BSC Young Boys might be less popular compared to FC Basel when one talks about Swiss football in the Champions League or even in European competitions. However, this Bern-based club is the only Swiss club managing to progress to the last four in history so far, something which FC Basel have not been able to achieve yet. Their return to the continental top flight recently shall bring back the excitement and its colorful atmosphere in their home turf, the 32,000-seat Wandkorf Stadion, which was selected for hosting games in World Cup 1954 and EURO 2008.
There have not been many players who had a chance to be apart of Young Boys’ notable squad in the Champions League considering their limited appearances in the tournament. Eugen Meier, Gilbert Rey, Toni Allemann, the German forward Ernst Weschelberger, Kevin Mbabu, Christian Fassnacht and Djibril Sow are the key figures in BSC Young Boys who have helped the team making important progress
in UCL alongside two distinguished manager, Albert Sing and Gerardo Seouane.
Top Achievements
Not many football fans know that Young Boys managed to go through as further as semi final in the Champions League. It was in 1958/59 season that the Swiss side was able to reach that stage before losing to the semifinalist Stade Reims 1-3 on aggregate. Albert Sing’s men had edged out MTK Budapest and Wismut Karl Marx-Stadt at the previous stage. Such success was achieved only in the second season in this continental top tier. Unfortunately, Young Boys could barely qualify to the latter stages on four more occasions afterwards, in 1960,1961,1987 and 2019. They were always knocked out at the earlier rounds and a group stage, despite the fact that they have been doing fairly well in Europa League.
Iconic Moments
There are at least three unforgettable moments of glory in Young Boys’ Champions League campaign so far. The first one was surely the quarter final in 1958/59. At that time, Eugen Meier and Co had to face off the East German team, Wismut Karl Marx-Stadt three times after sharing spoils in both fixtures. The replay to decide the winner was staged in a neutral venue, Olympic Stadium Amsterdam. The Swiss side finally snatched a 2-1 win through Eugen Meier’s and Ernst Weschelberger’s goal. The next one was at the first leg of the semifinal when they clinched a narrow 1-0 win over Reims. The last one was in 2018/19 season. Gerardo Seoane’s men stunned Juventus and sealed 2-1 win at home. The former PSG man, Guillame Hoarau’s brace.
Their most devastating loss was at the second leg of 1959 semifinal when Stade Reims revenged their loss and secured one place at the final after trashing them 3-0
