Gladbach finished the 2013/14 season sandwiched between fifth placed Wolfsburg and seventh place Mainz with a grand total of fifty five points. They went into the second half of the season in third place but a sticky patch in form, a patch that saw them not win in seven games ultimately lead to their sixth placing.
It was a season of farewells for some of Borussia's much loved talent. Marc Andre Ter Stegen called the curtain on his 18 year stay at his boyhood club in favour of a move to Barcelona. A move in which Borussia picked up a tidy double figure fee believed to be in the €12 million region. Another fan favourite in Venezuelan midfielder Juan Arango left the club for Tijuana in the Mexican top flight on a costless. The ageing midfielder at the opposite end of his career from the aforementioned Ter Stegen will be fondly remembered by fans for his long shot taking and his costless kick expertise.
Ter Stegen says goodbye to fans at his final home game:
Ahead of the new season Luuk De Jong, Lukas Rupp and Elias Kachunga all left the club permanently for pastures new while Peniel Mlapa left the club on a year long loan to relegated side FC Nürnberg.
At the time of publishing Borussia have five new recruits all across the field. Andre Hahn was first confirmed a few months ago with the club announcing via twitter they had met his release clause of €2.75 million. Which to those of you who look the league religiously will know is a steal. Arguably you could say the same about the signing of Fabian Johnson who signed for FREE! Yes, for costless you read it right. After an impressive World Cup Barcelona were said to be looking at him but it was too late as Johnson like Hahn had agreed to sign for die Fohlen months ago. Ibrahima Traore also walks into the club on a costless from VfB Suttgart. The Big money signing of the summer so far is Yann Sommer who is believed to have came in for roughly €8 million.
Sommer had the following to say to the clubs website upon his arrival: "My first impressions are very good. After a three-week break I was happy to train with goalkeeper coach Uwe Kamps for the first time. It was a good introduction and we also chatted a lot, which is very important. All in all I feel very good. I hope and I think the lads will make it as easy as possible for me to settle in quickly and integrate in the squad."
Gladbach have made one loan signing in highly sought after Chelsea man, Thorgan Hazard, brother of Eden.
It's unlikely Borussia's spending is over for the summer with some departments needing strengthening. With Max Kruse as the only established first team striker, the club will likely look to add to that area. The side may also look to strengthen in the heart of defence. The ageing duo of Martin Stranzl and Roel Brouwers won't be around forever and this season may even be their last. Gladbach have been linked with moves for FC Basel defender Fabian Schär and FC Lorient striker Vincent Aboubakar in recent weeks.
Pre-season:
Borussia's pre-season began with fixtures against some smaller reputation local sides before they moved on to fixtures against relatively bigger sides in 1860 Munich, Rennes and Stoke City. Borussia were victors on 2 of 3 occasions against 1860 Munich and Rennes respectively before drawing with Stoke City.
They were also 1 of 4 participating sides in the 2014 addition of the Telekom cup alongside, holders Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Wolfsburg.
Borussia were drawn against Bayern in the semi-final and gave a good account of themselves drawing 2-2 after the regulated sixty minutes was up ( the structure of the games is significantly different to that of a usual game with two thirty minute halves instead of two forty-fives.) before losing on penalties. In the 3rd place playoff they met Hamburg and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Slomka's men.
Gladbach still have a friendly against FC Twente before kicking of their Bundesliga campaign at home to Stuttgart who are generally a bit of a bogey team for Borussia. The second Matchday sees Gladbach travel to Freiburg where they were battered last season before playing two back-to-back derby games on Matchday 3 and 4 against Schalke and Bundesliga new-boys FC Koln respectively. They end the season at home to last season's surprise story FC Augsburg at home on May 23rd.
European Qualification:
Gladbach find themselves in the Europa League play off round after their sixth place and could play sides ranging from Tottenham Hotspurs to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu. Gladbach have a history in the Europa League ( formerly the UEFA cup in which period they had their success. ) with two wins and two second places to their name.
Gladbach's last honour came in the 2007-08 season when they were crowned 2. Bundesliga champions. Their last cup triumph came in the 94/95 season when they won the DFB Pokal.
The manager:
Current coach Lucien Favre took over the side in the January of 2011 and narrowly steered the side away from relegation through the playoffs before going on to record a 4th place finish the following term. The 2012/13 season's eight place finish can almost exclusively be out down to the side losing star men like Marco Reus, Dante and Roman Neüstadter.
The stadium:
Borussia Park holds 54,057 people including space for 16,145 standing fans. The Bundesliga is well known for its loud grounds and Borussia Park is no different as thousands of fans cram into the "Nord Kurve" ( North Curve ) to sing, shout and bounce about. The stadium recently celebrated it's tenth anniversary having replaced the Bökelberg stadium in July 2004 ending Borussia's eighty-five year stay there.
Likely starting XI:
Key players:
In goals it's obvious Yann Sommer will be key. He is experienced in Europe having made 12 appearances last term across the Champions and Europa league. He has a strong claim rate of near enough 100% on average and kept 6 clean sheets in the 12 games. In his last 50 games he has kept a clean sheet on 20 occasions.
In Defence, new boy Fabian Johnson and the versatile Tony Jantschke will play a key role. Johnson can play on either side of the defence and has pace and energy to burn. Johnson created 9 more chances than Oscar Wendt last year who had the highest total for a defender with 13. Johnson's 22 chances created would have seen him place 5th overall for chances created at Borussia.
Jantschke can play anywhere in the defence and his versatility will be key in the event of an injury to either a full back or centre back depending on where he is playing at the time. Last season on average he made 10 defensive actions per game only Martin Stranzl made more.
Going back into the midfield Christoph Kramer will be the anchor to the midfield. The much-loved midfielder has an endless tank of energy and chases the ball from the first to last whistle. Kramer completed an impressive 90% of his attempted passes last season and Borussia fans, including myself will be hoping he can have a similar season to last, especially after returning from the World Cup as a winner.
Raffael and Max Kruse will be Borussia's most important forwards for the season ahead. Last season Raffael was Borussia's top scorer with 15 goals, three more than partner in crime Max Kruse managed. Kruse however did grab two more assists than Raffael with 9 to his name.
Prediction:
Bundesliga: 5th place
DFB Pokal: Quarter final
Europa League: Quarter final