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| Full name | Grasshopper Club Zürich | ||
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| Nickname(s) | GC, GCZ | ||
| Founded | September 1, 1886 | ||
| Ground | Letzigrund, Zürich (Capacity: 25,000) |
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| Chairman |  Roger Berbig |
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| Manager | Ciriaco Sforza |
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| League | Swiss Super League | ||
| 2008-09 | Swiss Super League, 4th | ||
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Grasshopper Club Zürich commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshopper is a Swiss multisports club based in Zürich. The oldest and most well known section of Grasshopper Club Zürich is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper-Club Zürich holds the record for winning the most national championship titles and with 18 victories also the one for the most successes in the Swiss Cup tournament. The club are the oldest football team in Zürich.
The origins of Grasshopper's name is unknown, although the most common explanation is rooted in its early players' energetic post-goal celebrations.
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History
Grasshopper was founded on September 1, 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student. With a 20 Swiss franc donation, the club was able to import an English football and blue and white colours. 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 Germany, defeating RC Strasbourg 1-0.
1896 saw the formation of Fussballclub Zürich and the beginning of a storied rivalry. The following year, Grasshopper won the first Swiss Championship, beginning a collection of 27 league championships and 18 Swiss Cup wins. In 1909, Grasshopper withdrew from the football federation until the end of World War I in 1919.
In 1997, Grasshopper 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.[1]
After a number of high profile friendly and competitive Europe Cup and UEFA Champions League matches, Grasshopper has become Switzerland's most recognizable football club. Today, in addition to its marquee football squad, Grasshopper-Club Zürich maintains competitive professional and youth teams for rowing, ice hockey, handball, lawn tennis, court tennis, field hockey, curling, rugby, squash, and unihockey.
Champions League
In 1995–96 the Grasshoppers became the first Swiss team to play in the UEFA Champions League. After defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv in the qualification, they played in group D against Ajax, Real Madrid and Ferencváros. They were not able to win a match but played two draws, one against Ajax and one against Ferencváros.
In the following year, the Grasshoppers qualified a second time for the Champions League, this time after defeating Slavia Prague. In group A with opponents Auxerre, Rangers and again Ajax, a more positive result was achieved. After home wins over Rangers and Auxerre and an away win at Ajax, a further win in the last game at home versus Ajax would have secured the qualification for the quarter finals. Unfortunately, the game was lost 0–1 and Ajax advanced instead.
Stadium and grounds
- Sihlhölzli
- Stadion im Quartier Seefeld
- Stadion Hardau
- Stadion Hardturm
Grasshopper used to play its home matches at the Hardturm (Kreis 5 - Zürich). Since September 2007, Grasshopper-Club Zürich plays all of its home matches in the Letzigrund stadium which belongs to arch rivals FC Zürich, until the completion of Stadion Zürich. Training facilities are located in Niederhasli, where in 2005 the club opened a comprehensive facility including five practice pitches, apartments for youth players and offices.
Honours
- Swiss Cup
- Winners (18):1926, 1927, 1932, 1934, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1952, 1956, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994
- Swiss League Cup
- Winners (2): 1973, 1975
- Swiss Super Cup
- Winners (1): 1989
Affiliated clubs
Current squad
(As of 5 November 2009)[2]
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Out on loan
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Notable former players
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Lists of "famous" or "notable" sports persons with no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria should be avoided. Such lists should be removed or replaced with verifiable lists of players recognized by the club, league, or another reliable source and be properly referenced. |
- See also Cat:Grasshopper-Club Zürich players.
Coaching staff
- Manager: Ciriaco Sforza
- Assistant manager: Walter Grüter
- Goalkeeping coach: Stefan Huber
- Goalkeeping coach: Willi Weber
Managers since 1925
| Manager | Years | Record |
 Izidor "Dori" Kürschner |
1925–1934 | ?-?-? |
 Karl Rappan |
1935–1948 | ?-?-? |
| Hardy Walter | 1948–1950 | ?-?-? |
| Willi Treml | 1950–1955 | ?-?-? |
| Willi Hahnemann |
1955–1958 | ?-?-? |
 Svetislav Glišović |
1958 | ?-?-? |
| Antun Pogačnik and Alfred "Fredy" Bickel |
1958–1960 | ?-?-? |
| Branislav Vukosavljević |
1960–1963 | ?-?-? |
| Alfred "Fredy" Bickel |
1963–1964 | ?-?-? |
 Albert Sing |
1964–1966 | ?-?-? |
| Walter Brunner and Werner Schley |
1966–1967 | ?-?-? |
 Henri Skiba |
1967–1969 | ?-?-? |
| Walter Brunner and Werner Schley |
1969–1970 | ?-?-? |
| René Hüssy |
1970–1973 | ?-?-? |
| Erich Vogel and Istvan Szabo |
1973–1976 | ?-?-? |
| Helmuth Johannsen |
1976–1979 | ?-?-? |
| Jürgen Sundermann |
1979–1980 | ?-?-? |
| Friedhelm Konietzka |
1980–1982 | ?-?-? |
| Hennes Weisweiler |
1982–1983 | ?-?-? |
| Miroslav Blažević |
1983–1985 | ?-?-? |
| Friedhelm Konietzka |
1985–1986 | ?-?-? |
| Kurt Jara |
1986–1988 | ?-?-? |
| Ottmar Hitzfeld |
1988–1991 | ?-?-? |
| Oldrich Svab | 1991–1992 | ?-?-? |
 Leo Beenhakker |
1992–1993 | ?-?-? |
| Christian Gross |
1993–1997 | ?-?-? |
| Hanspeter Latour |
1997 interim | ?-?-? |
| Rolf Fringer |
1998 | ?-?-? |
| Roger Hegi |
1999 | ?-?-? |
 Roy Hodgson |
1999–2000 | ?-?-? |
| Hanspeter Zaugg |
2000–2001 | ?-?-? |
| Piet Hamberg |
2000 interim | ?-?-? |
| Marcel Koller |
2002–2003 | ?-?-? |
| Carlos Bernegger | 2003–2004 | ?-?-? |
| Alain Geiger |
2004–2005 | ?-?-? |
| Hanspeter Latour |
2005–2006 | ?-?-? |
 Krassimir Balakov |
2006—2007 | ?-?-? |
| Hanspeter Latour |
2007–2009 | ?-?-? |
| Ciriaco Sforza |
2009– | ?-?-? |
Famous supporters
- Maximilian Schell, Oscar winning actor
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt, author of German literature
- Michelle Hunziker, model and entertainer on Italian and German television
References
- ^ White Papers White Papers at ZDNet UK
- ^ "Grasshopper Club Zürich: Kader". GCZ. http://www.gcz.ch/nc/1-mannschaft/kader.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
External links
Official
- Official Website (German)
Unofficial
- GCZForum - Bulletin Board (Forum) for Fans of GCZ (German)
- GCZone - Fansite of GCZ (German)
- Zone Romande - Fansite of GCZ (French)
- Grassmokers - Oldest unofficial fanclub of GCZ (German)
- Blue-Side - Unofficial fanclub of GCZ (German)
- Grasshoppers Online - Fansite of GCZ (German)
- GC Fanclub Ostschweiz - Official Fanclub of GCZ (German)
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