Grégory Duruz (born 20 April 1977) is a Swiss former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He is entrepreneur and now football coach and experience sports coach.

Club career

Sion

Duruz played in the youth department of

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

and advanced to their first team in 1996 signing his first professional contract. In the 1996–97 season they won the championship. From January to June 1997 he was loaned out to

SR Delémont Sport-Réunis de Delémont (shortened to SR Delémont) is a Swiss Association football, football club based in Delémont and founded in 1909. The team currently play in Swiss 1. Liga (football), 1st League Classic from 2025–26, the fourth tier ...

and from July until December the same year loaned out to

Vevey Sports Vevey-Sports, formerly FC Vevey United is a Swiss football club based in Vevey, Vaud canton. The club currently play in Promotion League, the third tier of Swiss football. History Vevey Sports The club was founded in 1905 as ''Vevey Sports''. ...

. He then returned to his club of origin and became regular starter. In the 1998–99 season they suffered relegation but in the

1999–2000 Nationalliga A The 1999–2000 season of the Swiss Nationalliga contained two divisions, each with twelve clubs. The top tier was called Nationalliga A (NLA) (, ) and the second tier was named Nationalliga B (NLB). Overview The season was divided into two phas ...

they achieved immediate re-promotion. Duruz stayed with the club two further seasons.

Basel

In July 2002 he signed for reigning Swiss Champions

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

and joined their first team for their 2002–03 season under head coach

Christian Gross Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954) is a Swiss football manager and former player. He played as a sweeper and central midfielder. Gross was manager of Basel from 1999 to 2009, winning four Swiss Super Leagues and four Swiss Cups. As ...

. After playing in five test games Duruz played his domestic league debut for his new club in the home game in the

St. Jakob-Park St. Jakob-Park () is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. "Joggeli", as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity w ...

on 20 July as Basel won 1–0 against

. Basel's

2002–03 UEFA Champions League The 2002–03 UEFA Champions League was the 11th season of UEFA's premier European club association football, football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding in 1992, and the 48th European Cup tournament overall. The competi ...

season started in the second qualifying round. After beating

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

4–1 on aggregate and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on the away goals rule after a 3–3 aggregate, Basel advanced to the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. They ended this in second position behind

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, but ahead of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * ...

to advance to the

second group stage The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

. They ended this in third position behind

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

, but ahead of

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

. Duruz played in 11 of these 16 European games. Basel ended their league season as runners-up, but in the cup they advanced to the final and here they beat Xamax 6–0 to defend the title that they had won a season earlier. Duruz played in three of the cup games, but missed the final due to injury. In their 2003–04 league season the team started well, winning their first 13 matches straight out. The first defeat came on matchday 24. Basel won the championship with 26 victories and seven draws, the team had suffered just three away defeats, and obtained 85 points. Duruz was used mainly as substitute. and so he decided to move on. During his time with them he played a total of 78 games for Basel without scoring a goal. 32 of these games were in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

, three in the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

, 11 in the Champions League and 32 were friendly games.

Amiens and Thun

In the summer of 2004 he signed for Amiens SC and played for them in their 2004–05 season und head coach Alex Dupont in the second division of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the natio ...

. But he could not strengthen the team and moved on at the end of the season. He then returned to Switzerland and singned for

FC Thun Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss association football, football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Super League from 2025–26, the top tier of the Swiss football league system, following promotion from the ...

in advance of their 2005–06 season under head coach

Urs Schönenberger Urs Schönenberger (born 21 February 1959) is a Swiss football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football ( ...

. Thun played in the 2005–06 Champions League and advanced to the group stage. However, Duruz came to only two appearances during this group stage.

Later years

Duruz then moved to New Zealand and signed for the

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. He played for them in their 2006–07 season in the that season's A-League. The team finished the season in last position and the club was then disbanded. Duruz returned to Switzerland and played for

FC Chiasso FC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905. Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923. The team currently play in 3. Liga, the seventh tier of Swiss football. History Between 1927 ...

during the second half of the 2006–07 Challenge League season. He then played two seasons for amateur club FC La Tour/Le Pâquier in the 1st League Classic, fourth tier of Swiss football. He then moved to

Servette FC Servette FC is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on ...

and ended his active playing career.

International career

Duruz has represented

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

at U-16, U-18, U-20 and U-21 level.

Personal life

Duruz speaks three languages: German, French and English. He did his apprentship as clerk in a bank before signing his professional footballer contract. After his career he completer further education, became football coach and experience sports coach. Since July 2022 he is employed as Entrepreneur de football & Talent Manager for

Neuchâtel Xamax FCS Neuchâtel Xamax Football Club Serrières or Neuchâtel Xamax FCS () is a Swiss football club based in Neuchâtel. It was created in 1970 through a merger between FC Cantonal, founded in 1906 and Swiss champions of 1916, and FC Xamax founded ...

References

Sources

* Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel.
Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv" Homepage

External links

Gregory Duruz at Linkedin
* * * 1977 births Living people Swiss men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Swiss Super League players Ligue 2 players A-League Men players FC Sion players SR Delémont players Vevey-Sports players FC Basel players Amiens SC players FC Thun players New Zealand Knights FC players FC Chiasso players Servette FC players Swiss expatriate men's footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France Swiss expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand Place of birth missing (living people) {{Switzerland-footy-defender-stub