On May 20, 2006, FCZ won the final against Basel at the Joggeli in the last second and became Swiss champions. On the 20th anniversary, Blerim Dzemaili recalls the big day for blue Sport and tells us how he is celebrating it this year.
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- On the 20th anniversary of May 13, 2006, FCZ legend Blerim Dzemaili recalls his emotions.
- He also talks about how he perceived the riots on the pitch and what he misses about football today.
- FCZ celebrates the anniversary with a special jersey in the last game of the season.
In one city, the date is sacred, in another, people would prefer to skip the day every year. Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of May 13, 2006. The day on which FC Zurich snatched the championship from FC Basel at the last second.
Looking back: On the last matchday of the 2005/06 season, the Super League came down to a finalissima. A draw in the classic match would have been enough for FCB to become champions. For a long time, it looked like a draw. Until FCZ's Filipescu pushed the ball over the line in the 93rd minute with the score at 1:1 to give Zurich the championship title. Pure madness in the Joggeli.
Dzemaili revels in memories
Blerim Dzemaili was right in the thick of it that day. The then 20-year-old Züribueb was in the starting eleven for FCZ and celebrated his first major title. 20 years later, he reminisces on blue Sport: "It was a very special day. Nobody actually expected us to get this far. But then it all worked out, it was like a fairytale for me."
The game was not really good in terms of play: "It was a bad game in terms of play. It was simply dramatic, a real final. The fact that we won in the 93rd minute was very, very special."
Especially special: For defender Filipescu, the championship goal was his first goal of the season. "Filipescu has never actually scored a goal. He still calls this day Filipescu Day," says Dzemaili with a laugh.
"There's less rivalry today"
There were wild scenes on the pitch after the game. Basel hooligans stormed the pitch and sometimes attacked FCZ players. The day therefore went down in history as the "Disgrace of Basel".
"The security measures at the time were not very good. There were probably not enough security staff," recalls Dzemaili. And adds: "That's football. There's joy on one side and sadness on the other. At that moment, I was just happy that we had become champions and tried to ignore the rest.
Dzemaili still feels the effects of that day to this day: "I'm asked about it every May 13. It's the most important day of the year for FCZ fans." Basically, he has always enjoyed the rivalry with FCB: "This rivalry with Basel has been something beautiful my whole career. Such rivalries are needed in football, but today there are fewer and fewer rivalries between players and clubs."
Phone calls and a special jersey
And how is Blerim Dzemaili celebrating the 20th anniversary on Wednesday? "It's always a special day. I'm still in good contact with Filipescu, Inler and Fredy Bickel. I'll try to talk to them on the phone, because we've lost sight of each other in the meantime."
Meanwhile, the club is celebrating the anniversary with a special collection and will be wearing a special jersey based on the one from 2006 in the last game of the season against Servette on Saturday.
And in Basel? They would probably prefer to erase the 20th anniversary from their calendar.
