# 2020–21 Grasshopper Club Zurich season

The 2020–21 Grasshopper Club Zurich season is the club's second consecutive season in the Swiss Challenge League, having been relegated from the 2018–19 Swiss Super League one year earlier, after playing in the top tier for 67 years. The season started on 18 September 2020 and is scheduled to end on 30 May 2021. Grasshopper Club Zurich also participate in the Swiss Cup. The first game was played on 12 September 2020.

## Review and events

In April 2020 the club was bought by investors from China. The new owners began to reform the club and renew the squad during the summer break, including the signing of several players from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The English Premier League club is also connected to the Chinese investors. The first game of the season was played in late September 2020, a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland.
On May 11, 2021 coach João Carlos Pereira was sacked after three defeats in a row. He was replaced by Zoltán Kádár for the last two games of the season.
Thanks to a 2–1 win against Kriens on the last day of the season, Grasshopper Club Zurich was promoted to the Super League.

## Squad
### Players

    As of 3 March 2021
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (age) | at GCZ since | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Mirko Salvi | GK | (1994-02-14) 14 February 1994 (age 31) | 07/2018 | Basel |
| 27 | Mateo Matic | GK | (1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 (age 29) | 01/2016 | own youth |
| 36 | Marvin Keller | GK | (2002-07-03) 3 July 2002 (age 22) | 07/2019 | own youth |
| 57 | Matthias Minder | GK | (1993-02-03) 3 February 1993 (age 32) | 09/2020 | Neuchâtel Xamax |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Oskar Buur | CB | (1998-03-31) 31 March 1998 (age 26) | 01/2021 | Wolverhampton (on loan) |
| 4 | Miguel Nóbrega | CB | (2000-04-17) 17 April 2000 (age 24) | 09/2020 | Benfica (on loan) |
| 5 | Aleksandar Cvetković | CB | (1995-06-04) 4 June 1995 (age 29) | 02/2018 | Wohlen |
| 20 | Marcin Dickenmann | CB | (2000-08-14) 14 August 2000 (age 24) | 06/2020 | own youth |
| 22 | Nadjack | CB | (1994-02-06) 6 February 1994 (age 31) | 08/2020 | Rio Ave |
| 24 | Toti | CB | (1999-01-16) 16 January 1999 (age 26) | 05/2020 | Wolverhampton (on loan) |
| 31 | Dominik Schmid | CB | (1998-03-10) 10 March 1998 (age 26) | 08/2020 | Basel |
| 34 | Allan Arigoni | CB | (1998-11-04) 4 November 1998 (age 26) | 07/2018 | own youth |
| 44 | Elias Mesonero | CB | (2001-03-27) 27 March 2001 (age 23) | 01/2020 | own youth |
| 89 | Ermir Lenjani | CB | (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 35) | 09/2020 | Sion |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 8 | André Santos | MF | (1989-03-02) 2 March 1989 (age 36) | 08/2020 | Belenenses |
| 10 | Petar Pusic | MF | (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999 (age 26) | 02/2017 | own youth |
| 14 | Connor Ronan | MF | (1998-03-06) 6 March 1998 (age 26) | 08/2020 | Wolverhampton (on loan) |
| 19 | Nuno da Silva | MF | (1994-03-14) 14 March 1994 (age 30) | 02/2021 | Thun |
| 21 | Ming-yang Yang | MF | (1995-07-11) 11 July 1995 (age 29) | 08/2017 | Wolverhampton |
| 23 | Nikola Gjorgjev | MF | (1997-08-22) 22 August 1997 (age 27) | 07/2015 | own youth |
| 29 | Djibril Diani | MF | (1998-02-11) 11 February 1998 (age 27) | 12/2018 | own youth |
| 30 | Nuno Pina | MF | (1999-03-31) 31 March 1999 (age 25) | 08/2020 | ChievoVerona (on loan) |
| 33 | Giotto Morandi | MF | (1999-03-04) 4 March 1999 (age 26) | 06/2019 | own youth |
| 47 | Fabio Fehr | MF | (2000-01-15) 15 January 2000 (age 25) | 02/2020 | own youth |
| 48 | Robin Kalem | MF | (2002-07-14) 14 July 2002 (age 22) | 06/2020 | own youth |
| Forwards |||||||
| 3 | Léo Bonatini | FW | (1994-03-28) 28 March 1994 (age 30) | 09/2020 | Wolverhampton (on loan) |
| 7 | Oscar Correia | FW | (1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 27) | 07/2020 | Étoile Carouge |
| 9 | Shkelqim Demhasaj | FW | (1996-04-19) 19 April 1996 (age 28) | 07/2020 | Luzern |
| 11 | Renat Dadashov | FW | (1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 (age 25) | 08/2020 | Wolverhampton (on loan) |
| 11 | Hicham Acheffay | FW | (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 24) | 01/2021 | Utrecht |
| 17 | Cristian Ponde | FW | (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 30) | 08/2020 | Karpaty Lviv |
| 42 | Filipe de Carvalho | FW | (2003-12-01) 1 December 2003 (age 21) | 02/2021 | own youth |
| 90 | André Ribeiro | FW | (1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 27) | 02/2021 | St. Gallen |
Players in italic left the club during the season.

### Players out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | DF | SUI | Baba Souare (at Kriens until 30 June 2021) |
| 7 | FW | SUI | Oscar Correia (at Étoile Carouge until 30 June 2022) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | DF | SUI | Marcin Dickenmann (at Wil until 30 June 2021) |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Djibril Diani (at Livingston until 30 June 2021) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | No. | Pos | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes |
| 30 June 2020 | 30 | MF | Nuno Pina | ChievoVerona | Loan |
| 1 July 2020 | 7 | DF | Oscar Correia | Étoile Carouge | Free |
| 1 July 2020 | 9 | FW | Shkelqim Demhasaj | Luzern | Free |
| 7 August 2020 | 31 | DF | Dominik Schmid | Basel | Free |
| 17 August 2020 | 21 | MF | Ming-yang Yang | Wolverhampton | Free |
| 23 August 2020 | 11 | FW | Renat Dadashov | Wolverhampton | Loan |
| 23 August 2020 | 14 | MF | Connor Ronan | Wolverhampton | Loan |
| 25 August 2020 | 17 | FW | Cristian Ponde | Karpaty Lviv | Free |
| 28 August 2020 | 8 | MF | André Santos | Belenenses | Free |
| 29 August 2020 | 22 | DF | Nadjack | Rio Ave | |
| 31 August 2020 | | MF | Nedim Bajrami | Empoli | Return from loan |
| 4 September 2020 | 24 | DF | Toti | Wolverhampton | Loan |
| 11 September 2020 | 89 | MF | Ermir Lenjani | Sion | Free |
| 22 September 2020 | 3 | FW | Léo Bonatini | Wolverhampton | Loan |
| 30 September 2020 | 4 | DF | Miguel Nóbrega | Benfica | Loan |
| 31 December 2020 | | FW | Amel Rustemoski | Kriens | Return from loan |
| 11 January 2021 | 2 | MF | Oskar Buur | Wolverhampton | Loan |
| 20 January 2021 | 11 | FW | Hicham Acheffay | Utrecht | |
| 8 February 2021 | 19 | MF | Nuno da Silva | Thun | |
| 10 February 2021 | 90 | FW | André Ribeiro | St. Gallen | |

### Out

| Date | No. | Pos | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes |
| 1 July 2020 | 20 | FW | Danijel Subotić | unattached | |
| 2 August 2020 | 28 | DF | Andreas Wittwer | Winterthur | |
| 11 August 2020 | 10 | DF | Vero Salatić | Retirement | Free |
| 13 August 2020 | 13 | FW | Nassim Ben Khalifa | Espérance Tunis | |
| 23 August 2020 | 21 | MF | Mersim Asllani | Lausanne-Ouchy | |
| 24 August 2020 | 4 | DF | Baba Souare | Kriens | Loan |
| 24 August 2020 | 17 | MF | Oliver Buff | unattached | |
| 24 August 2020 | 31 | FW | Amel Rustemoski | Kriens | Loan |
| 29 August 2020 | 45 | DF | Nando Pijnaker | Rio Ave | |
| 1 September 2020 | 9 | FW | Mychell Chagas | Nantong Zhiyun | Free |
| 1 September 2020 | | MF | Nedim Bajrami | Empoli | €0.5 million |
| 1 October 2020 | 11 | FW | Nikola Sukacev | Metalac | Free |
| 8 October 2020 | 11 | FW | Renat Dadashov | Wolverhampton | Loan ended |
| 14 January 2021 | 20 | DF | Marcin Dickenmann | Wil | Loan |
| 15 February 2021 | 29 | MF | Djibril Diani | Livingston | Loan |
| 18 February 2021 | 7 | FW | Oscar Correia | Étoile Carouge | Loan |
| 3 March 2021 | 21 | MF | Ming-yang Yang | Nantong Zhiyun | |

## Coaching staff

Current coaching staff
    As of 11 May 2021
| Position | Name | Since |
| Manager | Zoltán Kádár (interim) | 05/2021 |
| Assistant manager | Marc Hodel (interim) | 05/2021 |
| Assistant manager | Ricardo Cabanas (interim) | 05/2021 |
| Assistant manager (athletics) | Walter Grüter (interim) | 05/2021 |
| Assistant manager (goalkeeper) | Christoph Born | 2011 |
until 11 May 2021
    As of 28 November 2020
| Position | Name | Since |
| Manager | João Carlos Pereira | 2020 |
| Assistant manager | João Gião | 2020 |
| Assistant manager (methodology) | Gilberto Freitas | 2020 |
| Assistant manager (individual) | Lino Godinho | 2020 |
| Assistant manager (athletics) | Bruno Ferreira | 2020 |
| Assistant manager (goalkeeper) | Christoph Born | 2011 |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Challenge League | 18 September 2020 | 20 May 2021 | Matchday 1 | 1st | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 052.78 |
| Swiss Cup | 12 September 2020 | 14 April 2021 | 2nd round | Quarter-finals | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 39 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 65 | 46 | +19 | 053.85 |
Last updated: 23 May 2021 Source: Soccerway

### Challenge League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Grasshoppers (C, P) | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 65 | Promotion to 2021–22 Swiss Super League |
| 2 | Thun (Q) | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 64 | Qualification to promotion/relegation play-offs |
| 3 | Lausanne-Ouchy | 36 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 58 | |
| 4 | Schaffhausen | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 59 | 46 | +13 | 58 | |
| 5 | Aarau | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 66 | 59 | +7 | 58 | |
Kickoff times are in CET
Win  Draw  Loss

### Swiss Cup

Kickoff times are in CET
Win  Draw  Loss

### Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Challenge League | Swiss Cup | Total |
| 1 | 3 | FW | | Léo Bonatini | 11 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | 9 | FW | | Shkelqim Demhasaj | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | 10 | MF | | Petar Pusic | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 23 | MF | | Nikola Gjorgjev | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 17 | FW | | Cristian Ponde | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | 30 | MF | | Nuno Pina | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 31 | DF | | Dominik Schmid | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 8 | MF | | André Santos | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 24 | DF | | Toti | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | 33 | MF | | Giotto Morandi | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 5 | DF | | Aleksandar Cvetković | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 14 | MF | | Connor Ronan | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 19 | MF | | Nuno da Silva | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 34 | DF | | Allan Arigoni | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 48 | MF | | Robin Kalem | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | 89 | DF | | Ermir Lenjani | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 90 | FW | | André Ribeiro | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 60 | 5 | 65 |
Last updated: 20 May 2021 Source: Competitions