Müller happy on home soil

By Matthew Allen

FC Basel 1893 winter signing Patrick Müller is confident that the Swiss champions can overcome LOSC Lille Métropole in Thursday's UEFA Cup Round of 32 first-leg tie despite coming into the match cold after a long winter break.

Cold start
Basel have not played a competitive match since their 3-3 draw against FC Thun in the Swiss Super League on 11 December, while Lille have competed in eight competitive games since the start of the year, and remain second in Ligue 1 despite three consecutive draws.

Home advantage
However, the Swiss international defender, who joined Basel last month, 24 hours after having his contract at RCD Mallorca terminated two-and-a-half years early, believes that his new side's lack of match practice will not show when the two teams meet at St Jakob Park.

'No disadvantage'
"This is no disadvantage as far as we are concerned," he told uefa.com. "We have been training hard and our preparations have been going well, so everyone is ready for the game. Everyone here appreciates how important this match is and is up for it."

Respected opponents
The 28-year-old defender spent four successful seasons at Olympique Lyonnais, winning the French league title three times during his stay. As a result he knows all about Lille, who have surprised many by challenging for honours in Ligue 1 and are the only French team to have beaten Müller's old side this season.

'Painful memories'
"I have some painful memories of losing against Lille," said Müller. "They are a very difficult side and don't concede a lot of goals. They are a solid, compact team and that is their strength."

Mallorca misery
Müller's move to Basel was clearly an unexpected one. He was courted by the club after his contract at Lyon expired, but preferred to try his luck in Spain. "I wanted to go to Spain and was lucky enough to find a club there," he said. "But while I was at Mallorca the coach decided to pick other players - that's the way it goes in football sometimes."

'At the top'
He added: "I did not necessarily wish to leave Mallorca, but I wanted to play so I was happy to find that the door was still open at Basel. I did not think that it was necessary to look at other clubs. Basel was an interesting proposition because they are usually top of the league and playing in Europe. I want to play at the top and with Basel I can do that."

Vital element
Basel coach Christian Gross said of Müller: "I see him as one of the main elements in our team who will hold our back four together. He is a player with a lot of experience and has a great footballing brain. His experience as captain of Lyon proves that he is ready to respond to the expectations of our fans."

Huge target
Having reached the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League two seasons ago, Basel's expectations are high. Gross said: "At the start of the season our target was to become European champions and now we will try to keep going as long as possible in the UEFA Cup."

Not impossible
That is something Müller thinks is far from impossible. "Basel have proved in the past that they are capable of beating big teams in Europe, and we need to continue this trend," he said. "We have to prove it every year from fresh."