Trolling Giants: FC Basel's Unbelievable Rise to Prominence

Last night, we bore witness to a sports fairytale. Gather around, children, and listen close. In the heart of Europe, just south of the fabled Black Forest, near the headwaters of the mighty River Rhine, there is a small soccer team called FC Basel. Yesterday, this little club played in one of Europe's palaces of soccer, a place in which many of its players had always fantasized about setting foot, Liverpool's Anfield. It was a match that, after the Champions League draw early this season, many Liverpool supporters must have penciled in as an easy win. Liverpool, after all, is one of the best teams in one of Europe's best leagues, and Basel is from… Switzerland. But the tiny club from the foothills of the Alps had different plans. It fought to a deserving 1-1 draw, which was enough to banish Liverpool from the tournament altogether.

FC Basel has always been looked down upon by Europe's elite, seen as more squire than knight. After last night's match, it revealed itself to be a troll. This is how Basel's official Instagram account commemorated the occasion:

In terms of official team banter, this is high-level stuff—as high-level as the team's performance, for sure—making fun of English clubs and Liverpool's anthem. But it's also indicative of a self-awareness, a level of enlightenment, that Europe's elite has, apparently, yet to reach: Last night was no fairytale result, and Basel is not a small club. It's quite the opposite.

Consider Basel's recent history in European competition. As the Instagram picture indicates, Liverpool is one of several English teams FC Basel has beaten in Europe over the past several seasons. Last season, although it did not qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds, FC Basel did beat Chelsea in the group stage, home and away. Not bad. Chelsea responded by buying Basel's best player, Mohamed Salah.

The year before that, 2012-2013, Basel lost in the Champions League qualification rounds. In the Europa League, however, it managed to make it to the semifinals, beating Tottenham on penalties along the way, before losing to eventual champions, Chelsea.

Really, it's strange that Basel's Instagram picture didn't include Manchester United. In the 2011-2012 Champions League, Basel beat the Red Devils 2-1 in the final group stage match, knocking the English club out of the tournament. In the knockout rounds, Basel beat eventual finalist Bayern Munich 1-0 (before losing 7-0 in the return match). The Bavarians responded by buying Basel's best player, Xherdan Shaqiri.

Is FC Basel on par with Bayern or Barcelona? No, clearly not. But making it into Europe year in, year out and being consistently competitive—despite having its best players poached—is an accomplishment we should all tip our hats to. So what if the Champions League round of 16 is the best Basel can reasonably hope for? Manchester United would take that in a heartbeat right about now. So would Liverpool and any number of Europe's other "big clubs."

The certainty with which Basel qualifies for the Champions League every year is, if anything, the real frustration with the club. Basel is way too big for Switzerland. The team is already eight points clear at the top of the Raiffeisen Super League. If Basel goes on to win, that will be its sixth domestic title in a row. The only place Basel gets challenged any more is in Europe.

I'd love to see the team tested regularly, in a competitive domestic league. If we're going to spend time in fantasyland, imagine Basel playing in a bigger league. What if the Swiss and Austrian leagues merged? Wouldn't it be cool to see Basel and Red Bull Salzburg fight it out every year? Or let's go one step better: What if Basel was in the German Bundesliga? Could it still qualify for the Champions League?

We'll never find out. Such is the way European soccer is set up, Basel will always be a big club in a little league. It will always go into the Champions League untested. Nobody will know where its true ceiling is. That mystique is part of Basel's appeal. It's also an advantage. Basel will always coax other teams into believing a bit of fantasy: that it's a little Swiss club; that the big clubs are going to win; that it's going to be easy.