FC Basel kicks off the new season with Paolo Sousa and aims to defend the title. The team has a broad lineup and has signed new players like Shkelzen Gashi and Derlis Gonzalez. The FCB is striving for its sixth title in a row. The opening match is against FC Aarau, with kickoff at 17:45 today. However, the five World Cup players and the fans of the Rotblauen will not be attending. The guest sector remains closed after the riots on the second-to-last matchday of the previous season. Paolo Sousa explains that the opening match will be a tough task. The team is just starting a new process, and the opponents will give everything to beat the FCB. Sports director Georg Heitz is confident that the FCB will not have a slow start this time. With the new coach, a new playing philosophy is being introduced at St. Jakob-Park. The football match should be an experience again. It should be emotional. Unlike under predecessor Murat Yakin, for whom the result was more important than anything else. The players are excited about the new training and the new ideas that Paolo Sousa and his coaching staff bring. The five squad players who played for their countries in the World Cup in Brazil have resumed their work. However, they will not be playing in the opening match. Fabian Schär, Marcelo Diaz, Geoffroy Serey Die, Giovanni Sio, and Yoichiro Kaktani will only be watching in Aarau. The FCB naturally wants to defend its title, even though the departures of Valentin Stocker and Yann Sommer have left big gaps. The squad is broad and the competition is great. The new players bring momentum. The FCB has also signed new players like Tomas Vaclik and Luca Zuffi. They should help the FCB to a successful year.