The former coach of Al-Ahly and Zamalek was appointed technical director of the German Schalke 04

 Schalke, threatened with relegation in the German Premier League, appointed Swiss Christian Gross as coach of the team until the end of the season.

Schalke are bottom of the standings with four points from 13 games and have not won in their last 29 matches in the top flight.

Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia was the last team in which Gross worked until last February, as he had previously coached Tottenham Hotspur, German Stuttgart and Egyptian Zamalek.

Gross won four Swiss league titles with Grasshopper and twice with Basel.

"We must set our goal and work to achieve results. I want to see the enthusiasm of the players all the time," Gross said in a statement.

He added, "We need a good atmosphere and rally around the team in order to regain success. I will give everything I have to achieve our goals together."

Gross is Schalke's fourth coach this season and takes over from Hope Stevens, who worked for a temporary period after the departure of Manuel Baum earlier this month.

Schalke fired David Wagner in September and signed Baum.

Gross's first match for his new team will be against Hertha Berlin in the league on January 2.

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