Stephan Groß (born 23 October 1953) is a German former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

for

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the D ...

Club career

In 1971, after joining the club at youth level, Groß made the step-up to the senior squad of hometown club VfR Mannheim. One year later, Groß signed for

SV Südwest Ludwigshafen SV Südwest Ludwigshafen is a German association football club from the city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club was formed on 29 May 1964 out of the merger of the traditional sides Sportverein 03 Ludwigshafen and Phoenix ...

, staying at the club for two years, before making the move to

SV Neckargerach SV, Sv, sv, etc. may refer to: Places and language * El Salvador, ISO 3166-1 country code SV * South Vietnam, an extinct state * Svalbard, Norway, FIPS country code SV * Swedish language, ISO 639-1 language code sv * Silicon Valley, a region in n ...

in 1974. Groß stayed at Neckargerach for three years, leaving the club to re-sign for VfR Mannheim in 1977 for a season. In 1978, Groß signed for 2. Bundesliga Süd club

. In 1980, Groß was part of the Karlsruhe side that achieved promotion to the

. Groß made 113 Bundesliga appearances at Karlsruher SC, scoring 30 times, including his only Bundesliga

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

, and only Karlsruhe hat-trick, on 16 December 1980 in a 3–1 win against

Bayer Uerdingen KFC Uerdingen 05 is a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side enjoyed its greatest successes in the 1980s but now plays in the fifth-level Oberliga. History The ...

. In 1986, Groß moved to

FV Weinheim FV Weinheim was a German association football club from the city of Weinheim, Baden-Württemberg. Established in 1909, the team was active until declaring bankruptcy in 1997. The footballers of ''FV'' left to become part of ''TSG Weinheim'' with ...

in a player-coach role. During Groß's time at the club, Weinheim won the

Oberliga Baden-Württemberg The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest association football league in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German footb ...

in 1988.

Coaching career

In 1989, following his spell at FV Weinheim, Groß was appointed manager of

SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The club's greatest success ...

. Groß remained at Sandhausen until 1992, when he joined Kickers Offenbach as assistant manager to

Hans-Jürgen Boysen Hans-Jürgen Boysen (born 30 May 1957) is a German football manager and former player. Before, he managed SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a German association football ...

. In 2001, Groß became a youth coach at

VfL Neckarau VfL Neckarau is a German association football club from the district of Neckarau in the city of Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. __TOC__ History Foundation and early years The current day club came out of a long string of mergers of predecessor ...

. In 2007, Neckarau youth players

Pascal Groß Pascal Groß (, sometimes rendered in English as Gross; born 15 June 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or defender for club Brighton & Hove Albion. Groß played at youth international level for Germany. Career ...

Manuel Gulde Manuel Gulde (born 12 February 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. Club career For the 2012–13 campaign Gulde joined SC Paderborn 07 on a one-year contract with an option for a ...

Robin Szarka Robin Szarka is a German footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian ...

and

Marco Terrazzino Marco Terrazzino (born 15 April 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Wuppertaler SV. Club career Terrazzino began his career with ''TSV Neckarau'' before moving to VfL Neckarau and subs ...

all moved to nearby professional club

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 1899 ...

, as a direct result of Groß's coaching. In 2007, Groß joined Waldhof Mannheim as youth team manager, staying with the club until the end of the 2011–12 season. In June 2013, Groß was appointed manager of VfR Mannheim. On 10 November 2013, Groß resigned from the club after a 4–2 loss to FC Heidenheim II.

Personal life

Groß is the father to current

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

midfielder and German international

References

Living people 1953 births Footballers from Mannheim German men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders German football managers VfR Mannheim players Karlsruher SC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Germany men's B international footballers SV Sandhausen managers VfR Mannheim managers Association football coaches West German men's footballers West German football managers {{Germany-footy-defender-1950s-stub