Playing Career
This striker began his professional football career in the city of his birth with RC Strasbourg, where the fans soon nicknamed him the “angel of la Meinau” (L'ange de la Meinau; Engel von der Meinau, Meinau is the stadium of the club). Briefly after first playing for Strasbourg (May 1960) the team were relegated to the second division, but returned after one year to Division 1, where Gress played until 1966 and his departure to the VfB Stuttgart. Strasbourg were at the time only in mid-table of the division, but won the 1966 Coupe de France.
During his time in Germany, he was called-up for the first time to the France national football team. During the 1970/71 season Gilbert Gress returned to his homeland and became with Olympique Marseille twice French champion. From 1973 to 1975 he came back to RC Strasbourg, changed then for one year to Neuchâtel Xamax in Switzerland and ended his playing career in 1977.
Gress completed 290 matches (201 for Strasbourg, 89 for Marseille) in France and scored 28 goals; in the federal league he came on 149 times.
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