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| Full name | Grasshopper Club Zurich | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Grasshoppers or Hoppers | ||
| Short name | GC, GCZ, Grasshoppers | ||
| Founded | 1 September 1886; 139 years ago (1886-09-01) | ||
| Ground | Letzigrund | ||
| Capacity | 26,104 | ||
| Owner | LAFC Group[1][2] | ||
| President | Stacy Johns | ||
| Sporting director | Alain Sutter | ||
| Coach | Gerald Scheiblehner | ||
| League | Swiss Super League | ||
| 2024–25 | 11th of 12 | ||
| Website | gcz.ch | ||
 Current season | |||
Grasshopper Club Zurich (GCZ), commonly referred to asGrasshopper Club or simply justGC, is a professionalmultisports club based inZurich, Switzerland. They are nicknamed theGrasshoppers or sometimes justHoppers. The oldest and best-known department of the club is itsfootball team. With 27 league titles, the Grasshoppers hold the records for winning the mostnational championships and theSwiss Cups, with 19 trophies in the latter.[3] The club is the oldest football team inZurich and maintains a substantial rivalry withFC Zurich.[4]
The origin of Grasshoppers name is unknown, although the most common explanation refers to its early players' energetic post-goal celebrations and that their style of play was nimble and energetic.[5]
After a number of appearances inEuropean Cups and theUEFA Champions League, the Grasshopper Club has become one of Switzerland's most recognizable football clubs. Today, in addition to its main football squad, the club has competitive professional and youth teams inrowing,ice hockey,handball,lawn tennis,court tennis,field hockey,curling,basketball,rugby,squash,floorball andbeach soccer.[6]
Grasshopper Club Zurich was founded on 1 September 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student. In 1893, the Grasshopper Club became the first Swiss team to play in (what was then)Germany, defeatingStrasbourg 1–0. The firstSwiss championships (then called "Serie A") were held in1897–98 and were won by the Grasshoppers, as was the first championship played using a league system in1899–1900.[7]
Their biggest European success to date came in the1977–78 UEFA Cup where they reached the semi-final against French sideBastia. After a 3–2 win at home, they traveled toCorsica for the second leg but lost 0–1 and were eliminated due to theaway goal rule.
In 1997, the Grasshopper Club was incorporated and as of May 2005, it is formally organized as Neue Grasshopper Fussball AG. In doing so, Grasshopper became the first Swiss sports club to go public.[8]
Their to date last Swiss championship title was won in2003. In 2013, the Grasshoppers ended a ten-year trophy drought with a penalty shoot-out victory overBasel in theSwiss Cup final. It would be the last trophy won for over a decade.
In2019, the Grasshoppers were relegated to the second division for the first time in 68 years.[9]
In April 2020, it was revealed that theHong Kong–based Champion Union HK Holding Limited had acquired 90% of GC shares.[10]
On 17 January 2024, a long-term partnership withMLS sideLos Angeles FC was announced, with LAFC acquiring over 90% of the shares from the previous owners, Champion Union.[1][2]
Since September 2007, Grasshopper Club Zurich has played all of its home matches in theLetzigrund stadium which is the regular home ground ofFC Zurich. After the completion of the new Stadion Zurich (currently in planning stage), both teams are expected to play there.
From 1929 to 2007, the Grasshopper Club had their own home ground in theHardturm stadium, however, this was demolished in December 2008. Before 1929, home matches were played at various other venues.
Training facilities and their football academy are located inNiederhasli, where in 2005 the club opened a comprehensive facility including five practice pitches, apartments for youth players and offices.
FC Zurich was founded ten years after GC in 1896. A year later, the first derby between the two Zurich clubs was held as part of thefirst Swiss championship, where GC defeated FC Zurich 7–2. As the two teams did not always play in the same league, it would take nearly 70 years until the 100th derby. To date, 251 official derbies have been held, with GC leading with 121 wins to FC Zurich's 90, leaving 39 draws.[citation needed]
The2 October 2011 Swiss league match between the two teams is known by Swiss media as the"Disgrace of Zurich", due to rioting by FC Zurich fans. The violence followed Grasshopper supporters stealing FC Zurich fan banners and displaying them in their own section with a message mocking FC Zurich.
Basel has long been a rival to GC, owing largely to the rivalry between the two cities. As a result, games between Grasshoppers and Basel are also often heated games, often leading to clashes between fans.
From the late 60s to the early 80s, both GC and Basel had numerous Swiss championship victories. However, in 1988, Basel was relegated to the Nationalliga B. The rivalry flared up at the beginning of the 21st century, when FCB's improved performance has made them a mainstay at the top the Swiss league. However, with FCB's rise came GC's downfall and the rivalry has become largely one-sided. The most recent notable meeting between the two teams was theSwiss Cup Final in 2013, where Grasshoppers were able to beat Basel in penalties, with a score of 1–1 after extra time.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The women's division was founded in 2009, when GC/Schwerzenbach (originally FFC Schwerzenbach) was absorbed into the club.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Players for theSwiss national football team
Alfred "Fredy" BickelThomas BickelStéphane ChapuisatPatrick de NapoliRicardo CabanasDiego BenaglioChristoph SpycherChristian GrossMarcel KollerStephan LichtsteinerPatrick MüllerBoris SmiljanićRoman BürkiPajtim KasamiCiriaco SforzaAlain SutterKubilay TürkyilmazJohann VogelEldin JakupovićBlaise NkufoYann SommerHakan YakinMurat YakinReto ZieglerRaimondo PonteClaudio SulserStéphane GrichtingHaris SeferovicPhilippe SenderosBernt HaasPlayers withWorld Cup appearances for their national teams
Current coaching staff[edit]
| Academy Coaches and Staff[edit]
|
Izidor "Dori" Kürschner (1925–34)
Karl Rappan (1935–48)Gerhard "Hardy" Walter (1948–50)
Willi Treml (1950–55)Willi Hahnemann (1955–58)
Svetislav Glišović (1958)Antun Pogačnik andAlfred "Fredy" Bickel (1958–60)Branislav Vukosavljević (1960–63)Alfred "Fredy" Bickel (1963–64)Albert Sing (1964–66)Walter Brunner andWerner Schley (1966–67)
Henri Skiba (1967–69)Walter Brunner andWerner Schley (1969–70)René Hüssy (1970–73)Erich Vogel andIstván Szabó (1973–76)Helmuth Johannsen (1 July 1976 – 30 June 1979)Jürgen Sundermann (1 July 1979 – 30 June 1980)Friedhelm Konietzka (1980–82)Hennes Weisweiler (1 July 1982 – 5 July 1983)Miroslav Blažević (1983 – 30 June 1985)Friedhelm Konietzka (1985–86)Kurt Jara (1 November 1986 – 30 June 1988)Ottmar Hitzfeld (1 July 1988 – 30 June 1991)
Oldrich Svab (1991–92)
Leo Beenhakker (1 July 1992 – 30 June 1993)Christian Gross (1 July 1993 – 23 November 1997)Hanspeter Latour (interim) (1997)Rolf Fringer (1 January 1998 – 17 December 1998)Roger Hegi (1 January 1999 – 1 August 1999)
Roy Hodgson (1 July 1999 – 30 June 2000)Piet Hamberg (interim) (2000)Hanspeter Zaugg (22 June 2000 – 8 January 2002)Marcel Koller (1 January 2002 – 2 October 2003)
Carlos Bernegger (interim) (3 October 2003 – 22 December 2003)Alain Geiger (23 December 2003 – 4 October 2004)Carlos Bernegger (interim) (4 October 2004 – 31 December 2004)
Krassimir Balakov (16 January 2006 – 21 May 2007)Carlos Bernegger (interim) (2007)Hanspeter Latour (1 July 2007 – 30 June 2009)Ciriaco Sforza (1 July 2009 – 15 April 2012)Uli Forte (16 April 2012 – 30 June 2013)Michael Skibbe (1 July 2013 – 8 January 2015)Pierluigi Tami (15 January 2015 – 12 March 2017)Carlos Bernegger (12 March 2017 – 24 August 2017)Murat Yakin (28 August 2017 – 10 April 2018)Mathias Walther (10 April 2018 – 23 April 2018) (caretaker)Thorsten Fink (23 April 2018 – 4 March 2019)
Tomislav Stipic (6 March 2019 – 9 April 2019)Uli Forte (9 April 2019 – 7 February 2020)Goran Djuricin (10 February 2020 – 15 May 2020)
Zoltán Kádár (15 May 2020 – 5 August 2020) (caretaker)
João Carlos Pereira (6 August 2020 – 5 May 2021)Zoltán Kádár (5 May 2021 – 9 June 2021) (caretaker)Giorgio Contini (9 June 2021 – 9 June 2023)[22]Bruno Berner (9 June 2023 – 9 April 2024)[23]Marco Schällibaum (10 April 2024 – 5 November 2024)[24]Giuseppe Morello (5 November 2024 – 19 November 2024)(caretaker)[25]Tomas Oral (19 November 2024 – 1 July 2025)[26]Gerald Scheiblehner (1 July 2025 –present)[14]| Board of Directors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Since |
| President |  Stacy Johns | 01/2024[1] |
| Vice-president | András Gurovits | 07/2023 |
| Board member | Larry Freedman | 01/2024[1] |
| Management | ||
| Sporting director | Alain Sutter | 05/2025[28] |
| Chief Business Officer | Christoph Urech | 06/2025[29] |
| Head of Finance | Roland Gebhard | 02/2023 |
| Director of Football Operations | Ramin Pandji | 10/2025[30] |
Fan sites
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| Domestic cups |
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