Christian Gross

Christian Gross

Personal information
Full name	Christian Jürgen Gross
Date of birth	(1954-08-14) 14 August 1954
Place of birth	Zürich, Switzerland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1973–1975	Grasshopper
1975–1978	Lausanne-Sport
1978–1980	Neuchâtel Xamax	50	(3)
1980–1982	VfL Bochum	29	(4)
1982–1985	St. Gallen
1985–1988	Lugano
National team
1978	Switzerland	1	(0)
Teams managed
1988–1993	Wil
1993–1997	Grasshopper
1997–1998	Tottenham Hotspur
1999–2009	Basel
2009–2010	VfB Stuttgart
2011–2012	Young Boys
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954 in Zürich) is a Swiss professional football manager and former footballer, currently a free agent. He managed BSC Young Boys until his dismissal in April 2012. He was manager of FC Basel from 1 July 1999 to 27 May 2009,^[1] winning four Swiss Super Leagues and four Swiss Cups.

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.

Coaching career

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,^[2] 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.^[3] He then joined Grasshoppers as head coach in 1993.^[4] 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^[5] and endured a tough time; lasting nine months^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[3] The tabloid ridicule of Gross was often linked to his poor grasp of English and first (infamous) 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.^[8][9][10]

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.^[11] He had won only three of his last 10 matches.^[6]

Basel

Gross returned to his native Switzerland, finding work as the coach of Basel in July 1999.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[12]

On 27 May 2009, Gross was sacked by Basel after ten years.^[13]

VfB Stuttgart

On 6 December 2009, Gross became head coach of VfB Stuttgart^[14] 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.^[15]

Young Boys

Young Boys sacked the former manager Vladimir Petković on 7 May 2011 and appointed Gross as the new head coach.^[16] He agreed a two-year contract with the club and was sacked at the end of April 2012 after a run of poor results.^[17]

Managerial statistics

As of 29 January 2014

Honours

References