Ciriaco Sforza
Ciriaco " Ciri " Sforza ( born March 2, 1970 in Wohlen ) is a former Swiss football player and current coach. As a player Sforza is one of the most successful Swiss football players of the 1990s. After his playing career he pursued a coaching career and managed from 2009 to 2012 Grasshopper Club Zurich.
Career as a player
Clubs
Sforza was born as the son of an Italian citizen in Wohlen; Since 1990 he has Swiss citizenship. In Switzerland, he began as a youth player at FC Villmergen and FC Wohlen before he moved to the youth of the GC Zurich 1986. Early on, he was there already used in the first team; his debut came in a 2-2 draw against FC St. Gallen. After Ottmar Hitzfeld had become the 1988/89 season new coach in Zurich and Sforza wanted to retrain for right-back, this moved to FC Aarau, in which he could continue to be active as a midfielder.
After he was able to establish itself in Aarau in the premier league, he joined 20 -year-old back to Grasshopper Club where he is now in the middle matured into a regular player. Biggest success in his time in Zurich was winning the Swiss Championship in 1991.
For the 1993/94 season Sforza took the move to the Bundesliga for 1.FC Kaiserslautern his next career move. There he quickly made a name for himself and after two years was committed in Germany by the German record champion Bayern Munich.
As desired player of Munich's new coach Otto Rehhagel Sforza began with great early praise in the 1995/96 season, but fell short of the high expectations. After Rehhagel was released towards the end of the season and replaced by Franz Beckenbauer, even Sforza engagement ended prematurely. After winning the UEFA Cup he not moved to Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A. Even in Milan Sforza remained until the contract expires; after one season he returned to the 1st FC Kaiserslautern, which was previously went under Rehhagel back to the Bundesliga.
There Sforza reached the German Cup in 1998 its probably the greatest success as a player at the national level. Surprisingly won the Palatine as promoted the title of the Sforza as a leader of the team had share. In the following two seasons, he remained active for Kaiserslautern before he again moved to FC Bayern 2000. There he was again not establish themselves, but won the 2001 Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup. As of August 2002, he was active for Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga again, made through injury but only a few games.
His last game as a professional Sforza graduated in October 2005, when the 1 FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Dortmund 3:3 split. Sforza, who had just dismounted the only red card suspension of his Bundesliga career, was replaced at half-time and after the game was suspended by coach Michael Henke. Although Sforza after Henkes eviction in November 2005 offered again as a player, he was not considered further by his successor, Wolfgang Wolf.
National
His debut for the "Nati " Sforza was on 21 August 1991 in Prague in a 1-1 draw against Czechoslovakia. By 2001, he graduated 79 caps for the Confederates and scored seven goals. Among his career highlights include participation in the 1994 World Cup in the USA, in which Switzerland penetrated to the second round and defeated Spain 0-3, and participation in the European Championships in England in 1996, but left there in the first round.
Career as a coach
Already parallel to his last season in the Bundesliga acquired Sforza A license as a trainer. From the beginning of the season 2006/ 07 until August 2008 he was coach of the Swiss Super League club FC Lucerne. Most recently, he graduated in the spring of 2007 in parallel to his activities in Lucerne football Teacher course of the German Football Association at the Hennes Weisweiler Academy of German Sport University Cologne and therefore has the UEFA Pro Licence.
In June 2009, Sforza was introduced as the new coach of Grasshoppers Zurich. After the third place in his first year and a seventh place in 2011 his contract was extended with the Grasshoppers by two years. End of the season 2011/12 the club parted from Sforza.
Achievements
- World Cup winners in 2001
- Champions League winners in 2001
- UEFA Cup winners 1996
- German Champion 1998, 2001
- Swiss Champions 1991
- Swiss Cup Winners 1988
Awards
- Scorer of the month October 1997