The local Swiss media were harsh in their criticism of the Swiss champions, but gratified that FC Basel did not concede at home: "A critical advantage for the return leg"
On the morning after the match between F.C. Basel and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the local Swiss media divided their commentary between criticism of Basel's second half performance and speculation on the chance of Basel's Egyptian players playing in the return leg in Israel. Most of the headlines contrasted the local team's dominance of the first half to their inability to score more than one goal. "Basel won with their fighting spirit and luck", wrote 20 Minutes on their website. "The home side were lucky the guests did not find an equaliser in the second half". The website called midfielder Valentin Stocker's goal a "Golden Goal" and described it as an example of exceptional team play. Still, "In the second half the Swiss champions allowed their guests a great deal freedom on the pitch and in six second-half minutes were twice spared being punished for excellent opportunities given to (Maccabi forward) Rade Prica".
"An infuriating game", roared the headline of Der Bund, "A whole host of opportunities but just one goal has turned the return leg into a complicated mission". The newspaper, published in the Swiss capital, emphasised the expected absence of Basel's Egyptian players. "In the return leg, the Swiss will be forced to cope with a serious limitation, due to the expected absence of the two Egyptians, Mohamed Salah and Mohamed Al-Nenny. Their absence will be a serious disadvantage for the team, especially in light of the fact that Salah was the best player on the pitch". Blick even published a headline saying: "Who will replace Salah?" and went on to discuss Israeli-Egyptian relations in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "It seems that Basel's winger, Mohamed Salah, will not go to Israel next week. David Degen and Stephan Andrist are already waiting to replace him".
Regarding the game itself, a great deal of commentary was devoted to Basel's failure to take advantage of their chances, especially in the first half, and to the improvement that will be required in the return leg. "Basel invested a great deal of effort but have little to show for it", wrote the Aargauer Zeitung, and added: "Basel won the first game, but the return leg in Israel will require the team to make a greater effort". If the Swiss had any reason to be optimistic, it was primarily because the home side kept a clean sheet: "The fact that Basel kept a clean sheet may be critical for the return leg", wrote the Aargauer Zeitung. Der Bund concluded that "After having created so many chances the Swiss should have won by a far greater margin. The only good thing about the result is that Maccabi Tel Aviv didn't score an away goal".
And what about the Israeli press? Yediot Aharonot, Israel HaYom and the local sports websites were all more or less in agreement regarding the match and even more so concerning the return leg. Much like their Swiss counterparts, the Israeli press were not particularly impressed by last night's display but held out hope for next week's return leg, each team for their own reasons. You could sum up the general feeling as something between a little bit of confidence and a small dose of cautious optimism. We'll all see on Tuesday at Bloomfield Stadium.
