Marco Streller

Marco Streller (born 18 June 1981) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a striker and is best known for his years with FC Basel and the Switzerland national team.

Streller was born in Basel and began his youth football with local club FC Aesch, coming through the ranks between 1988 and 1997.

He then played three seasons for FC Arlesheim in the 2. Liga.

Streller started his professional football career with local club FC Basel under manager Christian Gross in 2000.

He played his League debut in St. Jakob-Park being substituted in during the 66th Minute at St. Jakob-Park on 11 July 2001 in the 3–1 home win against Servette.

Unluckily in the last minute of the game he scored an own goal, a deflected header, after Servette had taken the last corner kick.

This was to remain Streller's only game for Basel during this season because he was loaned to feeder club FC Concordia Basel for the rest of the season.

He scored 16 goals in 30 starts in the Nationalliga B with Concordia, which made his home club and Gross sit up and take notice.

They called him back in 2002, but after playing just three games was loaned out again in January of the following year to FC Thun.

He scored eight goals in just 16 games for Thun and was subsequently recalled to Basel, being promised first team football.

During the 2003–04 Swiss Super League season, he scored 13 goals in 16 games, thus gathering the interest of a handful of Bundesliga clubs including VfB Stuttgart.

Stuttgart eventually signed him ahead of the 2004–05 season.

During his debut on 14 March 2005 he also scored his first goal for the VfB.

But after returning from an injury he scored just four goals in 28 matches in his two years in Stuttgart.

Therefore, and to gain match practice, he was loaned out to 1. FC Köln for their second half of the 2006 season.

After returning from Köln, where he made 14 starts, he scored five goals in 27 games as Stuttgart won the Championship, but Streller still failed to impress the Stuttgart board of directors.

Stuttgart therefore allowed Streller to rejoin his boyhood heroes FC Basel on a free transfer in June 2007.

This was his fourth spell at the club and it turned out to be very successful.

He was Basel's top goal-scorer during the 2007–08 season with twelve league goals and 16 goals in all competitions.

In the last game of the season Valentin Stocker and Marco Streller scored the two goals in Basels 2–0 home win over BSC Young Boys and Basel won the championship.

Streller missed the start of the 2008–09 season after returning from UEFA Euro 2008 injured.

He playing his first game of the season in a 1–0 Swiss Cup win over FC Schötz on 20 September 2008.

During the 2008–09 Swiss Super League season Streller played 23 league games, scoring six goals, but Basel finished just third in the League table, qualifying for the Europa League.

In the 2009–10 season Streller played 29 League games, scoring 21 goals, and Basel won the Double.

In the 2010–11 season Basel were able to defend the League Title, thus Streller won his fourth Swiss League Medal.

For the 2011–12 Swiss Super League season trainer Thorsten Fink named Marco Streller as team captain.

He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Basel on 22 November in the Group C tie in the Arena Națională, in Bucharest, as Basel won the away game against Oțelul Galați 3–2.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, Streller won the Double, the League Championship title and the Swiss Cup with Basel.

At the end of the 2012–13 Swiss Super League season Streller won the Championship title for the fourth time in a row and was Swiss Cup runner up with Basel.

In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Basel advanced as far as the semi-finals, there being matched against the reigning UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea, but were knocked out being beaten 5–2 on aggregate.

In a very long season Basel played a total of 76 games (36 in the domestic League, six in the Cup, 20 in Champions und Europa League, as well as 14 Test matches).

Streller made 62 appearances, of which 32 were in der domestic League, three in the Cup and 17 in the Champions League and Europa League.

On 18 September 2013, he headed the winning goal away to Chelsea in the opening group game of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.

At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season, Streller won his seventh league championship with Basel (fifth time in a row).

They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time.

In the 2013–14 Champions League season, Basel finished in the group stage in third position to qualify for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals.

In their season 2013–14, with Murat Yakin as trainer, Basel played a total of 68 matches (36 Swiss Super League fixtures, six Swiss Cup, ten Champions League and six Europa League and ten test matches).

Streler totaled 44 appearances, 25 in the Super League, three in the Cup, eight Champions League and two Europa League appearances, as well six in the test games.

He was the sporting director of FC Basel from June 2017 until June 2019.

Since February 2020 he works as a TV expert for the Swiss Pay TV broadcaster Teleclub.