Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a
multisports club based in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Z ...
, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its
football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the records for winning the most
national championships and the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
s, 19 trophies in the latter. The club is the oldest football team in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Z ...
and maintains a substantial rivalry with
FC Zürich.
The origin of Grasshopper's 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.
After a number of appearances in
European Cups and the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, Grasshopper 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 in
rowing,
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
,
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...
,
lawn tennis,
court tennis,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
,
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
squash,
floorball and
beach soccer.
History
Before 1920: Foundation and first championship wins
Grasshopper was founded on 1 September 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student. Using a 20
Swiss franc
The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the ...
donation, the club acquired an English football shirt in blue and white colours (as worn by
Blackburn Rovers). The English students were from Manchester Grammar School in Manchester. Arthur J. Finck was one of the students who was part of the group that founded the club. Its first match came in October that year against ETH and ended in a goalless draw. In 1893, Grasshopper became the first Swiss team to play in (what was then)
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, defeating
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
1–0.
The first
Swiss championships (then called "Serie A") were held in
1897–98 and were won by Grasshopper, as was the first championship played using a league system in
1899–1900. After two more titles in
1901 and
1905, Grasshopper had to withdraw from the Swiss championships in 1909 because they lacked a suitable playing ground. They rejoined in 1916.
1920s: Dori Kürschner era
After rejoining the Swiss championship in 1916, GC won their fifth championship in
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in Brazil.
** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' bre ...
. In 1925 started the era of the Hungarian manager
Izidor "Dori" Kürschner, a former member of the coaching staff of the
Swiss national team that won the silver medal at the
1924 Olympics. Under Kürschner in the 1920s, Grasshopper won the championship twice (in
1927 and
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
) and also the first two editions of the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
in 1925–26 and in 1926–27.
1930s: Beginning of Karl Rappan era
Dori Kürschner stayed with Grasshopper until 1934, winning another championship in
1931 and two more Swiss Cups in 1932 and 1934. Then started the era of Austrian coach
Karl Rappan who managed also the
Swiss national team for several years during that time. The first title under Rappan came in
1937 and the second one in
1939. They also won the Swiss Cup in 1937 and 1938.
1940s: More titles during World War II
Despite the turmoils of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
the Swiss championships were held during the 1940s with the Grasshoppers winning in
1942,
1943 and
1945. Until Karl Rappan left the team in 1948, the team also won another five Cups (in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943 and 1946).
1950s: Last successes for a long time
In
1952, Grasshopper won their 14th Swiss championship title and their 12th Swiss Cup. They managed to win the
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
again in
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
, but it turned out to be their last
silverware
Silverware may refer to:
* Household silver including
**Tableware
**Cutlery
**Candlesticks
*The work of a silversmith
* Silverware is also a slang term for a collection of trophies
A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievem ...
for a long time, as they had to wait for 15 years until their next championship and for 27 years until their next Cup win. In
1956–57 Grasshopper participated for the first time in the
European Cup which was founded in the previous season. They reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
.
1960s: No titles
During the 1960s, Grasshopper won no championships and no Cups. The best result was a second place in
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* J ...
, which qualified them to play in the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup ( ...
, the predecessor of the
UEFA Cup. However they had no success at European level either, and they were eliminated in the first round.
1970s: Return to success and UEFA Cup semi-final
In
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
J ...
, Grasshopper finally returned to the top of the Swiss league. After the end of the season, GC and
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
were tied at the top of the table and thus a play-off match was played in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
. In front of 51,000 spectators, GC defeated Basel 4–3 after extra time to win their 16th championship. Throughout the decade Grasshopper was among the best Swiss teams. Their next championship win came in
1978.
Thanks to their top finishes in the league, GC was able to play in European competitions almost every year. In
1978–79 they defeated
Real Madrid in the second round of the
European Cup, but lost the quarter-final against the eventual winner,
Nottingham Forest. But their biggest European success to date came in the
1977–78 UEFA Cup
The 1977–78 UEFA Cup was won by PSV Eindhoven on aggregate over Bastia
Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Ca ...
where they reached the semi-final against French side
Bastia. After a 3–2 win at home, they traveled to
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
for the second leg but lost 0–1 and were eliminated due to the
away goal rule.
1980s: Hat-tricks
The 1980s were a successful decade for Grasshopper. In the years
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...
,
1983 and
1984, GC won the championship three times in a row, achieving the "title hat-trick". In all three seasons,
Servette from
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
was their strongest rival, and in 1984 a championship-deciding game had to be staged in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
because the two teams were equal on points after the regular season. GC won that match 1–0 by a converted
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
by
Andy Egli in the 104th minute.
Grasshopper were also successful in the Cup competition: after winning in 1983 they also achieved a hat-trick in the Cup, winning in 1988, 1989 and 1990. The last two of those wins were achieved with German manager
Ottmar Hitzfeld. A notable success in European competitions came in
1980–81 UEFA Cup when GC reached the quarter-finals, but then were eliminated by French side
Sochaux.
1990s: Champions League
In
1995–96 Grasshoppers became the first Swiss team to play in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. After defeating
Maccabi Tel Aviv to qualify, they played in group D against
Ajax,
Real Madrid and
Ferencváros. They won no matches but achieved two draws, one against Ajax and one against Ferencváros.
In the
following year, Grasshoppers qualified a second time for the Champions League, this time after defeating
Slavia Prague. In group A with opponents
Auxerre,
Glasgow Rangers and again
AFC Ajax
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the ...
, a more positive result was achieved. After home wins over Rangers and Auxerre and an away win at Ajax, a draw in the last game at home against Ajax would have secured qualification for the quarter finals. However, the game was lost 0–1 and Ajax advanced instead.
2000s: Incorporation
With title wins in 2000–01 and 2002–03, the first decade of the 21st century started well, but since then no further successes were achieved. In 1997, Grasshopper 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. However, the club entered a period of decline after their last championship in 2003, with two third place finishes in
2005 and
2010 being their best results. In
2012, they narrowly avoided being relegated thanks to Sion's 36-point deduction and Neuchatel Xamax's expulsion from the league in January 2012. Then coach
Ciriaco Sforza
Ciriaco Sforza (; born 2 March 1970) is a Swiss football manager and former professional player who last managed Swiss Super League club Basel. After beginning his career with Swiss clubs FC Aarau and Grasshopper Club Zürich, he most notably pla ...
resigned in April 2012.
For the 2012/13 season,
Ulrich Forte took over coaching. On 20 May 2013, Grasshopper ended a ten-year trophy drought with a penalty shoot-out victory over
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
in the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
final at the
Stade de Suisse
The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...
in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
. With a second-place finish in the
2012–13 Swiss Super League campaign, Grasshopper qualified for the
Champions League for the first time in a decade, entering the competition at the third qualifying round. Following Forte's departure after the 2012/13 season, former German National Team coach
Michael Skibbe
Michael Heinz Skibbe (born 4 August 1965) is a German former football player and current manager of Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Club career
In his youth, Skibbe played for SG Wattenscheid 09, then moved to the professional team of FC Sch ...
took over coaching duty. Under Skibbe, the team managed a second place finish in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. They also were runners-up in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
.
The improving results did not last however and soon declined again. In the following 5 years, they managed to only once finish in the upper half of the table and finally, in
2019, Grasshopper were relegated to the second division for the first time in 68 years. They spend the entire 2018/19 season in the bottom three of the league, ending their season with two abandoned matches due to Grasshopper fan behaviour.
2020s: Relegation and Promotion
The first season in the second league did not go as planned. For one, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the second half of the season was delayed until late spring 2020. Furthermore, GC failed to even achieve a second place finish, which would have qualified them for a playoff game for promotion, after losing the final game of the season 0-6 against
FC Winterthur. During this time, in April 2020, it was revealed that the
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
-based Champion Union HK Holding Limited had acquired 90% of GC shares.
[ The new ownership appointed Sky Sun as the president of the club. In April 2021, Seyi Olofinjana was signed as sporting director.
For the following season, ]João Carlos Pereira
João Carlos Serra Ferreira Pereira (born 11 April 1965) is a Portuguese football manager and former player. As a player he was a winger.
Playing career
Born in Luanda, Portuguese Angola to Portuguese parents, Pereira started playing football wi ...
took over coaching duties at GC. Despite a strong season and spending a majority of the time at first place, the team began to struggle at the close of the season. After a seven point lead on challenger FC Thun
Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league system, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in ...
had melted away in three games, club leadership took drastic measures by removing Pereira and reinstating Zoltán Kádár (who had been interim coach at the end of the previous season) as interim coach for the final two games of the season. The changes would pay off, as GC secured Challenge League championship and promotion in a 2-1 victory over SC Kriens in the final game.
For the first season back in the top Swiss league, former FC Lausanne-Sport coach Giorgio Contini
Giorgio Contini (born 4 January 1974) is a former Swiss football manager and former player who currently managed Swiss Super League club Grasshopper Club Zürich.
Playing career
Teams
He played at various clubs in Switzerland, such as FC Winter ...
was signed as head coach. Despite a decent first half of the season, following the winter break, the team struggled to win points and came dangerously close to the bottom of the league. Improving results in spring 2022 allowed the team to narrowly avoid the relegation playoff, ending the season in eight place thanks to a better goal difference over FC Luzern
Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league ...
.
During preparation for the new season, sporting director Olofinjana and CEO Shqiprim Berisha were removed from the teams management. President Sun would take over CEO duties in the interim. On 1 July 2022, Grasshopper veteran Bernt Haas was appointed as new sporting director.
Stadium and grounds
Since September 2007, Grasshopper-Club Zürich has played all of its home matches in the Letzigrund stadium which is the regular home ground of FC Zürich. After the completion of the new Stadion Zürich (currently in planning stage), both teams are expected to play there.
From 1929 to 2007, Grasshopper had their own home ground in the Hardturm stadium. Before 1929, home matches were played at various other venues.
Training facilities are located in Niederhasli
Niederhasli is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Niederhasli is first mentioned in 931 as ''Hasila''.
On 10 January 2000, Crossair Flight 498 crashed in Niederhasli after taking off fro ...
, where in 2005 the club opened a comprehensive facility including five practice pitches, apartments for youth players and offices.
Rivalries
FC Zürich
FC Zürich was founded ten years after GC in 1896. A year later, the first derby between the two Zurich clubs was held as part of the first 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 Grasshopper leading with 121 wins to FC Zurich's 90, leaving 39 draws.
FC Basel
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...
has long been a rival to GC, owing largely to the rivalry between the two cities. As a result, games between FC Zurich and FC 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 FC 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 the Swiss Cup Final in 2013, where Grasshoppers were able to beat FC Basel in penalties, with a score of 1–1 after extra time.
Honours
League
* Swiss Championship
**Champions (27): 1897–98, 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1904–05
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
, 1920–21, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03 (record)
* Nationalliga B/Challenge League
**Winners (2): 1950–51, 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
Cups
*Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
**Winners (19): 1925–26, 1926–27, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1945–46, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2012–13 (record)
*Swiss League Cup
The Swiss League Cup was a football tournament which took place as a summer pre-season tournament in 1972 and 1973, and during the Swiss football season from 1974–75 to 1981–82. The tournament was a knockout competition contested by clubs fro ...
**Winners: 1973, 1975
*Swiss Super Cup
The Swiss SuperCup was a match that was played between the winners of the Swiss Super League and the Swiss Cup. It was held from 1986 to 1990.
Winners
Total Titles
External links
* Garin, Erik"Switzerland Super Cup Finals" RSSSF.
Super ...
**Winners: 1989
European Competitions
* Champions League/European Cup
** Quarter-finalist: 1978–79
* Europa League/UEFA Cup
** Semi-finalist: 1977–8
* European Cup Winners' Cup
** Quarter-finalist: 1989–90
Players
Current squad
Academy players with first-team contracts
Out on loan
Women's team
The women's division was founded in 2009, when GC/Schwerzenbach (originally FFC Schwerzenbach) was absorbed into the club.
Notable former players
Players for the Swiss national football team
* Alfred "Fredy" Bickel
* Thomas Bickel
* Stéphane Chapuisat
Stéphane Chapuisat (born 28 June 1969) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific goalscorer for both club and country (for which he appeared more than 100 times), he spent most of his career with Bundesliga ...
* Patrick de Napoli
* Ricardo Cabanas
Ricardo Cabanas-Rey (born 17 January 1979) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played 51 international matches for the Switzerland national team.
Club career
Born in Zürich, Cabanas started his career with ...
* Diego Benaglio
* Christoph Spycher
Christoph Spycher (born 30 March 1978) is Swiss former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Spycher is chief sports officer of BSC Young Boys.
Career
Born in Wolhusen, Spycher played for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga for ...
* Christian Gross
* Marcel Koller
Marcel Martin Koller (born 11 November 1960) is a Swiss professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League.
Playing career
Born in Zürich, Koller played his entire career fo ...
* Stephan Lichtsteiner
Stephan Lichtsteiner (; born 16 January 1984) is a Swiss former professional footballer. An attacking right-back or wing-back, he was known for his energetic runs down the right wing, as well as his stamina and athleticism, which earned him the ...
* Patrick Müller
* Boris Smiljanić
* Roman Bürki
* Pajtim Kasami
Pajtim Kasami (born 2 June 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece club Olympiacos.
Early career
Born in Zürich, Switzerland to an ethnic Albanian family from Struga, North Macedonia, Kas ...
* Ciriaco Sforza
Ciriaco Sforza (; born 2 March 1970) is a Swiss football manager and former professional player who last managed Swiss Super League club Basel. After beginning his career with Swiss clubs FC Aarau and Grasshopper Club Zürich, he most notably pla ...
* Alain Sutter
Alain Sutter (born 22 January 1968) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of FC St. Gallen.
Playing career
Born in Bern, Sutter played youth football for SC Bümpliz 78, befo ...
* Kubilay Türkyilmaz
* Johann Vogel
* Eldin Jakupović
Eldin Jakupović (; born 2 October 1984) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC.
He started his professional career at Grasshopper Club Zürich in 2004, then moved to FC Thun a ye ...
* Blaise Nkufo
Isetsima Blaise Nkufo (born 25 May 1975) is a Swiss former international footballer who played as a striker and current coach of Rino's Tigers in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League.
He was born in Zaire and raised in Switzerland from the age of ...
* Yann Sommer
* Hakan Yakin
Hakan Yakin ( tr, Hakan Yakın; born 22 February 1977) is a Swiss football coach and a former player who played as a forward or midfielder. He is the manager of Schaffhausen. He was a member of the Swiss national team for eleven years.
Early ...
* Murat Yakin
Murat Yakin ( tr, Yakın; born 15 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and former player. He is the manager of the Switzerland national football team.
Playing career
Yakin spent the longest spell of his career playing for his hometown c ...
* Reto Ziegler
Reto Pirmin Ziegler (born 16 January 1986) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Swiss Super League club Sion.
Ziegler has played top-flight football in seven different countries. He earned 35 international caps for ...
* Raimondo Ponte
Raimondo Ponte (born 4 April 1955) is a Swiss former professional footballer. At international level, he made 34 appearances for the Swiss national team scoring 2 goals.
Career
Ponte joined Nottingham Forest from Grasshopper Club Zürich for t ...
* Claudio Sulser
Claudio Sulser (born 8 October 1955 in Lugano, Switzerland) is a retired football striker.
During his club career, Sulser played for FC Mendrisio-Stabio, FC Vevey Sports 05, Grasshoppers Zürich and FC Lugano. He also represented the Swiss ...
* Stéphane Grichting
Stéphane Grichting (born 30 March 1979 in Sierre) is a Swiss former professional football defender.
He earned 36 caps for the Swiss national team, and was called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads. He was in the s ...
* Haris Seferovic
* Philippe Senderos
* Bernt Haas
Players with World Cup appearances for their national teams
* Kurt Jara
* Izet Hajrović
Izet Hajrović (; born 4 August 1991) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Super League Greece club Aris and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Hajrović started his professional career at Grasshoppers, befor ...
* Senad Lulić
* Günter Netzer
Günter Theodor Netzer (born 14 September 1944) is a German former professional football player, executive and pundit. He achieved great success in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach in the early 1970s and, after moving to Spain in 1973, wit ...
* Daniel Davari
* Vittorio Pozzo
* Wynton Rufer
Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...
* Efan Ekoku
* Femi Opabunmi
* Franco Navarro
* Tomasz Rząsa
Tomasz Mariusz Rząsa (; born 11 March 1973) is a Polish former professional footballer who primarily played as a left back and sometimes as a left midfielder.
Club career
During his career, Rząsa represented Cracovia and Sokół Pniewy ( pl) ( ...
* Viorel Moldovan
Viorel Dinu Moldovan (born 8 July 1972) is a Romanian former professional football forward and currently a manager. He was an important player for the Romanian national team in the 1990s.
Career
Moldovan was born in Bistrița.
At club level, ...
* Tosh McKinlay
* Papa Bouba Diop
* Henri Camara
* Ove Grahn
Jan-Olof "Ove" Grahn (9 May 1943 – 11 July 2007) was a Swedish professional football player who played as a striker. He represented IF Elfsborg, Grasshoppers, Lausanne Sports, and Örgryte IS during a career that spanned between 1960 and 19 ...
* Mats Gren
* Kim Källström
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
List of Coaches (since 1925)
Academy Coaches
References
Further reading
* Grasshopper Club Zürich in European football
* Zürich Derby
The Zurich derby is a football match between rivals FC Zürich and Grasshopper Club Zürich. The two teams were founded in Zürich, Switzerland. Grasshopper in 1886 and FC Zürich in 1896. Grasshoppers are historically known as the club of the el ...
* Hardturm and Letzigrund
External links
;Fan sites
GCZForum – Bulletin Board (Forum) for Fans of GCZ
GCZone – Fansite of GCZ
Grassmokers – Oldest unofficial fanclub of GCZ
Main fan page with organisation for away games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grasshopper Club Zurich
1886 establishments in Switzerland
Association football clubs established in 1886
Football clubs in Switzerland
Multi-sport clubs in Switzerland
Rowing clubs in Switzerland
Sport in Zürich
Swiss floorball teams
Curling clubs