Pascal Gross is a rare species: a late improver who got his international debut at the age of 32.
Representing Germany in his homeland in the European Championships will be a poignant landmark in the career of the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder.
Tattoos on his lower right arm relate to the birth years of family members, headed by Gross’s 70-year-old father Stephan, a former defender with Karlsruher in the Bundesliga who trained Gross as a child.
Gross says: “He was an excellent coach for me, as a footballer but also as a human. All the stuff — how to behave, the discipline, how to work, also how to behave in social life I learnt from him.”
In seven years at Brighton, Gross has matured into an alternative to 34-year-old Toni Kroos, a multiple Champions League winner with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and a World Cup winner with his country a decade ago.
German manager Julian Nagelsmann says of Gross: “He’s an exceptional player and went under the radar for a long time. He’s great to speak about football with, he’s crazy about the sport. He’s really impressing us.”
Just look at his late impact in their final warm-up friendly for the tournament, against Greece on Friday. Introduced with 22 minutes to play and the score at 1-1, he struck a beautiful winner — his first goal for Germany — in the 88th minute.
Here The Athletic analyses the seven gifts of Gross.
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Fast learner
When newly-promoted Brighton signed Gross in 2017, the then 26-year-old was their first recruit for of their Premier League era, costing a modest £3million from Ingolstad.
“I went to see him live and watched a lot of video,” says Chris Hughton, Brighton’s manager at the time. “When I looked at the qualities he had, they very much fitted with where I wanted to play him.”
Gross made his debut at home to Manchester City, playing the full 90 minutes in a match Brighton lost 2-0. He then played in the next match, away to Leicester City, which Brighton also lost 2-0. Gross was substituted off after 60 minutes.
Gross, right, playing against Leicester City in 2017 (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Playing as a No 10 in that match, he was physically dominated by Harry Maguire and had to “adapt his game” after Maguire “taught him lessons on what the Premier League is and how to succeed”.
Gross showed he is a quick learner, however. Three weeks later, he scored Brighton’s first two goals in the Premier League in a 3-1 home win against West Brom.
He then went on to average a goal contribution every three games (11 goals and 10 assists in 63 league appearances) across his first two seasons in England’s top flight in a struggling team.
Determination
Gross was linked early in his Brighton career with a move to Liverpool. It never went further than speculation, but ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was an admirer of his compatriot.
Klopp, speaking in 2018, said: “I have known him since he was a kid. He is a fantastic player that has made another big step physical wise. He has a nice right foot, is good at set-pieces and a nice shooter. He is a smart player and I like him.”
Even so, doubts surfaced about Gross’s longevity at Brighton after Hughton was replaced by Graham Potter in 2019. When Adam Lallana arrived on a free transfer from Klopp’s Liverpool in 2020, Gross’s future was uncertain.
Lallana, who left Brighton in May after four years, says: “When I joined the club Pascal was saying to me: ‘I’m not sure if the club want me here, not playing.’
“I remember seeing him in training and thinking: ‘Why’s that?’ This guy needs to be playing. We are in a relegation battle. If there is one person you want in your team it’s Pascal Gross and the way I understood football, having come from Liverpool, seeing the attributes Pascal had, I never understood why he was ever on the bench.
“That is not a dig at Graham or anyone, because the squad was different at that point, so it was probably harder to see Pascal’s attributes with the dynamic of the squad.”
By the time Potter left for Chelsea in September 2022, he had been won over. Gross scored a double in a 2-1 win at Old Trafford on the opening day of that season against Manchester United.
Potter said: “He wants to learn and keep improving. He wants to get every little bit out of his career and that’s a fantastic way to think about it.”
Gross scoring against Manchester United in August 2022 (Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty Images)
Marathon man
If Gross was an athlete, he would be a marathon runner, not a 100m sprinter.
His capacity to run big distances was evident from the early stages of his Premier League career, when he averaged 12.6km (7.8 miles) per match. That placed him second in the stamina stakes behind James Milner, who became a Brighton team-mate last summer when he signed from Liverpool.
That, along with a sharp footballing brain, made up for a lack of pace that has never inhibited Gross’s effectiveness. Hughton says: “One area you were aware of was that he wasn’t the quickest, but that was far outweighed by his running ability and presence on the pitch. He is a confident player and when I took him he wanted to get on the ball all the time.”
Guile over speed marks Gross out as a throwback. Uwe Hunemeier, assistant coach of SC Paderborn after more than 200 appearances as a central defender for the Bundesliga 2 team, Brighton and Borussia Dortmund, says: “Pascal is one of the best examples that tempo isn’t everything. His type of player is needed less and less.
“More often coaches and clubs are looking for explosive players, pretty much in every position, because this is probably the main criteria nowadays. But if you as smart as Pascal, with great technical abilities, you can still play a big part on a high level like the Premier League.”
Versatility
Gross is extremely versatile. He can play anywhere in any midfield system, as a No 6, No 8 or No 10.
His adaptability goes deeper than that. Potter and his successor as head coach at Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi, used him as a right-back or right-wingback depending on the defensive formation, and even occasionally at left-back.
Gross was a right-back 13 times over the past two seasons under De Zerbi. The biggest show of faith by the Italian was deploying Gross in that role in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley in April 2023.
Gross against Marcus Rashford appeared to be a pace-risk mismatch, but he was never badly exposed in a goalless game Brighton lost on penalties after-extra-time.
Gross goes toe to toe with Marcus Rashford at Wembley last year (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Hughton says: “Credit to the managers after me that played him in other positions. I’ve seen him play as a full-back. I wouldn’t have seen myself playing him there, but he had the mentality to play anywhere.
“He has such a strong mentality and belief that it doesn’t surprise me. He always played like an experienced player. He trains well every day. He has avoided long-term injuries and that has allowed him to play a lot of games.
“He had huge respect within the changing room. You knew always in conversation that he was an intelligent individual with a good football background.”
Creativity
Every three games across 228 Premier League appearances for Brighton, Gross has either scored or assisted a goal (30 goals and 45 assists). That is a high output under three different managers for a side that has finished in the bottom half of the table in five seasons out of seven. A teasing delivery from corners, free kicks and crosses are part of the Gross package.
In the season just gone, Gross contributed 10 assists, the same number as Kevin De Bruyne for Manchester City. Only Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins (13) and Chelsea winger Cole Palmer (11) had more assists across the Premier League.
Gross also created the second highest number of chances (103). That was 30 more than Manchester City’s England star Phil Foden and placed him behind only Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (114).
De Zerbi said before parting company with Brighton at the end of the season: “Pascal Gross has become a great player, a top player for us. He can play in every big team. His passion and attitude are incredible. I hope he can stay with us. His level now is higher than two or three seasons ago.”
Cruyff turn
Named after the late Dutch master Johan Cruyff, it is an enduring tool used by Gross to create space for a pass, cross or shot.
“Since I’m a little boy, my friends at home always speak about it — they can’t believe I’m still using it,” Gross says. “Since I was small, I trained this. It looks good but I never do it just to do a skill. I always want to get something after.
“I always want to get a yard, to shoot, to cross, to pass. It’s just putting the ball to the side, (to) be able to shoot and cross. But, with your other eye, to read the defender’s position. How intense is he trying to block the cross?”
Gross produced a classic example of the technique for Lewis Dunk’s 94th-minute equaliser in Brighton’s 1-1 home draw against Everton in February, bamboozling his marker Beto.
Dunk said: “He put it on his left foot and I knew he was going to Cruyff it, so I took a step back to attack the ball.”
Pascal Gross fooling the camera not once, but twice! 🥶 pic.twitter.com/MtvvWlmsas
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 27, 2024
Hunemeier says: “His Cruyff is well known, but still not defendable. He’s always finding the pockets to create space. His first touch always gives him the possibility to have time and find the right solution.”
Continual improvement
Winning Brighton’s Player of the Season award in his first and seventh seasons at the club provides further proof that advancing years have not dimmed Gross’s quality.
Thirteen years after representing his country at under-20 level, Gross earned his first senior German cap as a substitute under former head coach Hansi Flick in a 4-1 friendly defeat at home to Japan in September. Three days later, he took over from injured captain Ilkay Gundogan 25 minutes into a 2-1 win against France.
Nagelsmann has kept faith with Gross since handing him his full debut in October’s 3-1 friendly victory away to the United States, and he made his mark on their final game before the Euros, scoring a late winner against Greece on Friday. Hughton says of Gross’s call-up as a 32-year-old: “It’s very unusual. It can’t happen unless that individual is the type of individual that he is, who looks after himself, is mature as he has always been.
“Brighton reaching Europe has also given Pascal a higher profile. That has helped him. He deserves it. I’ve had a decent career as a manager and have brought in lots of players. He is one of my best signings, there is no doubt about that.”
For Gross, the upcoming tournament will be special. “My journey has been quite unique after moving from Ingolstadt to England,” he says. “The glimmer of hope I had that I’d one day get a call from the national team coach always drove me on to perform, but there have been other driving forces too. I really love football and I enjoy going to training every day. I know that I’m really lucky that my hobby has become my job.”
(Top photo: Pascal Gross during Germany’s friendly against Ukraine earlier this month; by Alex Grimm via Getty Images)
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