Pre-season

Following their relegation after the previous Nationalliga A season the club's priority aim was to return immediately to the top flight of Swiss football. Urs Siegenthaler was first-team coach for the second consecutive season. Due to the relegation there were many modifications in the squad. Ruedi Zahner retired from active football. Both goalkeeper moved on, Bernard Pulver to Young Boys and Urs Suter to Zürich. Stefan Bützer and Frank Eggeling both transferred to Emmenbrücke. Thomas Hauser and Varadaraju Sundramoorthy went to play for local rivals Old Boys. Dominique Herr moved on to Lausanne-Sport. The two forwards Adrian Knup transferred to Aarau and Peter Nadig to Luzern. Scottish ex-international Gordon Smith moved home to Scotland and joined Stirling Albion before ending his football career. Adrian Sedlo moved to Mulhouse and with four other players the contracts were not prolonged.

The club's financial problems had worsened during the previous season, this also due to the sinking number of spectators. But because an immediately to the top flight was the priority, 12 new players were signed in. Goalkeeper Remo Brügger was signed in from Luzern and his back up Roger Glanzmann from FC Therwil. The experienced players Andre Rindlisbacher transferred in from Aarau, Rolf Baumann from VfB Stuttgart, Mario Moscatelli from St. Gallen and Lucio Esposito from Luzern. There were a number of new players who joined from lower division clubs. For example Michael Syfrig, who had played a big role in the promotion of FC Glarus the previous season, signed in on his first professional contract. Then local youngsters Germano Fanciulli joined from local rivals Old Boys and Andre Cueni from FC Laufen. Further Beat Aebi came from FC Volketswil, Kurt Spirig came from Diepoldsau and Patrick Liniger was brought from the youth team.^[2]

Domestic league

The 24 teams in the Nationalliga B were divided into two groups, an east and a west group, to first play a qualification round. In the second stage the tops six teams in each group and the last four team of the Nationalliga A would play a promotion/relegation round, also divided into two groups. The top two teams in each group would next season play in the top flight. Basel were assigned to the East group. They ended their 22 matches in the Qualifying Phase with 14 victories, four draws and four defeats with 32 points. They were group winners. The team scored 48 goals and conceded just 23. In this first stage Lucio Esposito was the team's top goal scorer with 10 goals and Ralph Thoma second in the internal ranking with eight goals.

Thus Basel qualified themselves for a Promotion group. Basel were assigned to group A. Also qualified for this group from the Nationalliga B were Zürich, CS Chênois, Grenchen, ES Malley and the Old Boys. The team's goal scoring quality was missed during the Promotion stage. In the fifth, sixth and seventh round Basel lost the two away games against Lausanne-Sports 1–4 and St. Gallen 0–3, as well as the home match against local rivals Old Boys 0–1, therefore losing very valuable points. Basel ended the group with just 19 scored goals and just 14 obtained points in fourth position and thus they missed promotion. They were nine respectively eight points behind St. Gallen and Lausanne-Sports, both of whom were quite easily able to avoid relegation.^[3]

Swiss Cup

Basel entered into the Swiss Cup in the 2nd principal round. Here they were drawn away against local team Oberwil. The game was won easily, 5–0. In the next round Basel were drawn against higher classed Young Boys. Basel mastered their opponents well, winning 4–1. In the round of 32 and round of 16 Basel had two ties against lower tier teams winning both to qualify for the quarterfinals. Here their cup season game to an end because they lost against top-tier team Aarau. Grasshopper Club won the cup for the second season in a row, beating Aarau 2–1 in the final.^[4]

Friendly matches

Pre- and mid-season

Basel v Bellinzona

29 June 1988 Pre-season	Basel	2–3	Bellinzona	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Dittus 25' (1:0) Dittus 74' (pen. 2:2)	Summary	29' (1:1) Jacobacci 45' (1:2) Jacobacci 85' (2:3) Jacobacci	Attendance: 300 Referee: André Reck

FC Mulhouse v Basel

3 July 1988 Pre-season	FC Mulhouse	2–1	Basel	Stade Municipal, Hirtzbach
17:00	Subiat 32' (1:0) Peuget 59' (2:1)	Summary	54' (1:1) Baumann	Attendance: 800 Referee: Zumsteck
Note: Anniversary game 60th year after the founding of FC Hirtzbach

Basel v Dornbirn 1913

6 July 1988 Pre-season	Basel	5–0	Dornbirn 1913	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hänni 13' (1:0) Esposito 46' (2:0) Rindlisbacher 63' (3:0) Syfrig 73' (4:0) Hänni 88' (5:0)	Summary		Attendance: 300 Referee: Walter Rudin Birsfelden

SC Freiburg v Basel

9 July 1988 Pre-season	SC Freiburg	1–1 (4–3 p)	Basel	Elzstadion, Emmendingen
18:30	Higl 51' (1:1)	Summary	8' (0:1) Dittus	Referee: Holger Dehmelt (Sabachwalden)
	Penalties
	Staib Hermann Majka Weber Fludec		Fanciulli Rindlisbacher Dittus Baumann Thoma

FC Emmendingen v Basel

10 July 1988 Pre-season	FC Emmendingen	1–0	Basel	Elzstadion, Emmendingen
15:30	Hilbig 65' (1:0)	Summary		Attendance: 700 Referee: Josef Hodapp

Basel v Twente

13 July 1988 Pre-season	Basel	2–1	Twente	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
19:00	Moscatelli 11' (1:0) Thoma 51' (2:0)	Summary	76' (2:1) Koopman	Attendance: 700 Referee: Francis Fischer

Grenchen v Basel

16 July 1988 Pre-season	Grenchen	0–3	Basel	Stadion Brühl, Grenchen
19:00		Summary	40' (0:1) Thoma 78' (0:2) Esposito 83' (0:3) Esposito	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger Suhr

Basel v Celtic

19 July 1988 Pre-season	Basel	0–1	Celtic	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00		Summary	74' (0:1) Walker	Attendance: 2,700 Referee: André Reck

Basel v VfB Stuttgart

28 September 1988 Mid-season	Basel	1–6	VfB Stuttgart	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Esposito 16' (1:1)	Summary	11' (0:1) Buchwald 29' (pen. 1:2) Schütterle 43' (1:3) Schröder 59' (1:4) Schütterle 69' (1:5) Schmäler 88' (1:6) Klinge	Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Peter Bochsler

FC Sursee v Basel

8 November 1988 Mid-season	FC Sursee	1–1	Basel	Sursee
	Widmer 49' (1:1)	Summary	41' (0:1) Esposito

Winter break and mid-season

1. FC Pforzheim v Basel

18 February 1989 Winter break	1. FC Pforzheim	1–0	Basel	Stadion im Brötzinger Tal, Pforzheim
14:30	Andreas Mähler 3' (1:0)	Summary		Attendance: 1,400 Referee:

Lugano v Basel

22 February 1989 Winter break	Lugano	2–0	Basel	Cornaredo, Lugano
20:00	Gorter 53' (pen. 1:0) Jensen 55' (2:0)	Summary		Attendance: 250 Referee: Francesco Bianchi

Basel v Grasshopper Club

25 February 1989 Winter break	Basel	1–1	Grasshopper Club	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Mata 32' (1:0)	Summary	16' Egli  26' Halter  33' Wyss 83' (o.g. 1:1) Dittus	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Peter Bochsler

Xamax v Basel

2 March 1989 Winter break	Xamax	5–0	Basel	Les Fourches, Saint-Blaise
17:00	Hermann 2' (1:0) Sutter 3' (2:0) Lüth 38' (3:0) Lüth 40' (4:0) Lüth 61' (5:0)	Summary		Attendance: 200 Referee: Manfred Schlup Grenchen

Basel v Aarau

4 March 1989 Winter break	Basel	3–2	Aarau	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Moscatelli 42' (1:0) Thoma 79' (2:2) Cueni 85' (3:2)	Summary	56' (1:1) Sforza 69' (1:2) van der Gijp	Attendance: 700 Referee: Rolf Blattmann

Basel v FC Glarus

8 March 1989 Winter break	Basel	0–1	FC Glarus	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00		Summary	43' (0:1) Paradiso	Attendance: 300 Referee: Fabrice Kaltenrieder

FC Châtel-St.-Denis v Basel

25 April 1989 Mid-season	FC Châtel-St.-Denis	1–3	Basel	Stade du Lussy, Châtel-Saint-Denis
		Summary	(1x) Cueni (1x) Moscatelli (1x) Esposito

Nationalliga B

Qualifying Phase East

Zürich v Basel

23 July 1988 Round 1	Zürich	1–1	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Landolt 6' (1:1) Landolt  27'	Summary	3' (0:1) Esposito  24' Baumann  63' Moscatelli	Attendance: 5,300 Referee: Francesco Bianchi
Note: Debut for Remo Brügger, Michael Syfrig, André Rindlisbacher, Mario Moscatelli, Rolf Baumann, Germano Fanciulli and Lucio Esposito

Basel v Locarno

27 July 1988 Round 2	Basel	3–0	Locarno	Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
20:30	Bernauer 57' (1:0) Esposito 58' (2:0) Aebi 77' (3:0)	Summary	Niedermayer	Attendance: 2,600 Referee: Jean-Claude Tagliabue
Note: Home game played on the Schützenmatte, because the St. Jakob Stadium was not ready to play on following a Pink Floyd concert.

Schaffhausen v Basel

30 July 1988 Round 3	Schaffhausen	1–3	Basel	Stadion Breite, Schaffhausen
20:00	Axel Thoma Krebs 26' (1:1)	Summary	22' (pen. 0:1) Dittus  32' Rindlisbacher  70' Thoma 76' (1:2) Moscatelli  86' Baumann 90' (1:3) Thoma	Attendance: 2,300 Referee: Erwin Fölmli

Basel v FC Chur

4 August 1988 Round 4	Basel	4–0	FC Chur	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Dittus 13' (pen. 1:0) Moscatelli 50' (2:0) Esposito 57' (3:0) Thoma 75' (4:0)	Summary	34' Beeli  54' Manetsch	Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Strässle Steinach
Note: Note: NLA debut for Kurt Spirig

Old Boys v Basel

10 August 1988 Round 5	Old Boys	0–3	Basel	Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
20:00	Hauser  8' Maurer  11' Kägi  76'	Summary	27' Hänni  29' Moscatelli 43' (0:1) Esposito 56' (o.g. 0:2) Maurer 63' (0:3) Esposito	Attendance: 9,200 Referee: Arturo Martino

Basel v FC Glarus

13 August 1988 Round 6	Basel	1–2	FC Glarus	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Thoma 37' Baumann  81'	Summary	82' Lötscher 88' Zug  33'  86' Gabriel	Attendance: 4,300 Referee: François Xavier Amherdt

Chiasso v Basel

16 August 1988 Round 7	Chiasso	0–1	Basel	Stadio Comunale, Chiasso
20:00	Malnati  54' Neumann  64' Sordelli  87'	Summary	55' (0:1) Dittus  71'  74' Bernauer  75' Hodel  83' Mata  90+2' Rahmen	Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Michel Barbezat

Basel v Zug

27 August 1988 Round 8	Basel	3–0	Zug	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Brügger  11' Baumann 23' (1:0) Moscatelli 33' (2:0) Mata 36' (3:0)	Summary	37' Allegretti	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Rudolf Schödl

Baden v Basel

31 August 1988 Round 9	Baden	0–2	Basel	Esp Stadium, Fislisbach
20:00	Balzarini  60'	Summary	29' Moscatelli 53' (0:1) Esposito  61' Hodel 88' (0:2) Mata	Attendance: 1,900 Referee: Armand Neukom

Winterthur v Basel

10 September 1988 Round 10	Winterthur	2–1	Basel	Schützenwiese, Winterthur
20:00	Häfeli 56' (1:0) Hutka 63' (2:0)	Summary	81' Moscatelli 89' (2:1) Thoma	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Mario Marbet
Note: First NLA game for referee Mario Marbet

Basel v Emmenbrücke

17 September 1988 Round 11	Basel	3–1	Emmenbrücke	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Syfrig 88' (1:1) Aebi 90' (2:1) Moscatelli 90+6' (3:1)	Summary	16'  24' Büeler 23' (0:1) Zemp  26' Zemp  34' Ghisoni  46' Studer  77' Gasser  81' Berger  84'  87'Roth  90' Schupp	Attendance: 2,800 Referee: Armand Neukom

Basel v Zürich

24 September 1988 Round 12	Basel	2–2	Zürich	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Esposito 18' (1:1) Mata 58' (2:1) Dittus  62'	Summary	4' (0:1) Şahin  8' Şahin  59' Beat Studer 63' (2:2) Jürg Studer  85' Gilli	Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Ludwig Zurkirchen

Locarno v Basel

1 October 1988 Round 13	Locarno	2–2	Basel	Stadio del Lido, Locarno
20:00	Siwek 7' (1:0) Bützer  33' Forestier  72' Schönwetter 88' (1:2)	Summary	15' Rindlisbacher 54' (1:1) Thoma 62' (1:2) Hänni	Attendance: 1,700 Referee: François Xavier Amherdt

Basel v Schaffhausen

8 October 1988 Round 14	Basel	1–0	Schaffhausen	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Hodel  33' Aebi  76' Hänni 83' (1:0) Syfrig  87'	Summary		Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Hans Weber

FC Chur v Basel

16 October 1988 Round 15	FC Chur	0–3	Basel	Ringstrasse, Chur
14:30		Summary	62' (0:1) Moscatelli 74' (0:2) Baumann  76' Moscatelli  84' Hänni 85' (0:3) Mata	Attendance: 1,350 Referee: Marcel Despland Yverdon

Basel v Old Boys

22 October 1988 Round 16	Basel	1–2	Old Boys	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Dittus  57' Brügger  72' Dittus 74' (pen. 1:1) Baumann  85'	Summary	18' Spicher 26' (pen. 0:1) Hauck 80' (1:2) Kägi	Attendance: 7,800 Referee: Francis Fischer (Arch)

FC Glarus v Basel

30 October 1988 Round 17	FC Glarus	0–3	Basel	Sportplatz Buchholz, Glarus
14:30	Ramensperger Gabriel	Summary	2' (0:1) Thoma 22' (0:2) Thoma 90' (0:3) Esposito Hänni Dittus	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Aldo Palama

Basel v Chiasso

6 Novaember 1988 Round 18	Basel	2–1	Chiasso	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Esposito 80' (1:0) Mata  82' Thoma 89' (2:1)	Summary	82' (1:1) Romagnoli  83'  87' Malnati  90+1' Fontana  90+3' Romagnoli	Attendance: 2,900 Referee: Willy Hänni

Zug v Basel

20 November 1988 Round 19	Zug	2–2	Basel	Herti Allmend Stadion, Zug
14:30	Zwahlen 32' (1:1) Huber 44' (2:1) Stierli  59' Zwahlen  71'	Summary	19' (0:1) Baumann 40′ Dittus  70' Rindlisbacher 90' (2:2) Moscatelli  90+1' Moscatelli	Attendance: 400 Referee: Erwin Schuler

Basel v Baden

27 November 1988 Round 20	Basel	1–4	Baden	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14:30	Mata  25' Bernauer 59' (1:2) Baumann  83'	Summary	4' (0:1) Brazil  19' Ponte  28' Lerchmüller 35' (0:2) Brazil 71' (1:3) Zaugg 77' (1:4) Wiesner	Attendance: 2,800 Referee: O. Grütsch

Basel v Winterthur

4 December 1988 Round 21	Basel	3–1	Winterthur	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
14_30	Dittus 15' (1:1) Esposito 28' (2:1) Moscatelli 70' (3:1)	Summary	7' (pen. 0:1) Graf	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Erwin Fölmli

Emmenbrücke v Basel

11 December 1988 Round 22	Emmenbrücke	2–3	Basel	Stadion Gersag, Emmenbrücke
19:00	Eggeling 37' (1:2) Hözgen  71' Greber 81' (2:3)	Summary	1' (0:1) Esposito 31' (0:2) Mata 69' (1:3) Hänni	Attendance: 130 Referee: Bernard Neukom

Promotion/relegation phase

Main article: 1988–89 Nationalliga A § Promotion/relegation group

Chênois v Basel

19 March 1989 Round 1	Chênois	2–2	Basel	Stade des Trois-Chêne
14:30	Curtet 5' (1:0) Navarro 58' (2:1)	Summary	20' (1:1) Dittus 79' (2:2) Aebi

Basel v Zürich

27 March 1989 Round 2	Basel	1–1	Zürich	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
14:30	Moscatelli 68' (1:0)	Summary	71' (1:1) Maiano	Attendance: 12,000 Referee:

ES Malley v Basel

1 April 1989 Round 3	ES Malley	1–2	Basel	Stade du Bois Gentil, Malley
17:30	Ceccaroni 72' (o.g. 1:2)	Summary	40' (0:1) Esposito 51' (0:2) Esposito	Attendance: 2,120 Referee: Gottfried Friedrich

Basel v Grenchen

8 April 1989 Round 4	Basel	2–1	Grenchen	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Dittus 39' (0:1) Thoma 59' (2:0)	Summary	61' (2:1) Ciolek	Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Paul-Louis Christe

Lausanne-Sport v Basel

15 April 1989 Round 5	Lausanne-Sport	4–1	Basel	Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne
20:00	Schürmann 9' (1:0) Chapuisat 39' (2:1) Hartmann 44' (3:1) Thychosen 60' (4:1)	Summary	14' (1:1) Thoma	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Georges Sandoz
Note: NLA debut Stephan Schaub. Minute of silence for the victims of the Sheffield football disaster.

Basel v Old Boys

29 April 1989 Round 6	Basel	0–1	Old Boys	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Syfrig  30'	Summary	70' (0:1) Bachofner	Attendance: 3,800 Referee: Francesco Bianchi

St. Gallen v Basel

6 May 1989 Round 7	St. Gallen	3–0	Basel	Espenmoos, St. Gallen
17:30	Hegi 19' (1:0) Fischer 45' (1:0) Gämperle  51' Fischer 77' (3:0)	Summary	5' Hänni  60' Syfrig	Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Daniel Roduit

Basel v Chênois

13 May 1989 Round 8	Basel	1–1	Chênois	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Rindlisbacher 11' (1:0) Rindlisbacher  44' Moscatelli  45'	Summary	11' Michel 19' (1:1) Navarro	Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Erwin Fölmli

Zürich v Basel

20 May 1989 Round 9	Zürich	0–2	Basel	Letzigrund, Zürich
20:00	Şahin  21'	Summary	6' Ceccaroni 18' (0:1) Syfrig  52' Mata  78' Moscatelli  80' Bernauer 89' (0:2) Moscatelli	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Fredy Phillippoz

Basel v ES Malley

23 May 1989 Round 10	Basel	1–1	ES Malley	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Bernauer 90' (1:1)	Summary	48' (0:1) Martelli  73' Martelli	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Francis Fischer

Grenchen v Basel

27 May 1989 Round 11	Grenchen	2–2	Basel	Stadion Brühl, Grenchen
17:30	Du Buisson 24' (1:0) Gunia 54' (2:0)	Summary	26' Moscatelli 61' (2:1) Thoma  70' Rindlisbacher 90' (2:2) Syfrig	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Erwin Fölmli

Basel v Lausanne-Sport

3 June 1989 Round 12	Basel	1–1	Lausanne-Sport	St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00	Dittus 22' (1:0)	Summary	68' Hottiger 74' (1:1) Hartmann	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Daniel Roduit

Old Boys v Basel

10 June 1989 Round 13	Old Boys	0–2	Basel	Stadion Schützenmatte, Basel
20:00	Hauck 79′	Summary	55' (0:1) Thoma 61' (0:2) Thoma  76' Dittus	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Marcel Despland Yverdon

Basel v St. Gallen

14 June 1989 Round 14	Basel	2–3	St. Gallen	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Dittus 42' (1:2) Moscatelli 65' (2:2)	Summary	21' (0:1) Metzler 25' (0:2) Gambino 90' (2:3) Lehnherr	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Bruno Galler

Swiss Cup

Oberwil v Basel

20 August 1988 2nd round	Oberwil	0–5	Basel	Sportanlage Eisweiher, Oberwil
19:30	Eichenberger  1'	Summary	22' (0:1) Esposito 32' (0:2) Rahmen 76' (0:3) Baumann 79' (pen. 0:4) Dittus 83' (0:5) Aebi	Attendance: 1,800[1] Referee: Peter Bochsler

Basel v Young Boys

3 September 1988 3rd round	Basel	4–1	Young Boys	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Esposito 8' (1:0) Baumann  29' Brügger  45' Hodel 53' (2:1) Thoma 55' (3:2) Hodel  57' Dittus 81' (4:1)	Summary	31' Limpar 48' (1:1) Zuffi  63' Rapolder	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Arturo Martino

FC Töss v Basel

13 November 1988 Round of 32	FC Töss	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Basel	Sportanlage Reitplatz, Winterthur
10:00	Moor  28' Hofmann  44'	Summary	107' (0:1) Bernauer  112' Fanciulli	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger Suhr
Note: Corner: 3–23

FC Olten v Basel

12 March 1989 Round of 16	FC Olten	1–2	Basel	Sportanlagen Kleinholz, Olten
14:30	Granata  10' Dervishaj 45' (1:1)	Summary	18' (pen. 0:1) Dittus 88' (1:2) Cueni	Attendance: 1,650 Referee: Gottfried Friedrich

Basel v Aarau

12 April 1989 Quarterfinal	Basel	0–2	Aarau	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
20:00	Dittus  40' Moscatelli  67' Thoma  68'	Summary	15' Knup 39' (0:1) Knup  67' Kilian  80' Kühni 90+1' (0:2) van der Gijp	Attendance: 8,500[1] Referee: Fredy Phillippoz