Grasshoppers

Grasshopper Club Zurich was founded in Zurich on 1 September 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student, and is the oldest football club in the city. How it came by its English name is not recorded; the club favours the story that its pioneers moved as nimbly on grass as the insect. The team has worn blue and white since its founding, colours taken from the city's coat of arms. GC played at the Hardturm from 1929 until 2007 and has since shared the Letzigrund with FC Zurich.

GC won the first Swiss championship in 1897-98 and hold the national records of 27 league titles, the latest in 2002-03, and 19 Swiss Cups, the latest in 2013 after a penalty shoot-out against Basel. The best European run was to the 1977-78 UEFA Cup semi-finals, lost to Bastia on away goals, and the club reached the Champions League group stage in 1995-96 and 1996-97. First relegated in 1949, GC dropped again in 2019 and returned as Challenge League champions in 2021.