Name: Karl Grob



Country: Switzerland
Club: FC Zürich
Position: *GK
Side: LF/BS
Age: 28-31 years (30/05/1946)

Height: 173 cm
Weight: 71 kg


Attack: 45
Defence: 82
Balance: 76
Stamina: 67
Top Speed: 76
Acceleration: 67
Response: 89
Agility: 78
Dribble Accuracy: 72
Dribble Speed: 70
Short Pass Accuracy: 66
Short Pass Speed: 65
Long Pass Accuracy: 62
Long Pass Speed: 66
Shot Accuracy: 44
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 44
Free Kick Accuracy: 44
Curling: 48
Header: 55
Jump: 86
Technique: 73
Aggression: 68
Mentality: 86
Goalkeeper Skills: 82
Team Work: 73

Injury Tolerance: 8
Condition: 8
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 8
Growth Type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded


INFO:
At 1.73 metres, Grob was a rather small goalie, and he was also a gifted winger at the beginning of his football career (hence his squeamish ball skills and his starting speed when running out). Because all the goalies were out on a match day, the young man from Lake Zurich stood in the box. Maybe he just couldn't get rid of his dribbling from his time on the wing. Grob was famous for his courageous forays out of the penalty area. They often called him the "dribbler out of the goal". He was always looking for a duel with opposing strikers, letting them run into the void with his hooks. And this despite the fact that he could have picked up the ball at that time even after a back pass. Most of the time, these actions ended well for the goalkeeper and his club. Karl Grob had the liveliness of a circus horse, but he never set himself up as a star. He coldly dribbled past opposing strikers, fished the balls out of the corners with his concrete-tested bricklayer's hands, ran to the halfway line when he thought there was too little running, and it was hardly noticeable with his enormous jumping power that he measured only 1.73 meters.

He had a very unorthodox style of goalkeeping. His clearance was in a form of a tackle with his legs (instead of jumping and catching the ball with his arms), and due to his height - he wasn't very secure at catching the ball. But he had a commanding presence in the back, strong left foot, technical ability, the speed and especially the jumping power. No wonder he played the most games ever (708) for FC Zurich. The goalie was between the posts for 20 years from 1967 to 1987. The record-breaking player has won the league five times and the cup four times. He also had offers from other clubs, he once said, "but 1000 francs more salary per month was not important to me. Hardly any goalie of his era was so strong, so tough. If he was injured, he gritted his teeth and played until the final whistle. From 1983 onwards, he stood between the posts with one left knee without meniscus, cruciate ligament and collateral ligament. No one else stayed at the top for so long.

However, he was overlooked for the National Team. He eventually played 7 caps from 1967-1976. When the Swiss national team completed the somewhat questionable, never-ending period of "honourable defeats", Karl Grob won the championship five times and the Swiss Cup four times with FCZ, and when Switzerland was otherwise hardly noticed internationally, the Zurich team stormed into the semi-finals of the Champions Cup (now the Champions League) in 1977, only to be knocked out by Liverpool FC. In the two matches versus Rangers in 1976, if it wasn't for him, FC Zurich wouldn't have its fairy tale. Rangers coach Jack Wallace went to the FCZ dressing room after the game to personally congratulate the man from Küsnacht for his performance. "No goalkeeper in Europe has better reflexes," he said.