25 scoring points in 27 league games. With an average of 0.93, Xherdan Shaqiri is more likely to score than Gimenez or Streller, as well as Knup or Salah. Only one offensive star in the history of FCB has been as efficient as Shaq.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Since his return from the USA, Xherdan Shaqiri has enchanted FCB fans, the Joggeli and the entire Super League.
- 25 scoring points in 27 league games - Shaq has been involved in 40 percent of all Basel goals this season and has a goal participation rate of 0.93 per league game so far.
- Which begs the question: is he the best scorer in Basel's club history? blue Sport has scoured the statistics books.
Ever since he first stepped onto a Swiss professional pitch, he has been showered with superlatives: He was the magic dwarf, Shaq Attack; he was "square, practical, good" - but above all he was always himself, even at 33 he still is: genuine, unadulterated, never at a loss for words with opponents, refs or critical journalists - but above all never at a loss for a moment of genius.
Be it an elegant pass that he plays into the smartest space at the perfect time with the necessary sharpness. Be it a cross that hits the head of his teammate at the second post with millimeter precision. Be it a chip ball with which he outwits the opposing goalkeeper. If only he had had that little bit of luck and his direct free kick in the European Championship quarter-final against England had hit the goal instead of the crossbar - Shaqiri would be sitting high up in the Olympus of European football. Well, then.
In late summer, he returned to his place of longing, the Joggeli in Basel, where everyone had missed him since his departure to Bayern Munich in 2012 - he has since collected clubs and titles with Inter, Stoke, Liverpool, Lyon and Chicago. And while Shaqiri may not always have been an undisputed regular at his prominent stations, he has enchanted Basel, the FCB fans and the Joggeli ever since. And the entire Super League.
14 Shaqiri assists - a league best
He has now scored 11 goals - only Dereck Kutesa of Servette (13 goals) and Alvyn Sanches of Lausanne (12) are better in this statistic. But Shaqiri, who scores almost all of Basel's important set-pieces, outdoes his rivals when it comes to assists. With 14 assists, he is alone on the field.
25 scoring points - Shaq is involved in 40 percent of all Basel goals and so far has a rate of 0.93 goals per league game.
Which begs the question: is he the best scorer in Basel's history? Better than Seppe Hügi, the club's first legend? Better than Karli Odermatt, the club original? Than Ottmar Hitzfeld, the later world coach? As Adrian Knup, the former national team and Bundesliga star? As Christian Gimenez and Julio Hernan Rossi, the FCB dream team? As Hakan Yakin or Matias Delgado? And what about the Swiss striker duo par excellence: Alex Frei and Marco Streller? And what about Mo Salah, probably the world's most famous footballer to have worn the red and blue jersey?
blue Sport has scoured the statistics books - and found a clear winner in Alex Frei. Frei, the best international goalscorer in history, is also at the top of his game at his favorite club - with an incredible scoring rate of 0.93 goals and assists per game (see ranking below).
At the bottom? Salah, Odermatt and Knup
The second worst of the best in the ranking compiled by blue Sport using figures and data and Transfermarkt.ch is, of all people, the only player to reach the rank of world star: Egyptian Mo Salah. He had a rate of just 0.42 points per game - although the fact that he also scored the winning goal against José Mourinho's Chelsea in 2013 and earned FCB millions should not be overlooked.
The fact that Adrian Knup is in last place with 0.3 points can be forgiven simply because of his goals for the national team against Romania at the 1994 World Cup - and is certainly due to Basel's slump at the end of the 1980s, when Knup's playing days were mainly spent. Karli Odermatt, a club original to this day and a player of longing for entire generations, is only just better: He scored just 0.3 times per game. However, his value and importance as a class player goes far beyond goals and assists - especially as he was not a goal scorer in the classic sense. In any case, generations of Basel football fans were influenced by him. To this day.
The same applies to Seppe Hügi, who cast a spell over Basel football between 1948 and 1963 and, according to the football primer by Josef Zindel (1953-2021), the famous FCB media boss and historian, scored 282 goals in 363 games - which equates to a rate of around 0.78 goals per game. Unfortunately, assists were not recorded at this time, which is why Hügi can only be partially represented in the ranking. Surprisingly, even without scoring assists, he is in third place in the all-time scorer list.
And Shaq, the man on whose shoulders all of Basel's title expectations rest? He has a total of 0.52 scoring points per game for FCB. Since his return, he has scored 0.93. This rate would put him in joint first place with Frei.
The most efficient FCB attackers of all time
- Alex Frei: 167 games, 108 goals, 48 assists, scoring points per game: 0.93
- Christian Gimenez: 123 games, 94 goals, 11 assists, scorer points per game; 0.85
- Josef Seppe Hügi: 363 games, 282 goals, ? assists, scorer points per game (without assists): 0.78
- Marco Streller: 325 games, 144 goals, 100 assists, scorer points per game: 0.75
- Ottmar Hitzfeld: 128 games, 94 goals, 0 assists, scorer points per game: 0.73
- Shkelzen Gashi: 57 games, 32 goals, 9 assists, scorer points per game: 0.72
- Seydou Doumbia: 34 games, 21 goals, 2 assists, scorer points per game: 0.68
- Marc Janko, 66 games, 34 goals, 7 assists, scorer points per game: 0.62
- Matias Delgado: 266 games, 83 goals, 72 assists, scorer points per game: 0.58
- Xherdan Shaqiri: 119 games, 29 goals, 33 assists, scorer points per game: 0.52
- Julio Hernan Rossi: 161 games, 53 goals, 27 assists, scorer points per game: 0.49
- Hakan Yakin: 185 games, 61 goals, 21 assists, scorer points per game: 0.44
- Karl Odermatt: 358 games, 109 goals, 2 assists, scorer points per game: 0.31
- Mo Salah: 79 games, 20 goals, 13 assists, scorer points per game: 0.42
- Adrian Knup: 103 games, 31 goals, 0 assists, scorer points per game: 0.3
Sources: Transfermarkt.ch / FC Basel - the first 125 years, Josef Zindel
