Xherdan Shaqiri show

Saturday 18 October 2025, FC Basel 3 FC Winterthur 0 - Swiss Super League, St Jakob Park

Unlike my top of the table match in Zurich last season, this time FC Basel may have been playing the team at the bottom of the table, there was big crowd and great atmosphere. Stadium used for Women's Euro final in the summer and is impressive with a shopping centre built in to the main stand and below the ground.

Tram 14 is currently unable to get to the stadium as line being renewed but Tram 10 or 11 dropped you just 10 minutes from the ground, plenty of outside bar and food stalls in place with club selling a special scarf for a cancer charity and the club supporters raising money for a club museum. 

The game was the Xherdan Shaqiri show  - scoring a penalty, making an assist, creating/involved in the best move of the day, taking every corner and Free Kick. He does not look very fit anymore but his passion for the game was on show and some of his passing was out of this world.

Afterwards, easy walk back to tram stop, 2 minute wait and back at hotel in 15 minutes. 

No local morning games, all games played seemed to be late afternoon, so clashing with the FC Basel 6pm kick off, the club were offering cheap tickets for the indoor Basel indoor tennis tournament evening session, being held in the large sports arena next door to the football stadium

Sunday, no games for me but a large non-league calendar was in place, but nothing that stood out, all local games seemed to kick off between 12 an d 3pm - so again a double was impossible unless you were  willing to get a train 30 miles plus to get an extra morning kick off game in.