Ireland arrived in Basel in September 2004 in a buoyant mood. Coming off the back of a 3-0 victory over Cyprus at Landsdowne Road in their opening group game, Brian Kerr's men also welcomed back Roy Keane for his first competitive appearance since the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign..
And, by Christ, we owed Switzerland one. You might recall the 'Swiss Rolled' headlines from 11 months previous, when an Ireland captained by Matt Holland were dispatched 2-0 by a dogged Swiss outfit in the final game of Euro qualifying, though Russia's simultaneous 3-1 victory over Georgia was enough to keep us away from Portugal regardless.
It wasn't so much the defeat or the Swiss in particular that drew the ire of Ireland fans that evening, however, as it was Rennes striker Alexander Frei - a poisonous dickhead of sorts - who celebrated his goal with such zealous in front of the Ireland bench that Mark Kinsella was left with no other option but to fling a bottle at him.
Almost a year on from that bitter night on the German border, Clinton Morrison revealed that Frei's arseholery had plunged to depths far more sinister than celebratory taunts, turning up the heat on a fixture which had already been dubbed 'The Battle Of Basel II'.
He told the media:
They done us last year in the European Championships. There were a lot of things going on in the game which weren’t nice.
“We owe them one and, hopefully, we can take the form we showed against Cyprus forward and get another win.
He continued:
“Alex Frei misses our game does he? Well, I am a bit disappointed because he made a remark to me in the game, which I owe him one for.
“It was like a racist remark. I don’t want to repeat it. I keep it to myself. He said it on the pitch which I went mad about.
“I am disappointed he ain’t playing but we’ll see him again at Lansdowne Road hopefully.
“I will get him when he comes to Dublin. We will have it out there.”
The accusation and subsequent lack of action from UEFA seem all the more remarkable when you take into consideration Frei's 'mealy-mouthed' denial. Neil O'Riordan of the Irish Sun reported him as responding:
All I can say is that at Rennes, my club, I play with about 15 coloured players and I have never had a problem with any of them.
“This is an easy accusation to make. Maybe tomorrow somebody with whom I played when I was nine will say that I once threw a bottle at them.”
As alluded to by Morrison, Frei would miss what transpired to be a 1-1 draw between Ireland and Switzerland during the second Battle of Basel. He had been suspended for spitting at Steven Gerrard during a 3-0 defeat to England at Euro 2004.
But Morrison's war cry surely added to the cult status he has garnered amongst Irish fans over the years, not least when he bagged the opening goal in Basel.
Throwback to Clinton Morrison scoring against tonight's opposition back in 2004! #COYBIG #IRLSUI pic.twitter.com/oan4Mk5HTa
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) March 25, 2016
'I will get him. We will have it out there.' What a man. Of course, it's no secret that the Birmingham City striker was one of the first players to welcome Roy Keane back to the international fold.
