Ivan Rakitic (L) and Mohamed Salah (R) are two of the most famous player to play for Basel
Basel is one of the biggest clubs in Switzerland and some of the best Swiss players have played for the club. In fact, one of the club’s most famous players, Joan Gamper, is the founder of FC Barcelona and FC Zurich.
Basel’s success has earned them a lot of fans including tennis ace Roger Federer. However, their success has also come at a cost. Over the years, they’ve groomed or signed some fantastic young players but as soon as these players start performing consistently, they are poached by other European teams.
The 29-year-old has been with Gladbach since as their first choice goalkeeper and has earned a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the league and Europe. He is also his country’s first choice goalkeeper with 39 caps to his name.
Lang signed for Basel in 2015 from fellow Swiss club Grasshopper on a free transfer. Despite being a defender, he scored 26 goals in 121 games for Basel in three seasons including the winning goals against both Manchester United and Manchester City in the 2017/18 Champions League season.
The 23-year-old Manuel Akanji is not a full-back by trade but given his quality and the lack of options in the left-back position, he seemed the right choice.
He was linked with a move away from Basel in January 2018 with Liverpool one of the clubs interested in him. However, he joined Borussia Dortmund instead.
Dragovic was linked with a move to Manchester United for many years. It started when he was at Basel and continued even after he moved to Dynamo Kyiv. Schar, on the other hand, was linked with a move to Arsenal when he was at Basel.
The Austrian, Dragovic, moved to Dynamo Kyiv in 2013 before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2016. He’s now back at the Bundesliga club after a season on loan at Leicester.
His Arsenal teammate, Granit Xhaka, is another famed product of the Basel academy, but unlike Elneny, Xhaka didn’t move from Basel to Arsenal directly.
He joined Gladbach in 2012 and played there for four seasons before joining Arsenal in 2016. Xhaka has split opinion since his move to Arsenal, but he’s only 25 and has the potential to be a world class midfielder.
Rakitic is also a product of the Basel Academy
The final midfielder in this XI, Ivan Rakitic, is one that may come as a surprise to many.
Forwards – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool) and Breel Embolo (Schalke)
Salah is one of the best players in the world at the moment
At least one of the forwards in this XI needs no introduction. Mohamed Salah joined Basel in 2012 and played 79 games for them scoring 20 goals before moving elsewhere.
In 2017, he finally moved to Liverpool and in his first season with the club, he scored 44 goals in 52 games of which 32 were scored in 36 league games. His 32 Premier League goals in 2017/18 is the highest ever by any player in a single 38-game Premier League season.
Today, Salah is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world.
Shaqiri and Embolo left Basel to join a Bundesliga club
Salah’s Liverpool teammate, Xherdan Shaqiri, is a product of the Basel academy. He currently plays as a backup to the Egyptian at Liverpool but interestingly, Basel signed Salah to replace Shaqiri when he left the club in 2012.
The Swiss international was close to a move to Liverpool in 2014 before Bayern pulled the plug. A few months later, he moved to Inter Milan before making a shocking move to Stoke City.
Like Salah, Shaqiri also got his move to Liverpool years after a deal fell through.
Embolo is a versatile forward who was born in Cameroon but raised in Switzerland. He opted to play for his adopted nation instead of his country of birth.
