Borussia Mönchengladbach: Farke’s appeal to fans and the media

Just one Gladbach victory in 2023

With just one win in five games in the Bundesliga year 2023 in mind, tenth-placed Borussia Mönchengladbach welcome leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday. The disappointment recently expressed by some of the “Fohlen” supporters and several media about the sporting manageable performance of the club, which was in the round of 16 of the Champions League two years ago and has the sixth most valuable squad in the league, is incomprehensible for coach Daniel Farke . The 46-year-old, who took over at Borussia last summer and has since averaged 1.32 points in 22 games, counterattacked before the duel with the record champions.

community
Discuss Borussia Mönchengladbach now in the forumThis way
“To say that we have a team that should actually play the Champions League… Why should we perform better as a team than last year? Do you think the squad is better positioned at the moment? Last year there were Embolo, Ginter, Sommer and Zakaria. Is that the reason?” Farke is asked by the “table footballquoted. They have “a totally clean team with impeccable character,” the coach continued, “but we won’t be able to manage with these players that we simply run the opponent into the ground by eating grass. Sorry, but that’s just asking too much for this team.” Farke was also “totally dissatisfied” with the start of the new year, in which Borussia only won against Hoffenheim.”

“But if I look at the big picture: I read three articles, where it says ‘balance sheet of terror’, ‘balance sheet is worse than last year’ – that’s a total lie and total untruth. Totally untrue! Last year we were twelfth after 20 matchdays with 22 points, now we have four points more and are two places higher,” Farke continued. The financially troubled people of the Lower Rhine region announced and initiated a change last summer. Against this background, too, Farke could not understand the claims from some sides.

Farke sees Borussia Mönchengladbach “between 7th and 12th place”

“When we got into talks in the summer, the club said: We’ve just come out of the relegation battle. This is reality, not what was three years ago. The second point was: We have an economic situation in which we can’t just reorganize the squad and take financial risks, but on the contrary even want to make transfer proceeds. Point three was that a rift ran through the club between the team and the fans. On top of that, point four, that we said we have a squad that is in a state of upheaval, that needs new fresh energy, because the lads are slowly getting to an age where new energy needs to come in. And number five was that we want to implement a different way of football. We all looked at each other and said: In a situation like this we don’t need to talk about the top six at all, Europe is completely unrealistic. For us, it’s about being solid in the second third of the table, between seventh and twelfth place. We said that from day one. And, if we can, that we also win the games that are important to the soul of the fans and that we all lost last year. And I think we deliver,” the ex-Norwich coach gave further insights.

You are now developing in the right direction, both as a team and as a club, said Farke, who concluded his open speech at the press conference before the Bayern game with a corresponding appeal to fans and the media: “I think it’s just important , that as a trainer and responsible person you are not like the flag in the wind and say something different every day about what our ambitions are. We started very well and of course that still inspires dreams at a traditional club. Our fans should, must, and are allowed to: dream of unrealistic goals. But I told you about the first day, the path is difficult and rocky. (…) But we’re telling ourselves the story that we have a squad here that we would normally have to play the Champions League with. You don’t have to see it that way, I’m not dictating it to you. This is a free country. But I also have a clear position on this and I have made it clear to you.”

To home page