Swiss football has seen a rather dramatic changing of the guard in recent years. Between 2002 and 2017, FC Basel won12 of the16 top-flight league titles, including a run of eight in a row. Since then, the club have endured a barren run, with Young Boys winning six of the last seven trophies having not won it prior to that since 1986. Basel’s fifth-place finish in 2022-23 was their lowest since 2000-01 – but things were about to get worse.
When the Swiss Super League, as part of a re-format, was split into the championship and relegation groups back in April, Basel and Grasshoppers, Switzerland’s two most successful clubs, were in the bottom half.
Grasshoppers, who won the last of their record 27 titles back in 2002-03, have struggled for…
