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Christian Gross will become the new coach of FC Schalke 04, according to information from the daily “Bild”. According to a supervisory board decision, the 66-year-old Swiss should win a six-month contract with the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga, the newspaper reports. The WDR also reports on the impending engagement, according to which Gross should sign a contract on Christmas Day.
The association has not yet commented. After David Wagner, Manuel Baum and Huub Stevens, Gross would be Schalke’s fourth manager this season. After parting ways with Baum, Stevens took over as a temporary fix until winter break.
Between 2009 and 2010, Gross was already active as a coach in the Bundesliga, when he led VfB Stuttgart to the Europa League. At the time, current Schalke sporting director Jochen Schneider was also VfB’s head of sports. After a weak start to the 2010/2011 season, the Stuttgart-based company parted ways with Gross prematurely.
For 29 Bundesliga games without winning
In recent years, Gross trained in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli and in Egypt with Zamalek. His last engagement in Europe was more than eight years ago; In April 2012, the first division Swiss club Young Boys Bern parted ways with Gross. Although there had already been media reports in recent days about Gross’s engagement with Schalke, the appointment as head coach is seen as a surprise.
A tough rescue mission awaited Gross. Following a 1-0 loss to promoted Arminia Bielefeld last weekend, the club are now six points from relegation. In this Bundesliga season, S04 has yet to win, Schalke have been hoping for a win for 29 games across the seasons, most recently achieving success in the Bundesliga on January 17.
