Alain Geiger

Alain Geiger (born 5 November 1960) is a Swiss international football manager and a former defender. He is the current manager for Servette FC.

Alain Geiger
Personal information
Date of birth (1960-11-05) 5 November 1960
Place of birth Sion, Switzerland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1981 FC Sion 88 (7)
1981–1986 Servette FC 139 (18)
1986–1988 Neuchâtel Xamax 63 (8)
1988–1990 Saint-Étienne 70 (2)
1990–1995 FC Sion 173 (4)
1995–1997 Grasshopper 33 (1)
Total '566 ' (40 )
National team
1980–1996 Switzerland 112 (5)
Teams managed
1997–1998 Grasshopper U21
1998–2002 Neuchâtel Xamax
2002–2003 FC Aarau
2003–2004 Grasshopper
2005 Neuchâtel Xamax
2005–2006 FC Aarau
2006 Lausanne Sports
2006–2007 Olympique Safi
2009 Neuchâtel Xamax
2010 JS Kabylie
2011 Al-Masry
2011–2012 ES Sétif
2012 Ettifaq
2013 MC Alger
2015 MO Béjaïa
2015–2016 ES Sétif
2018– Servette FC
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played mainly as a centre-back despite being only 1.80m in a career that lasted 20 years, and made 112 appearances at international level, being Switzerland's second most capped player behind Heinz Hermann. His son, Bastien, is also a professional footballer.

Playing career

Club

Geiger started playing professionally in 1977 with FC Sion. He played just two matches in his first season but by 1978, he was a first-team regular in the side that went on to win the Swiss Cup in 1980.

In 1981, he signed for Servette FC, who were one of Switzerland's most successful teams at the time, and became an invaluable player for both club and country. He helped the club win the 1984 Swiss Cup, defeating Lausanne Sports 1–0 after extra time in the final, and the league title in 1985. An aspiring Neuchâtel Xamax side acquired his services in 1986, and he helped it win the national championship during the only two seasons he played for them, 1986–87 and 1987–88.

A move to France was on the cards next for Geiger, as he signed for AS Saint-Étienne during the Summer of 1988. He was a big hit and a first-team regular at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, but opted for a return to Switzerland and Sion, in 1990. During his second spell, he saw the form of his life as he became captain for both club and the country. He lifted the league trophy for the fourth time in his career as Sion were crowned champions in 1991–92.

In 1995, Geiger signed for Grasshopper Club Zürich, where he finishing his career after a further two seasons, having played 496 Swiss first division matches, with 38 goals.

International

Geiger made his international debut in Switzerland's 2–1 defeat to England at Wembley Stadium, on 19 November 1980, and went on to be capped 112 times and score five goals, between 1980 and 1996,[1] five appearances short of midfielder Heinz Hermann.

His last match was also against England, in a 1–1 draw at Euro 1996, on 8 June. He captained his country at both this competition and the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, usually being accompanied at centre-back by Dominique Herr.[2]

Coaching career

Geiger's first managerial role was spent with the reserves of Grasshopper, in 1997. He did so well there that he was given the reigns at another old side, Neuchâtel Xamax, in July 1998. At Xamax, he helped develop the talents of Timothée Atouba, Papa Bouba Diop and Henri Camara, and helped the club avoid relegation from the league in his last two seasons.

Geiger quit the club in July 2002 to take over at FC Aarau, but the club were relegated into the second division at the end of 2002–03 and he was given the sack. In December 2003, he was surprisingly named the manager of Grasshopper, but the team fared poorly under him and he was once again fired.

Subsequently, Geiger had short spells managing Neuchâtel Xamax, FC Aarau and Lausanne Sports before being given the job at Moroccan side Olympique Safi in 2006. He saved the club from relegation from GNF 1 during the 2006–07 season, but resigned at the end of the campaign.

In June 2009, he was replaced by Pierre-André Schürmann as head coach of Neuchâtel Xamax.[3]

In January 2010, he was appointed as manager of Algerian club JS Kabylie.[4] On 14 December 2010, Geiger resigned from his position.[5] During his time with the club, his most notable achievement was leading the team to the semi-finals of the 2010 CAF Champions League where they lost to eventual champions TP Mazembe.

On 23 September 2011, Geiger was appointed as manager of ES Sétif.[6] In his first season with the club, he led the team to the league-cup double, winning the 2011–12 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 and the 2011–12 Algerian Cup.[7]

On 6 June 2012, Geiger became manager of Saudi club Ettifaq FC, signing a two-year contract with the club.[8]

On 30 May 2013, Geiger reached an agreement with MC Alger to take over as new coach, succeeding Djamel Menad.[9]

Taking over Geneva's Servette FC in 2018, the team wins the Swiss Challenge League at the end of his first season, getting promoted to the Super League.[10]

Honours

Player
Sion
Servette
Neuchâtel Xamax

Manager
Grasshopper
ES Sétif
Servette FC
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References
  1. "Alain Geiger - Century of International Appearances". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  2. "FIFA Tournaments - Players & Coaches - Alain GEIGER". FIFA.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. "Pierre-André Schürmann entraîneur de Xamax". RTSSport.ch (in French). Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. http://www.elmoudjahid.com/accueil/sport/50066.html
  5. JS Kabylie, Alain Geiger jette l'éponge Archived 16 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Toufik O. (23 September 2011). "Alain Geiger nouvel entraîneur de l'ES Sétif" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  7. Toufik O. (15 May 2012). "Alain Geiger parti pour rester à la tête de l'ES Sétif" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  8. Toufik O. (6 June 2012). "Alain Geiger quitte l'ES Sétif pour Al-Ittifaq (Ar. Saoudite)" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  9. "Algeria: Alain Geiger named MCA coach". Starafrica.com. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  10. Visentini, Daniel (21 July 2019). "Alain Geiger veut un Servette qui ose". Le Matin (in French). ISSN 1018-3736. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
André Egli		 Switzerland captain
1993-1996		 Succeeded by
Ciriaco Sforza
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