As an FC Basel fan, I am terribly bias when it comes to the result of this game. I was down on my knees in the middle of the mall refreshing the live match streaming from uefa.com faster than the network could think. When that final whistle blew, tears were in my eyes and I was jumping up and down first pumping the air not even giving a crap who saw because they were just going to be jealous that I was such a winner. I have been an FC Basel fan since I got the guts to choose my own team in 2009. I was fourteen and decided that if I was old enough to see the talent that the players in their youth system had, I was old enough to choose to support FC Basel over EPL team and family favorite Liverpool FC. My decision was met with laughter, jokes, and criticism. "You'll never celebrate a big win!" "You'll never win the league!" "No one knows who those players are!" "You're never going to see Champions League football!" Well, FC Basel won the league in 2009, the double in 2010 and the league again in 2011. Recently, Basel's young stars are making headlines (namely Xherdan Shaqiri, Valentin Stocker, Granit Xhaka and Yann Sommer) and their seasoned players who are nearer to retirement than a career boost, are still being praised for their skill.
As for Champions League football, that story tells itself. Last season, Basel impressed on the European stage by defeating AS Roma at their home stadium but didn't make it through to the knockout stages. They then lost their momentum and fell out of Europa League against CSKA Moscow. This season, their highlight, without a doubt, was the performances against English powerhouse Manchester United. They held United to a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford and then made history by defeating them at St. Jakob-Park two goals to one.
As an FC Basel fan, that day, December 7th 2011 will never be forgotten. No matter how Basel fares in the next stage of the Champions League, I will be proud of their accomplishments so far and proud to be a Basel fan.
