FC Basel officially announced that the club has immediately terminated its cooperation with head coach Stephan Lichtsteiner.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

After seven rounds and most recently two consecutive home defeats, the sporting management of FC Basel 1893 has arrived at a very difficult decision: Since the developments and improvements targeted over the past weeks and months in the day-to-day management and further development of the team have not materialised as expected, the club sees itself forced to end its collaboration with head coach Stephan Lichtsteiner with immediate effect. Until a new head coach is appointed, assistant coach Luigi Nocentini will take over responsibility for the first team on an interim basis.

Despite the team’s recent underwhelming performances, the club is finding this separation far from easy. At the same time, FC Basel 1893 must critically acknowledge that the hopes tied to a project that launched amid a challenging sporting situation and carried inherent risks from the outset have ultimately gone unfulfilled. The club wishes to express its sincere gratitude to Stephan Lichtsteiner for stepping up to take responsibility during this demanding period, and for approaching this task with tremendous dedication and meticulous effort.

Chairman David Degen: "Despite the disappointing second half of last season, I gave Stephan Lichtsteiner and his coaching team my full trust at the end of the season. The sporting management, and I myself in particular, believed in the long-term project and were convinced of Lichtsteiner's abilities. At the same time, this trust was tied to the expectation that clear sporting progress and a visible upward trend would be discernible in the medium term. Unfortunately, we did not see this upward trend in the past few weeks, and there was a lack of belief that this would change within a reasonable period of time. Personally, I am also very sorry that our joint project did not take the desired positive trajectory. "

After seven completed rounds, with three defeats in four home matches, the risk of a sporting setback and a negative downward trend in the league table ultimately appears to be too great.

As emphasized at the outset, FCB deeply regrets this decision. The objective of successfully advancing this long-term project remained in place right up until the end. However, on the path to long-term success, important intermediate milestones must also be achieved. Since the start of the year, these have not been met to the extent that the club had hoped. Alongside Stephan Lichtsteiner, assistant coach Mario Cantaluppi is also leaving FCB – the club would also like to extend its sincere thanks to him for his dedication in service of the Red and Blue.

Until a successor for Stephan Lichtsteiner can be presented, the club will forego holding a press conference. The scheduled preview for Friday's match against FC Luzern will also be cancelled.

Valentin Stocker, Sporting Director of the first team, will be available to media representatives for further information during the match against Lucerne.

AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com