Gilbert Gress (born 17 December 1941) is a French

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 ...

coach and a former player. He was the mentor of

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

Club career

Gress was born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. He began his professional football career in the city of his birth with

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

, where the fans soon nicknamed him the "angel of la Meinau" (''L'ange de la Meinau''; ''Engel von der Meinau'', Meinau is the stadium of the club). Briefly after first playing for Strasbourg (May 1960) the team were relegated to the second division, but returned after one year to Division 1, where Gress played until 1966 and his departure to

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. Strasbourg were at the time only in mid-table of the division, but won the 1966

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

. During his time in Germany, he was called up for the first time to the

France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. During the 1970–71 season, Gress returned to his homeland and joined

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

, then two-time French champions. From 1973 to 1975, he came back to

, before moving for one year to

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 ...

in Switzerland and ending his playing career in 1977. Gress completed 290 matches (201 for Strasbourg, 89 for Marseille) in France and scored 28 goals; in the federal league he came on 149 times.

International career

In 1966, after having won the

, Gress was not called up to the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

in England by

coach Henri Guérin because Gress refused to shorten his long hair. Under the new coach

Louis Dugauguez Louis Dugauguez (21 February 1918 – 22 September 1991) was a French Association football, football player and football manager. Playing career Louis Dugauguez played amateur football for , , RC Lens, Lens, Toulouse FC (1937), Toulouse, Carvin ...

, Gress was first called up on 27 September 1967 (a 5–1 defeat against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in Berlin). Altogether he played only three times in the France national team (1967, 1968 and 1971) and did not score any goals.

Managerial career

Since 1977, Gress has worked as a football manager, receiving his first job in his home town at

, where he had won the 1979

French championship The French rugby league championship () was the top tier of the French rugby league system from its inception in 1934 until 2002 when the league was split into two divisions; the Elite One Championship and Elite Two Championship. In all seasons ...

, and where he returned again in 1991 for three years. His popularity is expressed also in the establishment of a Gilbert Gress Fanclub. In addition, he worked in Belgium, Austria and in Switzerland, where in 16 years (including twelve with

) he won two national championships and the cup. In 1998, he was appointed Swiss national football coach. A debate preceded his resignation over his wages as a national coach. In the meantime, Gress had also accepted Swiss nationality. In June 2009, he was named RC Strasbourg manager, his third stint as manager of the club. and was released after only two games on 12 August 2009.

Honours

Player

Strasbourg *

: 1965–66 Marseille *

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 ...

: 1970–71, 1971–72

Manager

Strasbourg *

: 1978–79 Neuchâtel Xamax *

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

: 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, 1988 FC Zürich *

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 ...

: 1999–2000

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gress, Gilbert 1941 births Living people France men's international footballers French football managers French men's footballers French people of German descent Footballers from Strasbourg Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players Olympique de Marseille players VfB Stuttgart players Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players RC Strasbourg Alsace players RC Strasbourg Alsace managers Neuchâtel Xamax FCS managers Servette FC managers Switzerland national football team managers FC Metz managers SK Sturm Graz managers FC Zürich managers FC Sion managers FC Aarau managers Ligue 1 managers Club Brugge KV managers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate football managers French expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium 20th-century French sportsmen