Stephan Groß (born 23 October 1953) is a German former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

for

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

Club career

In 1971, after joining the club at youth level, Groß made the step-up to the senior squad of hometown club

VfR Mannheim VfR Mannheim is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim. The club captured the n ...

. One year later, Groß signed for

SV Südwest Ludwigshafen SV Südwest Ludwigshafen is a German association football club from the city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club was formed on 29 May 1964 out of the merger of the traditional sides Sportverein 03 Ludwigshafen and Phoenix T ...

, staying at the club for two years, before making the move to SV Neckargerach in 1974. Groß stayed at Neckargerach for three years, leaving the club to re-sign for VfR Mannheim in 1977 for a season. In 1978, Groß signed for 2. Bundesliga Süd club

. In 1980, Groß was part of the Karlsruhe side that achieved promotion to the

. Groß made 113 Bundesliga appearances at Karlsruher SC, scoring 30 times, including his only Bundesliga

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, and only Karlsruhe hat-trick, on 16 December 1980 in a 3–1 win against

Bayer Uerdingen KFC Uerdingen 05 was a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side, which had its greatest successes in the 1980s, plays in the fourth-level Regionalliga. In 2025, th ...

. In 1986, Groß moved to

FV Weinheim FV Weinheim was a German association football club from the city of Weinheim, Baden-Württemberg. Established in 1909, the team was active until declaring bankruptcy in 1997. The footballers of ''FV'' left to become part of '' TSG Weinheim'' with ...

in a player-coach role. During Groß's time at the club, Weinheim won the

Oberliga Baden-Württemberg The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest association football league in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberliga (football), Oberligas in German footb ...

in 1988.

Coaching career

In 1989, following his spell at FV Weinheim, Groß was appointed manager of

SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a Football in Germany, German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. It is Ger ...

. Groß remained at Sandhausen until 1992, when he joined

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left establis ...

as assistant manager to Hans-Jürgen Boysen. In 2001, Groß became a youth coach at

VfL Neckarau VfL Neckarau is a German association football club from the district of Neckarau in the city of Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. __TOC__ History Foundation and early years The current day club came out of a long string of mergers of predecessor ...

. In 2007, Neckarau youth players

Pascal Groß Pascal Alexander Groß ( born 15 June 1991) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder or full-back (association football), full-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national football ...

Manuel Gulde Manuel Gulde (born 12 February 1991) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career For the 2012–13 campaign Gulde joined SC Paderborn 07 on a one-year contract with an option for another year. In May 2016 ...

, Robin Szarka and

Marco Terrazzino Marco Terrazzino (born 15 April 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a left winger or attacking midfielder for Wuppertaler SV. Club career Terrazzino began his career with ''TSV Neckarau'' before moving to VfL Neckarau and sub ...

all moved to nearby professional club

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional association football, football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into bei ...

, as a direct result of Groß's coaching. In 2007, Groß joined

Waldhof Mannheim SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of ove ...

as youth team manager, staying with the club until the end of the 2011–12 season. In June 2013, Groß was appointed manager of

. On 10 November 2013, Groß resigned from the club after a 4–2 loss to FC Heidenheim II.

Personal life

Groß is the father to current

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

midfielder and German international

References

Living people 1953 births Footballers from Mannheim German men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders German football managers VfR Mannheim players Karlsruher SC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Germany men's B international footballers SV Sandhausen managers VfR Mannheim managers German football coaches West German men's footballers West German football managers {{Germany-footy-defender-1950s-stub