Alain Geiger (born 5 November 1960) is a Swiss

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and a former player. He was last manager at

Servette FC Servette FC is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on ...

, leading them to a Champions League qualifier spot and 2nd in the championship. He played mainly as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

despite being only 1.80 m in a career that lasted 20 years, and made 112 appearances at international level, being Switzerland national team's fifth most capped player. His son, Bastien, is also a professional footballer.

Playing career

Club

Geiger started playing professionally in 1977 with

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

. He played just two matches in his first season but by 1978, he was a first-team regular in the side that went on to win the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

in 1980. In 1981, he signed for Servette, who were one of Switzerland's most successful teams at the time, and became an invaluable player for both club and country. He helped the club win the 1984 Swiss Cup, defeating

Lausanne Sports Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League Season. The ...

1–0

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

in the final, and the league title in 1985. An aspiring

Neuchâtel Xamax Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, the city has ap ...

side acquired his services in 1986, and he helped it win the national championship during the only two seasons he played for them, 1986–87 and 1987–88. A move to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

was on the cards next for Geiger, as he signed for

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

during the Summer of 1988. He was a big hit and a first-team regular at

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Stade Geoffroy-Guichard () is a multi-purpose stadium in Saint-Étienne, France. It is used primarily for football matches, and tournaments such as the UEFA Euro 1984 and 2016, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. It i ...

, but opted for a return to Switzerland and Sion, in 1990. During his second spell, he saw the form of his life as he became

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for both club and the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. He lifted the league trophy for the fourth time in his career as Sion were crowned champions in 1991–92. In 1995, Geiger signed for

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

, where he finishing his career after a further two seasons, having played 496 Swiss first division matches, with 38 goals.

International

Geiger made his international debut in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

's 2–1 defeat to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, on 19 November 1980, and went on to be capped 112 times and score five goals, between 1980 and 1996. His last match was also against England, in a 1–1 draw at

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

, on 8 June. He captained his country at both this competition and the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

in the United States, usually being accompanied at centre-back by Dominique Herr.

Coaching career

Geiger's first managerial role was spent with the reserves of Grasshopper, in 1997. He did so well there that he was given the reigns at another old side, Neuchâtel Xamax, in July 1998. At Xamax, he helped develop the talents of

Timothée Atouba Timothée Atouba Essama (born 17 February 1982) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a left back. Club career Early years Born in Douala, Cameroon, Atouba grew up in a family with 13 children. He started playing foo ...

Papa Bouba Diop Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese professional footballer. His preferred position was as a defensive midfielder, but he could also play as a centre-back, where he played at Lens. Diop was considered a physicall ...

and Henri Camara, and helped the club avoid relegation from the league in his last two seasons. Geiger quit the club in July 2002 to take over at

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss professional football club based in Aarau. Founded in 1902, the club competes in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from the Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was form ...

, but the club were relegated into the

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

at the end of 2002–03 and he was given the sack. In December 2003, he was surprisingly named the manager of Grasshopper, but the team fared poorly under him and he was once again fired. Subsequently, Geiger had short spells managing

, FC Aarau and

before being given the job at

Botola The Botola Pro (), officially known as the Botola Pro Inwi for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Morocco and the top tier of the Moroccan football league system. Organized by the Ligue Nationale de Football Prof ...

side Olympique Safi in 2006. He saved the club from relegation from Botola during the 2006–07 season, but resigned at the end of the campaign. In June 2009, he was replaced by Pierre-André Schürmann as head coach of Neuchâtel Xamax. In January 2010, he was appointed as manager of Algerian club

JS Kabylie Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (Kabyle grammar, Kabyle: Ilemẓiyen inaddalen n leqvayel; Berber languages, Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵎⵣⵢⵏ ⵉⵏⴰⴷⴰⵍⵏ ⵏ ⵍⵇⵠⴰⵢⵍ; ), known as JS Kabylie or simply JSK, is an Algerian profession ...

. On 14 December 2010, Geiger resigned from his position. During his time with the club, his most notable achievement was leading the team to the semi-finals of the

2010 CAF Champions League The 2010 CAF Champions League was the 46th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 14th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner, TP Mazembe q ...

where they lost to eventual champions

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional association football, football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a ...

. On 23 September 2011, Geiger was appointed as manager of

ES Sétif Entente Sportive Sétifienne (), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional association football, football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in 1958 and its colours are bl ...

. In his first season with the club, he led the team to the league-cup double, winning the 2011–12 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 and the 2011–12 Algerian Cup. On 6 June 2012, Geiger became manager of Saudi club

Ettifaq FC Al-Ettifaq Club (), commonly known as Al-Ettifaq or simply Ettifaq, is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. The club was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. A ...

, signing a two-year contract with the club. On 30 May 2013, Geiger reached an agreement with

MC Alger Mouloudia Club d'Alger (), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian football club based in Algiers. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home stadium, Ali La Pointe Stadium, has a capacit ...

to take over as new coach, succeeding

Djamel Menad Djamel Menad (; 22 July 1960 – 22 March 2025) was an Algerian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Born in El Bayadh, Menad started his playing career with CR Belou ...

. Taking over Geneva's

in 2018, the team wins the Swiss Challenge League at the end of his first season, getting promoted to the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. After this. He would go on to lead Servette up the league table and he would go on to get Servette FC 2nd in the table and a champions league qualifier spot during his last game as manager for the club. Alain left stealing the hearts of all members of the Section Grenat and left as one of the most notable managers in recent Servette history.

Honours

Player

Sion * Nationalliga A: 1991–92 *

: 1979–80, 1990–91, 1994–95 Servette * Nationalliga A: 1984–85 *

: 1983–84 Neuchâtel Xamax * Nationalliga A: 1986–87, 1987–88 *

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 References External links * Garin, Erik"Switzerland Super Cup Finals" RSSSF. ...

: 1987

Manager

Grasshoppers * Swiss Cup: runner-up 2003–04 ES Sétif *

Algerian Cup The Algerian Cup () also known the Republic Cup (), is a football competition in Algeria, pitting regional teams against each other. It was established in October 1962, three months after independence, and has been played yearly since then apart ...

: 2011–12 *

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (), known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs. It is the co ...

: 2011–12 Servette *

: 2018–19 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Qualifier 2022-23

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, Alain 1960 births Living people Swiss men's footballers Swiss Super League players FC Sion players Servette FC players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players Grasshopper Club Zurich players Ligue 1 players AS Saint-Étienne players Switzerland men's international footballers 1994 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1996 players Swiss football managers Swiss expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France FIFA Men's Century Club Men's association football defenders Swiss-French people Neuchâtel Xamax FCS managers FC Aarau managers Grasshopper Club Zurich managers FC Lausanne-Sport managers Expatriate football managers in Algeria Expatriate football managers in Egypt JS Kabylie managers ES Sétif managers Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Al-Ettifaq FC managers MC Alger managers People from Sion District Olympic Club Safi managers Swiss Challenge League managers Swiss Super League managers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Algeria Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Al Masry SC managers MO Béjaïa managers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Morocco Egyptian Premier League managers Saudi Pro League managers Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 managers Botola managers Footballers from Valais 20th-century Swiss sportsmen