Full name Christian Jurgen Gross Years Team Position Defender Current team Al-Ahli (manager) Height 1.83 m | Playing position Role Football manager Name Christian Gross Manages Al-Ahli SC | |
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Date of birth (1954-08-14) 14 August 1954 (age 61) Team coached Al-Ahli SC (Manager, since 2014) Similar People Omar Al Somah, Vitor Pereira, Geninho, Milovan Rajevac, Luiz Felipe Scolari | ||
David Moyes? Avram Grant? Christian Gross? The most underwhelming Premier League managers of all tim
The Better Original alias Christian Gross, The Soccer Lounge, 16.11.2015
Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954 in Zürich) is a Swiss professional football manager and former footballer. He was manager of FC Basel from 1 July 1999 to 27 May 2009, winning four Swiss Super Leagues and four Swiss Cups.
Contents
- David Moyes Avram Grant Christian Gross The most underwhelming Premier League managers of all tim
- The Better Original alias Christian Gross The Soccer Lounge 16112015
- Playing career
- Early success
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Basel
- VfB Stuttgart
- Young Boys
- Managerial statistics
- Club
- Individual
- References
As coach of Tottenham Hotspur between November 1997 and September 1998, Gross became the first Swiss to manage in the Premier League.
Playing career
Gross began his playing career at Grasshoppers, which he left in 1975. After three years at Lausanne Sports and two seasons at Neuchâtel Xamax, he moved to Germany in 1980 to play for VfL Bochum of the Bundesliga. In two seasons Gross made 29 appearances in the Bundesliga and scored four goals. He then returned to Switzerland and spent three years at FC St. Gallen and FC Lugano. Gross was capped once for Switzerland.
Early success
Gross began his managerial career at Swiss side FC Wil in the 2. Liga (the fourth-highest level), for whom he was active as player-manager. During his reign from 1988 to 1993, Wil climbed into the 1. Liga and then the Nationalliga B (now the Challenge League). While at Wil, Gross developed a reputation for an emphasis on fitness and hard work. He then joined Grasshoppers as head coach in 1993. Under Gross, Grasshopper won two Swiss championships and the Swiss 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 succeed Gerry Francis as manager of Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur
Gross was hired on 20 November 1997 and endured a tough time; lasting nine months at Tottenham starting in the relegation zone. To further his troubles, his most trusted aide, the Swiss fitness coach Fritz Schmid, who had been an integral part of Gross' training plans at Grasshopper, was denied a work permit by the British government and so was unable to take up this role at Tottenham.
Gross' initial fortunes were mixed; his debut was a 1–0 loss to Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane, followed by a 2–0 win over Everton at Goodison Park, with a heavy 6–1 home defeat at the hands of Chelsea. However, despite some signs of improvement, he was relentlessly ridiculed by the British tabloids. The tabloid ridicule of Gross was often linked to his poor grasp of English and first Spurs press conference, where he arrived late from Heathrow airport brandishing a London Underground ticket with the words: "I want this to become my ticket to the dreams".
Gross' position became increasingly untenable as the 1998–99 season approached, and when Spurs lost two of their opening three matches, chairman Alan Sugar decided enough was enough and ended Gross' contract, blaming the media for destroying his reputation. He had won only three of his last 10 matches.
Basel
Gross returned to his native Switzerland, finding work as the coach of Basel in July 1999. 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 the UEFA Champions League in 2002, beating eventual finalists Juventus as well as knocking out Celtic and drawing with Liverpool (twice) and Manchester United. Gross' success in these games against British sides went a long way towards restoring his reputation among the British media and fans. He took Basel on another European adventure three seasons later as they reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup in 2005–06, before bowing out to English side Middlesbrough 4–3 on aggregate despite leading 2–0 after the first leg at St. Jakob-Park.
On 17 May 2009, Gross was attacked by fans of Zürich on a tram after Basel defeated Zürich that day. He received no serious injuries.
On 27 May 2009, Gross was sacked by Basel after ten years.
VfB Stuttgart
On 6 December 2009, Gross became head coach of VfB Stuttgart Sensationally he secured qualification to the Europa league. His dismissal from this job was announced on 13 October 2010 after six defeats in seven matches, when the club found itself at the bottom of the table.
Young Boys
Young Boys sacked the former manager Vladimir Petković on 7 May 2011 and appointed Gross as the new head coach. He agreed a two-year contract with the club and was sacked at the end of April 2012 after a run of poor results.