Ciriaco Sforza

Ciriaco Sforza

Personal information
Date of birth	2 March 1970 (1970-03-02) (age 41)
Place of birth	Wohlen, Switzerland
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Midfielder, Sweeper
Club information
Current club	Grasshopper-Club Zürich (manager)
Youth career
1986–1989	FC Wohlen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1990	FC Aarau	22	(3)
1990–1993	Grasshoppers Zurich	75	(7)
1993–1995	1. FC Kaiserslautern	61	(15)
1995–1996	FC Bayern Munich	30	(2)
1996–1997	Internazionale	26	(1)
1997–2000	1. FC Kaiserslautern	91	(4)
2000–2002	FC Bayern Munich	35	(1)
2002–2006	1. FC Kaiserslautern	47	(1)
Total		387	(34)
National team
1991–2001	Switzerland	79	(6)
Teams managed
2006–2008	FC Luzern
2009–	Grasshopper-Club Zürich
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ciriaco Sforza (born 2 March 1970) is a Swiss former professional football player and is the coach of Grasshopper-Club Zürich.

Biography

He most notably played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern and FC Bayern Munich in Germany. Ciriaco Sforza represented the Swiss national team 79 times, and represented his country at the international 1994 World Cup and Euro 96 tournaments.

According to his website, he is married and has two children.

Career

Born in Swiss town Wohlen, Sforza started his career in his hometown club FC Wohlen. He was signed by FC Aarau in 1989, where he impressed commentators and fans alike. Sforza was signed by Swiss giants Grasshoppers Zurich one year later and he represented Grasshoppers during three successful seasons. He won the 1991 Swiss Super League championship with the club, and made his national team debut in August 1991. In 1993, he moved abroad to Germany to play for 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Sforza became the general of the Kaiserslautern midfield and was recognised as one of the best midfielders in the German Bundesliga championship. After two seasons at Kaiserslautern, he was bought by German giants FC Bayern Munich in 1995. Sforza was signed at the same time as German superstar Jürgen Klinsmann, compared to the homely smalltown club Kaiserslautern, FC Bayern was a team with many stars. Conflicts between Klinsmann and team captain Lothar Matthäus poisoned the atmosphere and many scandals underlined why FC Bayern is nicknamed FC Hollywood. Bayern also missed out on the German championship for the second season in a row, though Sforza was a part of the 1996 UEFA Cup winning FC Bayern team.

Sforza had trouble settling in at FC Bayern, and after one season at the club he moved to Italy. He signed for Internazionale, where he was united with former Swiss national team manager Roy Hodgson. Sforza also had problems performing at Internazionale, and he spent a lot of time on the bench. After a single season he moved again – but this time to known territory. In time for the 1997–98 season, Sforza moved back to Kaiserslautern where he immediately made an impression. Even though Kaiserslautern had just been promoted from the German second division, Kaiserslautern became German champions, beating FC Bayern to the title. Sforza spent two more seasons at Kaiserslautern, impressing commentators and fans alike.

In 2000, he decided to give FC Bayern Munich another try. Once again, he failed to perform and spent a lot of time on the sidelines. FC Bayern had many star players competing for places, and the team won both the 2001 Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League titles. After two seasons at FC Bayern, he returned to Kaiserslautern in 2002, joining Kaiserslautern for a third time, Sforza's "double return" is unique in the German Bundesliga. The aging and now somewhat injury-prone Sforza helped FCK avoid relegation, however, in October 2005, he had a public falling-out with the club and was blackballed. He retired at the end of the season, in summer 2006.

International career

Sforza was selected to play for Switzerland at the 1994 World Cup by national manager Roy Hodgson. Despite the missing success at FC Bayern, Sforza represented Switzerland at the Euro 96 tournament in England.

Coaching career

Sforza went on to become manager of Swiss team FC Luzern, and was sacked after 2 more or less successful years training luzern. On 9 June 2009 was named as the new Head Coach of Grasshopper-Club Zürich^[1] and signed a contract between 30 June 2011.^[2]

Honours

Grasshopper-Club Zürich

• Swiss Super League: 1991.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

• Bundesliga: 1998

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2001.
• UEFA Cup: 1996.
• UEFA Champions League: 2001.
• Intercontinental Cup: 2001

References

1. ^ Sforza wird Trainer bei Grasshoppers Zürich
2. ^ "Ciri Sforza neuer Cheftrainer – neuer Sportchef wird gesucht" (in German). gcz.ch. 10 June 2009. http://www.gcz.ch/index.php?id=319&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3012. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 

External links

• Personal Website (German)
• Career statistics (German)

Persondata
Name	Sforza, Ciriaco
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	2 March 1970
Place of birth	Wohlen, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death