 Gross in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Jürgen Gross[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1954-08-14)14 August 1954 (age 71)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Zürich, Switzerland[1] | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Youth career | |||
| –1965 | SV Höngg | ||
| 1965–1972 | Grasshopper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1976 | Grasshopper | ||
| 1976–1978 | Lausanne-Sport | ||
| 1978–1980 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 50 | (3) |
| 1980–1981 | VfL Bochum | 29 | (4) |
| 1981–1985 | St. Gallen | 109 | (11) |
| 1985–1987 | Lugano | ||
| 1987–1988 | Yverdon-Sport | ||
| International career | |||
| 1978 | Switzerland | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988–1993 | Wil | ||
| 1993–1997 | Grasshopper | ||
| 1997–1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| 1999–2009 | Basel | ||
| 2009–2010 | VfB Stuttgart | ||
| 2011–2012 | Young Boys | ||
| 2014–2017 | Al-Ahli | ||
| 2018–2019 | Zamalek | ||
| 2019–2020 | Al-Ahli | ||
| 2020–2021 | Schalke 04 | ||
| 2024–2025 | Zamalek | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954) is a Swissfootball manager and former player. He played as asweeper andcentral midfielder.[2]
Gross was manager ofBasel from 1999 to 2009, winning fourSwiss Super Leagues and fourSwiss Cups.
As manager ofTottenham Hotspur between November 1997 and September 1998, Gross became the first Swiss to manage in thePremier League.[3]
Gross began his playing career atSV Höngg before moving toGrasshopper in 1965,[4] which he left in 1976. After two years atLausanne-Sport and two seasons atNeuchâtel Xamax, he moved to Germany in 1980 to play forVfL Bochum of theBundesliga. In two seasons Gross made 29 appearances in the Bundesliga and scored four goals. He then returned to Switzerland and spent three years atSt. Gallen,Lugano andYverdon-Sport. Gross was capped once forSwitzerland, making his debut on 8 March 1978 in a 3–1 friendly away defeat toEast Germany.[5]
Gross began his managerial career at Swiss sideWil in the2. Liga (then the fourth-highest level), for whom he was active asplayer-manager. During his reign from 1988 to 1993,[6] Wil climbed into the1. Liga and then the Nationalliga B (now theChallenge League). While at Wil, Gross developed a reputation for an emphasis on fitness and hard work.[7] He then joined Grasshopper as head coach in 1993.[8] Under Gross, Grasshopper won two Swiss championships and theSwiss Cup. Gross's success with Grasshopper meant he was a very highly rated coach in his native Switzerland, but he was still little-known outside central Europe and it was a major shock when in November 1997 he was chosen to succeedGerry Francis as manager ofTottenham Hotspur.[9]
Gross was hired on 19 November 1997,[10] with Tottenham in the relegation zone.[11] Swiss fitness coachFritz Schmid, who had been an integral part of Gross' training plans at Grasshopper, was denied awork permit by the British government and so was unable to take up this role at Tottenham.[12][13]
Gross' initial fortunes were mixed; his debut was a 2–0 win overEverton atGoodison Park, followed by a heavy 6–1 home defeat at the hands ofChelsea. However, despite some signs of improvement, he was relentlessly ridiculed by the British tabloids.[7] The ridicule was often linked to his poor grasp of English and first Spurs press conference, where he arrived late fromHeathrow Airport brandishing aLondon Underground ticket with the words: "I want this to become my ticket to the dreams".[14][15][16]
Gross' position became increasingly untenable as the1998–99 season approached, and when Spurs lost two of their opening three matches, chairmanAlan Sugar ended Gross' contract on 5 September 1998. In a statement, Sugar blamed the media for destroying Gross' reputation.[17] He had won three of his last ten matches.[11]
Gross returned to his native Switzerland, finding work as the manager ofBasel on 15 June 1999.[18] He worked to rebuild Basel into the premier force in Swiss football and achieved greater success than when manager of Grasshopper.
Under Gross' guidance, Basel won four Swiss championships, four Swiss Cups, and mounted a fairytale run in theUEFA Champions League in the2002–03 season, beating eventual finalistsJuventus as well as knocking outCeltic and drawing withLiverpool (twice) andManchester United. Gross' success in these games against British sides went a long way towards restoring his reputation among the British media and fans.[7] He took Basel on another European adventure three seasons later as they reached the quarter finals of theUEFA Cup in 2005–06, before bowing out to English sideMiddlesbrough 4–3 on aggregate despite leading 2–0 after the first leg atSt. Jakob-Park.
On 17 May 2009, Gross was attacked by fans ofZürich on a tram after Basel defeated Zürich that day. He received no serious injuries.[19] On 27 May, he was sacked after ten years at the club.[20]
On 6 December 2009, Gross was revealed as the new manager ofVfB Stuttgart.[21] Sensationally, he guided the team to qualification to theUEFA Europa League. Gross was dismissed from his managerial job on 13 October 2010 after six defeats in seven matches, when Stuttgart found itself at the bottom of the table.[22]
Gross signed a two-year contract on 8 May 2011 to become the new manager ofYoung Boys, following the sacking of former managerVladimir Petković.[23] However, after a run of poor results, Gross was sacked on 30 April 2012.[24]
Gross was appointed manager ofAl-Ahli on 18 June 2014,[25] He achieved with Al-Ahli the Saudi Professional League, the King Cup and the Saudi Crown Prince Cup but refused to renew his contract allowing him to leave on 30 May 2016.[26] On 3 October 2016, with the sacking ofJosé Gomes, Gross returned to the club for a second spell.[27]
In April 2018, Gross signed a two-year contract with the Egyptian clubZamalek. He won The Egyptian-Saudi Supercup 2018, and followed that up with a win in the African Confederation Cup in May 2019, which was the first African title for the Egyptian giants since 2002. The deal appeared to collapse in May after the confederation cup final, but it was confirmed to be a one-year deal on 3 July 2018.[28] On 1 June 2019,Egypt Today confirmed that Gross had been fired from his position, PresidentMortada Mansour of the club toldMehwar TV that "Gross is specialist in failure".[29]
On 16 October 2019, Gross returned to Al-Ahli for a third spell.[30] On 17 February 2020, Al-Ahli terminated his contract.[31]
On 27 December 2020, Gross became the fourth head coach forSchalke 04 during the2020–21 season.[32][33][34] On 28 February 2021, Gross was sacked.[35]
On 15 December 2024, Gross returned to Zamalek for a second spell.[36]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||||
| Wil | 1 July 1988 | 30 June 1993 | 69 | 28 | 20 | 21 | 040.58 | – | |||||
| Grasshopper | 1 July 1993 | 19 November 1997 | 194 | 105 | 51 | 38 | 054.12 | ||||||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 19 November 1997 | 5 September 1998 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 033.33 | [37] | |||||
| Basel | 15 June 1999 | 27 May 2009 | 498 | 289 | 115 | 94 | 058.03 | ||||||
| VfB Stuttgart | 6 December 2009 | 13 October 2010 | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 055.56 | [38] | |||||
| Young Boys | 8 May 2011 | 30 April 2012 | 36 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 038.89 | [citation needed] | |||||
| Al-Ahli | 18 June 2014 | 30 May 2016 | 83 | 58 | 19 | 6 | 069.88 | [39] | |||||
| Al-Ahli | 3 October 2016 | 20 June 2017 | 37 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 064.86 | [citation needed] | |||||
| Zamalek | 3 July 2018 | 1 June 2019 | 51 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 058.82 | [40] | |||||
| Al-Ahli | 16 October 2019 | 17 February 2020 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 062.50 | [41] | |||||
| Schalke 04 | 27 December 2020[34] | 28 February 2021 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 009.09 | [42] | |||||
| Zamalek | 15 December 2024 | 13 February 2025 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 064.29 | ||||||
| Total | 1,074 | 597 | 260 | 217 | 055.59 | — | |||||||
Grasshopper
Grasshopper
Basel
Al-Ahli
Zamalek
Individual
