Having beaten BSC 4-2 in their last match. Basel were confident going into the away game against title-rivals FC Zurich. There was a lot of tension in the air when the match started. The first goal of the day came from who else but Sauda, who only had to tap it in following Rossi's excellent through ball which cut open the Zurich defense. But their joy didn't last. Merely minutes later, FC Zurich striker Stanic made a run from the middle of the park, and unleashed a wicked kick from 30 yards out, which was so fast the ball was in the goal before Zuberbuhler had time to react. After that, both teams played a tactical, slow game, and the match ended all-square at 1-1.
After playing 2 games, with 1 win and 1 draw, Richard Hafer's FC Basel 1893 side were in first place, on equal points with Grasshopper, FC Zurich, and Aarau, but with a higher and better goal differential. Hafer and the Basel Board were pleased with how things were going, but the Board warned Hafer that draws were of course not good if they kept continuing, so Hafer had to make sure that Basel kept on winning consistently.
Following the 1-1 draw with FC Zurich, Hafer told the media that he was pleased with how the match went, also saying that the Zurich boss employed great tactical strategies and forcing the match to a draw. However, the FC Zurich boss was not interested in petty compliments, he was only interested in focusing on trying to keep his team in the race for the title.
On the 31st of July, the day before Basel's next match, Hafer released a media story, praising Akosua Sauda and his recent performances which included scoring 4 goals in just two games. Hafer also claimed that he was pleased with how the entire squad was playing for the current time, but said that if players under-achieved then there was nothing to stop him taking the necessary measures.
Basel's Round 3 match was at home against FC Thun. Minutes after the kick-off, FC Thun played some gorgeous stuff to score in the 3rd minute. Quickly afterwards, Sauda's skill at dribbling allowed him the equaliser. Then a superb use of corner set-pieces from Basel gave Sauda and Basel the second goal. In the next half, Samuel Ojong scored again for FC Thun, but a huge defensive and goalkeeping error from FC Thun gave Gimenez the easy tap-in. Basel won 3-2, much to the fans' delight.
Basel's superb playing form continues, keeping them in first-place on goal difference, with Akosua Sauda yet again coming out as the Man of the Match for the 2nd time in just three games. If Basel can keep their current excellent form, the Board have promised Hafer and the players a small bonus.
Italy's Serie A club Inter Milan has shown interest in Basel's young striker Akosua Sauda, as Inter boss Roberto Mancini told the Italian newspaper 'Gazetto' that he believed Sauda would be the perfect addition to the squad. However, Hafer issued a 'hands-off' reply, saying that Basel would not sell, and even if they did, it would have to be at enormous price.
Hafer decided that the senior squad was too large, so he sold defender Zanni to FC Cologne. The team was training hard for their next few matches, which were sure to be trying.
Koulac was in superb form in the away match versus FC Aarau. There were no goals in the first-half. In the second-half, Bieli scored for Aarau. Koulac equalised. Bieli scored again, but Koulac got one back, and in the 78th minute, Koulac completed his hat trick, in fact these were his first goals of the season. Aarau were desperate, and an Aarau defender fouled and injured Gimenez, and the foolish defender was sent off. Despite this injury, Basel came out as the winners with a final score of 2-3 away.
Gimenez's injury was a huge blow for Hafer. The player had a slipped-disc, and though he will only be out for a month, he was a crucial player and Hafer will have to find a way to fill in the huge gap. In the end, Koulac would take Gimenez's spot in the attack and Ergic would fill in for the midfield.
FC Basel 1893 remain in first place on goal difference, but they have already conceded 7 goals in four matches. Keeping clean sheets is vital for the team's success, so there is plenty of pressure and the players, mostly on goalkeepers Zuberbuhler and Mandl. Hafer claimed that if Basel were always letting in goals, then their chances of victory could be seriously jeopardized.
Basel got their first clean sheet of the season in their home game against Schauffhausen. Sauda scored first, he sliding kick going in from an almost impossible angle. Then in the second-half, some good work from Koulac and a great cross from Rossi gave Sauda his second goal of the match. The match was won by FC Basel 2-0.
Finally, Basel have gained a real lead in the tables, in first place on 13 points, while Grasshopper and Zurich are tied for second on 11 points. This is Basel's chance to take advantage of their two-point lead and make the margin much larger. With a record of 4-1-0, the Basel Board told Hafer that if they can maintain this position, then they should also try to stay unbeaten in the league, which would be a great accomplishment.
With Gimenez recovered, earlier than expected, FC Basel were very focused while playing in Matchday 6 against Neuchatel Xamax. Both Sauda and Wilkshire grabbed early goals. Sauda got another two later on, and Koulac topped it off with his fourth goal of the season to help Basel win 0-5.
Basel's joy continued, with a 2-0 win over Grasshopper, with both goals coming from striker Akosua Sauda. While Basel are still first-placed, Zurich is still 2 points behind, but Grasshopper has sunk to a mere 12 points. With one quarter of the season nearing completion, Basel must remained focused.
The Board are extremely pleased with Hafer and Basel's recent results, three clean sheets in the last three matches, and the Board have told Hafer to keep up the good work.
FC Basel's Round 8 match was against St. Gallen. It was a simple game for the red-and-blue team, as Sauda scored his 14 goal of the season. Later on, Delgado surprised all when he made an ambitious strike that went in and left the Gallen keeper flabbergasted. Basel won the match 0-2 away from home.
With Basel's 2-1 victory over Servette FC, the first of four quarters of the season was completed. In first place was FC Basel 1893 with 25 points, and second was FC Zurich on 23 points. Grasshopper wasn't really a major threat to either team as they lay in third place, but with only 16 points. Having remained unbeaten, FC Basel are extremely confident of keeping up their good form.
Akosua Sauda was yesterday awarded the Swiss-League Player of the Month, as his superb performances delighted FC Basel 1893 and made the other clubs envious of Basel's excellent young striker. Sauda was also awarded the Swiss-League Young Player of the Month, as he is only 19-years old.
FC Basel has three Australians playing for them, Scott Chipperfield, Mile Sterjovski, and Luke Wilkshire. The three have put in good, consistent performances in all of their recent matches, and they are starting to be known as the 'Aussie Trio'. For the Aussies, having a fellow countryman nearby is always good.
After many good results, the Basel supporters have decided to give Hafer some time to prove that he is worthy of being a Basel manager. However, Hafer was informed that if the fans made protests of Hafer's presence, the Board will have no choice but to do as the fans want.
As the four quarters of the season are played in an almost exact order of opponents, FC Basel 1893 in their next match will of course face BSC Young Boys. Following their defeat at the hands of Basel at the start of the season, Young Boys have not fully recovered, and now hover consistently in the middle of the table.
A few days before the next game of the season, Basel player Murat Yakin declared to his manager Hafer that he wanted to be transfer listed. He claimed that he was missing his brother Hakan, and following his brother’s transfer to Galatasaray, Murat stated that he would also like to move to the Turkish club. To this request, Hafer said that he would consider it, though it would be with a very heavy heart that he would allow Murat to be transferred.
Basel's second quarter of the season was excellent. FC Basel did not lose a single game, and now they lie in 1st place, with a record of 15-3-0, unbeaten so far. With the season half-way through, the big question is : 'Can Basel maintain their superb recent form? Can they achieve their goal?'. Soccernet.com conducted a worldwide poll with the above question, and the results were : 89% - Yes, 11% - No. After so many convincing wins, the Basel supporters are now in full support of Hafer's management of the club.
It turned out that Basel could do it, and they did. At the end of the season, FC Basel 1893 won both the Swiss League and Swiss Cup under Richard Hafer's guidance. With a record of 29-5-2, the Board were delighted with the results. Moreover, Basel had qualified for the UEFA Champions League. For his efforts, Hafer was awarded 1 a star as a manager by FIFA. Akosua Sauda won the Swiss Player of the Year Award and the European Top Young Player of the Year, with a whopping 33 goals from 38 appearances.
When the Basel Board offered an extension to his contract, the club was dissapointed when Hafer stated he would have to spend some time thinking the matter over. He decided in the end that he wanted more action, and so amidst lots of grief in the club, Hafer left FC Basel 1893.
When the season officially finished all over Europe, FIFA President Sepp Blatter brought a new rule into football : When a player retires, the club he retired at must somehow procure a young player from the youth to replace him. He can be brought in from anywhere, on the condition that he is the same nationality as the retired player, talented, and under 20 years of age.
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Very nj Barthez.