After a turbulent year and a half, Borussia Mönchengladbach is trying to calm down again. Daniel Farke should ensure consistency on the coaching bench – and lead Borussia back to Europe.
A disappointing year and a half lie behind Borussia Mönchengladbach. The main focus was on the coaches: first the inglorious departure of Marco Rose, then the misunderstanding with Adi Hütter. Now Daniel Farke should lead Borussia back to old virtues and successes.
That’s how last season went
In a word: disappointing. After the Gladbachers had gambled away international business in the pre-season after the disruption caused by the departure of coach Marco Rose, it was actually supposed to go back to Europe. The Gladbachers had bought the then successful Frankfurt coach Adi Hütter for 7.5 million euros from his contract.
But things turned out differently: Hütter and Borussia Mönchengladbach – the combination turned out to be a misunderstanding. And so the Gladbachers had to look down the table rather than up the entire season. Hütter started with just one win from the first five games.
An exhilarating 5-0 win over FC Bayern Munich in the second round of the DFB-Pokal set an interim high, which was then wiped out by a 4-1 derby defeat in Cologne. Borussia won again in the league against Bayern (2:1), but also lost again against 1. FC Köln (1:3). The low points were probably the 0:6 against Borussia Dortmund and the equally high home defeat against Freiburg.
At the end of the season, Gladbach finished a disappointing tenth place with 12 wins, nine draws and 13 losses. Immediately after the last game, a 5-1 win against TSG Hoffenheim, Hütter announced his departure.
At the end of January, Borussia had to accept a heavy loss off the pitch. Sports director and maker Max Eberl announced his resignation due to mental exhaustion. Eberl was followed by Roland Virkus, who had previously headed the youth academy.
Who is coming, who is going
The most important change was at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the coaching position. Daniel Farke, former Norwich City coach, is the new man on the bench and will lead Gladbach back to Europe.
The Gladbach team kept the squad together for the most part. It was clear early on that national player Matthias Ginter would leave the club. Ginter has returned to SC Freiburg. Breel Embolo’s move to AS Monaco was a little more surprising. This transfer brought Borussia but at least twelve million euros.
Midfielder László Bénes now plays for Holstein Kiel, but was not a mainstay. The same goes for Keanan Bennetts (without a club) and Andreas Poulsen (Aalborg BK), who have also left the club.
Kou Itakura (right) during Borussia Mönchengladbach’s cup win at the start of the season.
The only newcomers so far are Ko Itakura and Oscar Fraulo. Itakura (25) officially comes from Manchester City, but played on loan for FC Schalke 04 last season and attracted attention in the second division. He could be Ginter’s replacement in central defence, but he was also used in defensive midfield at Schalke. In the 9-1 thrashing of the DFB Cup against Oberliga side SV Oberachern, he formed the central defender duo with Nico Elvedi.
Midfielder Fraulo comes from FC Midtjylland in Denmark, but at the age of 18 he should be seen more as a prospect. “Especially for our medium and long-term future, we are happy that we were able to sign him as a player,” says coach Farke.
The trainer
Lucien Favre almost returned to Borussia. But the desired solution ultimately canceled the Gladbachers. Now the name of the new coach is Daniel Farke.
The 45-year-old native of East Westphalia (Büren-Steinhausen) landed at Norwich City in England via Borussia Dortmund II (2015 to 2017) and attracted attention there. He led the club into the Premier League twice as an underdog. After the first ascent, however, there was an immediate descent. After the second ascent, Farke was surprisingly released in November 2021 – Norwich went straight back down anyway.
Before his engagement in Gladbach, Farke was under contract with the Russian first division club FK Krasnodar for almost two months, but released it again after the start of the Russian war of aggression. Farke did not supervise a game in Russia.
In Mönchengladbach, Farke should now do nothing more than revive the successful football of the 1970s. Away from the wild pressing style, back to fine football.
“Borussia Mönchengladbach traditionally stands for a lot of ball possession, combination play, dominance, wants to be the protagonist and decide in which direction the game goes. The club stands for joy in playing,” says Farke. “My beliefs are very well reflected there. And that’s why we all have the feeling that it fits very well between us. And then we have to show that on the pitch.”
For Farke, Borussia is the first stop at the top level in German football. “I then had five very intense years in England, now I have to adapt,” said Farke. His contract runs until 2025, probably without an exit clause. After the quarrels about Rose and Hütter, Borussia is now also trying in Konstanz on the coaching bench.
expectations for the season
Ex-manager Eberl had already held back on seasonal goals last season and only expressed the “wish” to be able to fight for Europe until the end of the season. The fact that it was more like staying in the league than Europe is probably the main reason for similarly cautious voices before the new season: “If after the season you have the feeling that you’ve gotten the absolute maximum, I wouldn’t attach it to table positions,” replied Farke when asked by a fan about a perfect season.
Even midfielder Christoph Kramer, who as a TV expert is rarely at a loss for words, is “not a friend of formulating goals”. He also justifies this with last season, where a lot was planned but little achieved: “Well, it’s no use setting a goal. Of course we’re ambitious and ambitious. You just have to approach every game in such a way that you win it can,” says Kramer.
