FCB follows the most successful year in its history with extraordinary achievements in European competition. In the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, FCB is victorious against the Slovakian Champions MŠK Žilina. In the second qualifiying round FCB defeats Glasgow Celtic of Scotland (a club with a prestigious history) and qualifies for the Group stage of the UEFA Champions League. This is the first time that FCB will play at this stage of the competition and is only the second Swiss team to make it this far in the competition.

During the six Group games FCB suffers only one loss (against Valencia CF), achieves two noteable draws against Liverpool FC, another draw against Valencia.  FCB wins twice against the Russian Champions Spartak Moscow and finishes in second place in the group behind Valencia CF and in front of Liverpool FC and Spartak Moscow.  This means that FCB defies expectations and qualifies for the 2nd Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League, the first Swiss team to do so.

FCB continues to impress during the 2nd Group Stage and secures one victory and one loss against Spain’s Champion Deportiva La Coruna.  FCB also secure a famous away draw against the powerful Manchester United.  Therefore, coming into the final game in the Group,  FCB still has an opportunity to qualify for the Quarter-Finals.  However, the result of the other game is not favourable to FCB and the 2:1 victory against Juventus is not enough to progress to the knockout rounds.  The victory against Juventus is however an excellent conclusion of a most amazing UEFA Champions League campaign.  There were seven home games sold out, the victories against great teams like Juventus, Deportiva La Coruna, Spartak Moscow and respectable draws against Liverpool and Manchester United.  Moreover, FCB benefits from amazing TV ratings and a considerable financial turnover (between CHF 20 and 25 million in the UEFA Champions League); this raises the profile of FCB across Europe.

FCB wins a first Championship for 22 years, the ninth in the club’s history. Under the leadership of Christian Gross, FCB also wins the Swiss Cup with a 2:1 victory against GC. This is the club’s second League and Cup double, the last being achieved in 1967.
Werner Edelmann becomes the new President of FCB after René C. Jäggi decides to stand down. Gigi Oeri makes history by becoming the first woman in Swiss football to be Vice-President of a National League A club.

The new St. Jakob-Park stadium is officially opened on the 15th March 2001 and 33'343 spectators are present as FCB play out a 0:0 draw with Lausanne. The average attendance for the new stadium is 27’000.
The St Jakob Park stadium hosts its first Swiss Cup final as Servette beat Yverdon 3:0.  It is also the first time that the final of this competition is played in Basel.

The last ever game in the St. Jakob stadium is played on the 13th December 1998. The stadium was built to host matches during the 1954 World Cup.

Christian Gross is appointed as the new Head Coach of FCB on 15 June 1999. In addition, Gisela ‘Gigi’ Oeri is the first woman to be elected as a Board Member of FCB during this year.
 

René C. Jäggi is elected president and this will act as a catalyst for the success that for FCB experiences in the coming years.

FCB make a return to the Swiss top-flight under Head Coach Claude ‘Didi’ Andrey. Picture: Norwegian Midfielder Oerjan Berg.