Christian Gross is to become the new coach of FC Schalke 04, according to information from the “Bild” newspaper. According to a decision by the supervisory board, the 66-year-old Swiss should receive a six-month contract with the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga, reports the newspaper. The WDR also reports on the impending commitment, 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 the fourth Schalke coach this season. Stevens took over after separating from Baum as a temporary solution until the winter break.
Between 2009 and 2010, Gross was already active as a coach in the Bundesliga, when he led VfB Stuttgart into the Europa League. At that time, Schalke’s current sports director, Jochen Schneider, was also head of sports for VfB. After a weak start to the 2010/2011 season, the Stuttgart-based company prematurely parted with Gross.
For 29 Bundesliga games without a win
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 Swiss first division club Young Boys Bern separated from Gross. Although there had already been media reports in the past few days about a commitment from Gross to Schalke, the appointment as head coach is considered a surprise.
A tough rescue mission would await Gross. After the 0-1 defeat against promoted Arminia Bielefeld last weekend, the club is already six points behind the relegation place. In this Bundesliga season, S04 is still without a win, across all seasons Schalke have been waiting for a win for 29 games, most recently they achieved a Bundesliga success on January 17th.
