“We are delighted that we have been able to recruit an experienced soccer expert like Stephan Schwarz for Grasshopper Club Zürich,” said Harald Gärtner, LAFC Managing Director of Europe and advisor GCZ. “We are convinced that he is the right person to stabilize the club, and together with Bruno Berner’s coaching team, they will lead us into a successful future. We would like to thank Bernt Haas for his consistently outstanding commitment to GCZ and we wish him all the best in his professional and personal future.”
“After intensive and great discussions with the club’s leadership, it was clear to me that I wanted to help to further develop and advance the club,” Schwarz said. “The task of Sports Director is a great challenge, which I will approach with great respect, but just as much drive and anticipation. I consider this job as a great honor and see it as my duty to support the club to the best of my ability.”
Schwarz began his career at VfB Stuttgart as a youth coach and then moved to the scouting department where he helped discover young talents such as Christian Gentner, Mario Gomez and Sami Khedira with then Head Coach Ralf Rangnick. After spells as a scout at 1860 München and TSG Hoffenheim, Schwarz moved to FC Augsburg in 2013, where he established Augsburg in the German Bundesliga and helped shape the club’s most successful period as Chief Scout and Technical Director. Under Schwarz, FC Augsburg reached the intermediate round of the UEFA Europa League in 2015-16 and saw the development of numerous young and talented players.
