Borussia Möchengladbach was formed in 1900 and is a club situated in Germany, North-Rhine Westphalia. They are a very well buoyed club that has many times been compared to Liverpool Football Club for their unique way of supporting a football team. Borussia Mönchengladbach plays at Borussia-Park and has done since 2004 after moving from their famous Bökelbergstadion. Their ground holds just over 54,000 supporters and is famous for it’s ‘Nordkurve’ (North Stand) due to its similarities with Liverpool Football Club’s ‘Kop’. The club has just over 38,000 club members and this makes them one of the largest clubs in Germany.
‘Die Fohlen’(The Foals) won their first ever crown in 1960 when they won the DFB Pokal after beating their foes, 1. FC Köln, 2-1. Mönchengladbach did not win anything else for another ten years when they reached their ‘Golden Generation’ in the years between 1970 and 1980. This Mönchengladbach era saw players such as; Berti Vogts, Günter Netzer, Herbert Wimmer and Jupp Heynckes play for them. This era built a huge rivalry with Bayern München and going head to head with players like; Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Müller and Maier, was a huge task.
They acquired their first ever Bundesliga trophy in 1970 and went on to successfully defend their trophy a year later making them the first team to do so in the short Bundesliga history. Bayern München stated their dominance however, winning it three years in a row that only allowed Borussia Mönchengladbach to gain their second DFB Pokal in 1973. In that same year, Mönchengladbach reached the UEFA Cup final only losing out 3-2 over two legs to Liverpool.
However, when they reached 1975, this is where ‘Die Fohlen’ proved their dominance with players like Jupp Heynckes demonstrating his predator instincts scoring 29 goals that year. They won the Bundesliga and managed to mirror Bayern München’s record winning it three years on the trot. They reached the UEFA Cup Final beating Dutch side FC Twente 5-1 over two legs with Jupp Heynckes scoring a hat trick in the away tie. In 1977, Mönchengladbach reached the European Cup Final at the Stadio Olympico in Rome, but went onto lose yet again to Liverpool 3-1 in a major European final.
Reaching the promise land again in 1979 beating Red Star Belgrade 2-1 over two legs in the UEFA Cup Final, with the only Danish player in the team, Allen Simonsen scoring the winner. It seemed that Borussia Mönchengladbach were back as they again reached the UEFA Cup Final again for an all-German affair. They lost the match on away goals that seemed to really hurt the Borussia Mönchengladbach fans and players. Since this final, Mönchengladbach has only managed to add the DFB Pokal in 1995 and has struggled to maintain a consistency in the Bundesliga, yo-yoing between the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.
Borussia Mönchengladbach have had major players wear their famous shirt over recent years but this has all ended in them selling them to clubs with a much higher status. Most notably Marco Reus to Borussia Dortmund and Dante to Bayern München. Since their ‘Golden Generation’ Mönchengladbach has majorly stepped back whereas Bayern München kicked on getting stronger and stronger as an empire. Questions have been asked why this was the case but nobody could really put together an explanation for them not getting stronger like Bayern.
Recently though, Mönchengladbach has managed to get some type of consistency after near missing relegation in 2011 after a post-season playoff. After that season they have been a very strong side in the German Bundesliga when finishing fourth last season gaining entry into the UEFA Champions League but were beaten over two legs by Dynamo Kiev in the qualifying round. They were then entered into the UEFA Europa League but were beaten in the knock out stages by Lazio.
Borussia Mönchengladbach currently sit in third place on with 33 points and hold a strong position to gain a UEFA Champions League spot. Their supporters will certainly expect them to gain some type of European football, with manager Lucien Favre wanting the same. They have played seventeen games scored 35 goals and conceded 19 goals with plus 16-goal difference. A player that has been very influential so far this campaign is Max Kruse who has scored eight goals. He has created 42 chances and gained eight assists for his team mates. Another player for Mönchengladbach has been Raffael who has scored nine goals and gained four assists. These two players have been one of the main reasons why Mönchengladbach have been playing so well.
As mentioned earlier, the Borussia Mönchengladbach supporters have been compared to the Liverpool fans of England for their unique style of supporting the team. Since the 1970s, Mönchengladbach has built a strong relationship with Liverpool as they had a strong rivalry throughout their prestigious years. This relationship has developed every single year as many Liverpool and Mönchengladbach supporters travelling between the two cities to see each other play. After the Hillsborough disaster, Borussia Mönchengladbach donated a large amount of money into the Hillsborough fund. They were also the opposition for Emlyn Hughes’ testimonial game and now to this day many Borussia Mönchengladbach fans wear Liverpool shirts on their famous ‘Nordkurve’.
This is a club that has much tradition that arguably should be at the top perplexing Bayern München as they did throughout the 1970s. They have a great chance to enter the UEFA Champions League again this season but they will have to impose some strong performances if that is to happen.