Grasshopper Club Zurich

Grasshopper Club Zurich

Full name	Grasshopper Club Zurich
Nickname(s)	Grasshoppers or Hoppers
Short name	GC, GCZ, Grasshoppers
Founded	1 September 1886; 138 years ago (1886-09-01)
Ground	Letzigrund
Capacity	26,104
Owner	Los Angeles FC[1][2]
President	Stacy Johns
Sporting director	Stephan Schwarz
Coach	Giuseppe Morello (interim)
League	Swiss Super League
2023–24	Swiss Super League, 11th of 12
Website	https://www.gcz.ch
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Grasshopper Club Zurich (GCZ), commonly referred to as Grasshopper Club or simply just GC, is a professional multisports club based in Zurich, Switzerland. They are nicknamed the Grasshoppers or sometimes just Hoppers. The oldest and best-known department of the club is its football team. With 27 league titles, the Grasshoppers hold the records for winning the most national championships and the Swiss Cups, with 19 trophies in the latter.^[3] The club is the oldest football team in Zurich and maintains a substantial rivalry with FC Zurich.^[4]

The origin of Grasshoppers 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.^[5]

After a number of appearances in European Cups and the UEFA Champions League, the Grasshopper Club 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, handball, lawn tennis, court tennis, field hockey, curling, basketball, rugby, squash, floorball and beach soccer.^[6]

Grasshopper Club Zurich was founded on 1 September 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student. In 1893, the Grasshopper Club became the first Swiss team to play in (what was then) Germany, defeating Strasbourg 1–0. The first Swiss championships (then called "Serie A") were held in 1897–98 and were won by the Grasshoppers, as was the first championship played using a league system in 1899–1900.^[7]

Their biggest European success to date came in the 1977–78 UEFA Cup where they reached the semi-final against French side Bastia. After a 3–2 win at home, they traveled to Corsica for the second leg but lost 0–1 and were eliminated due to the away goal rule.

In 1997, the Grasshopper Club 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.^[8]

Their to date last Swiss championship title was won in 2003. In 2013, the Grasshoppers ended a ten-year trophy drought with a penalty shoot-out victory over Basel in the Swiss Cup final. It would be the last trophy won for over a decade.

In 2019, the Grasshoppers were relegated to the second division for the first time in 68 years.^[9]

In April 2020, it was revealed that the Hong Kong–based Champion Union HK Holding Limited had acquired 90% of GC shares.^[10]

On 17 January 2024, a long-term partnership with MLS side Los Angeles FC was announced, with LAFC acquiring over 90% of the shares from the previous owners, Champion Union.^[1][2]

Since September 2007, Grasshopper Club Zurich has played all of its home matches in the Letzigrund stadium which is the regular home ground of FC Zurich. After the completion of the new Stadion Zurich (currently in planning stage), both teams are expected to play there.

From 1929 to 2007, the Grasshopper Club had their own home ground in the Hardturm stadium, however, this was demolished in December 2008. Before 1929, home matches were played at various other venues.

Training facilities and their football academy are located in Niederhasli, where in 2005 the club opened a comprehensive facility including five practice pitches, apartments for youth players and offices.

FC Zurich 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 GC leading with 121 wins to FC Zurich's 90, leaving 39 draws.^{[citation needed]}

The 2 October 2011 Swiss league match between the two teams is known by Swiss media as the "Disgrace of Zurich", due to rioting by FC Zurich fans. The violence followed Grasshopper supporters stealing FC Zurich fan banners and displaying them in their own section with a message mocking FC Zurich.

Basel has long been a rival to GC, owing largely to the rivalry between the two cities. As a result, games between FC Zurich and 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, 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 Basel in penalties, with a score of 1–1 after extra time.

• Swiss Championship
  • Champions (27): 1897–98, 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1904–05, 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)
  • Runner-up (21): 1925–16, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1937–38, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2012–13, 2013–14
• Nationalliga B/Challenge League
  • Winners (2): 1950–51, 2020–21

• Swiss Cup
  • 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)
  • Runner-up (13): 1927–28, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1948–49, 1952–53, 1957–58, 1962–63, 1977–78, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2003–04
• Swiss League Cup
  • Winners: 1973, 1975
  • Runner-up: 1977–78, 1979–80
• Swiss Super Cup
  • Winners: 1989
  • Runner-up: 1988, 1990

• Champions League/European Cup
  • Quarter-finalist: 1978–79
• Europa League/UEFA Cup
  • Semi-finalist: 1977–78
• European Cup Winners' Cup
  • Quarter-finalist: 1989–90

As of 29 October 2024^[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  NED Dirk Abels 3 DF  SUI Saulo Decarli 4 DF  LVA Kristers Tobers 6 MF  ALB Amir Abrashi (captain) 7 MF  GER Tsiy-William Ndenge 8 MF  GER Sonny Kittel 9 FW  SUI Nikolas Muci 10 MF  SUI Giotto Morandi 11 MF  SUI Pascal Schürpf 14 DF  FRA Théo Ndicka 15 DF  JPN Ayumu Seko 16 DF  SWE Noah Persson (on loan from Young Boys) 17 FW  ARG Tomás Verón Lupi (on loan from RC Montevideo) 18 FW  KOR Lee Young-jun 19 MF  CAN Mathieu Choinière 20 FW  FRA Evans Maurin 21 FW  AUS Awer Mabil

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  GER Benno Schmitz 24 DF  PHI Michael Kempter 25 FW  GAM Adama Bojang (on loan from Reims) 26 DF  EST Maksim Paskotši 27 FW  POR Asumah Abubakar 28 MF  SUI Simone Stroscio 29 GK  AUT Manuel Kuttin 50 GK  SUI Laurent Seji 52 MF  SUI Samuel Marques 53 DF  SUI Tim Meyer 55 MF  SUI Damian Nigg 57 DF  ALB Elvir Zukaj 71 GK  SUI Justin Hammel 73 DF  KOS Florian Hoxha 77 MF  SUI Filipe de Carvalho 99 FW  MKD Dorian Babunski

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 58 DF  GER Yannick Bettkober 59 FW  SUI Tugra Turhan — GK  SUI Orlando Gyr — GK  SUI Mark Mihaljevic — DF  KOS Sead Ahmeti — DF  GER Maher Darwich (on loan from Bayern Munich U19) — DF  SUI Loris Giandomenico — DF  SUI Diego Poloni — DF  SUI Livio Spring

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  KOS Davud Sylaj — MF  SUI Tariq Blake — MF  KOS Dior Gerbovci — MF  SUI Eliano Guido — MF  SUI Leart Kabashi — FW  SUI Gabriel González — FW  GER Maksim Kličković — FW  SUI Samuel Krasniqi — FW  POR Miguel Martins

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 GK  SUI Nicolas Glaus (at Schaffhausen until 31 December 2024)

The women's division was founded in 2009, when GC/Schwerzenbach (originally FFC Schwerzenbach) was absorbed into the club.

As of 9 August 2024^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 4 MF  SUI Victoria Laino 6 DF  SUI Luna Lempérière (captain) 8 MF  CRO Ella Ljustina 10 MF  SUI Yllka Kadriu 12 GK  SUI Isabel Rutishauser 13 DF  SUI Leandra Flury 14 MF  CRO Petra Mikulića 15 MF  SUI Noemi Ivelj 16 FW  SUI Emanuela Pfister 17 GK  SUI Nicole Studer

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 GK  SUI Saskia Bürki 20 FW  SUI Janina Egli 21 DF  SUI Emma Egli 23 FW  AUT Noémie Potier 24 MF  SUI Giulia Looser 27 DF  SUI Melanie Müller 28 FW  SVN Nina Predanič 32 DF  GER Tamar Dongus 46 DF  NIR Sophie Magee

Players for the Swiss national football team

Players with World Cup appearances for their national teams

Current coaching staff [edit] As of 19 June 2024[13] Position Name Since Head coach Giuseppe Morello 11/2024[14] Assistant coach Aurelién Mioch 06/2023 Athletic coach Jörg Mikoleit 06/2024[15] Goalie Coach Jörg Stiel 06/2021[16] Video analyst Rain Nappir 04/2021

Academy Coaches and Staff [edit] As of 4 June 2024[17] Position Name Since Technical Director Remo Gaugler 05/2024[18] Technical Director Sandro Chieffo 05/2024[18] Talent Manager Sascha Müller 03/2023[19] Under 21 Nikola Marunic Daniel Pavlović 02/2024 08/2024[20] Under 19 Dominik Probst Francesco Satalino 06/2024[21] 08/2024[20] Under 17 Jacob Wolf Goran Petrovic 07/2023[22] 08/2024[20] Under 16 Raffaele Cardiello Adriano Mazza 08/2024[20] 08/2024[20] Under 15 Ufuk Üsküp Oliver Buff 08/2024[20] 08/2024[20] Head Goalkeeping Coach Andreas Hilfiker 08/2024[20] Goalkeeping Coach Gustavo Steffanuto Moino 08/2024[20]

As of 21 May 2024^[26]

Board of Directors
Position	Name	Since
President	Stacy Johns	01/2024[1]
Board member	Larry Freedman	01/2024[1]
Vice-president	András Gurovits	07/2023
Management
Sporting director	Stephan Schwarz	03/2024[27]
Director of Commercial	Mike-David Burkhard	07/2024[28]
Head of Finance	Roland Gebhard	02/2023

• History of Grasshopper Club Zurich
• Grasshopper Club Zurich in European football
• Zurich Derby
• Hardturm and Letzigrund

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grasshopper Club Zürich.

Fan sites

• GCZForum – Bulletin Board (Forum) for Fans of GCZ (in German)
• GCZone – Fansite of GCZ (in German)
• Grassmokers – Oldest unofficial fanclub of GCZ. Archived 8 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine (in German).
• Main fan page with organisation for away games (in German)