After a superb transfer window many expected Gladbach to be challenging for the Champions League but thanks partly to Borussia Dortmund’s well-documented struggles they have exceeded expectations. The challenge now seems to be to attempt to finish 2nd behind Bayern Munich.
It all began with a summer of high player turnover as the club welcomed in 7 players before getting 7 players off their books. The most high profile departure was goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen who left for FC Barcelona and Yann Sommer, the Swiss No. 1, was brought in to replace him. Other departures included Luuk de Jong who flopped at Gladbach and was sent on loan to Newcastle United for 6 months before being sold this summer to PSV Eindhoven. Youngster Peniel Mlapa was sent out on loan to FC Nürnberg for the season whilst Amin Younes was sent out on loan to FC Kaiserslautern.
The arguably did the best business of any Bundesliga side in terms of incoming players. As mentioned earlier Yann Sommer was brought in from FC Basel to replace the out going ter Stegen but arguably the best Bundesliga deal of the window was the capture of André Hahn from FC Augsburg for only £1.98 million. Hahn was the revelation of last season and to capture his signature for such a low price showed the skill of the Gladbach board. This season he has added skill and drive to the wing as well as his goals. Another coup for the side was the signing of 1899 Hoffenheim’s Fabian Johnson on a costless transfer after he had a superb World Cup.
Johnson was the surprise player of the World Cup and there was even talk of Barcelona enquiring about the player after the World Cup, however this season he hasn’t been a regular starter. Ibrahima Traoré was also brought in on a Bosman from VfB Stuttgart whilst promising youngster Thorgan Hazard, younger brother of Eden, was brought in for a season-long loan from Chelsea.
It appeared that the high turnover of players had an effect of the team’s start to the season. Their finish of 6th last season meant that they qualified for the Europa League qualification stages. They travelled to FK Sarajevo as strong favourites and scored 3 goals in the Bosnian capital but a poor defensive performance meant they conceded 2 goals and escaped with a narrow advantage for the 2nd leg. They began their league campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Stuttgart, the now perennial strugglers of the Bundesliga as they only just escaped relegation last year and at the end of the Hinrunde sit in 15th position
Die Föhlen then hosted FK Sarajevo for the 2nd leg of their Europa League tie and this time they made no mistake; Branimir Hrgota grabbed 3 as they ruthlessly dealt with the away side winning 7-0. A disappointing 0-0 draw away to SC Freiburg followed but then they produced one of their performances of the season against FC Schalke. Against their fellow Champions League hopefuls the Gladbach attack was utterly ruthless. You will struggle to see a better attacking performance in the Bundesliga this season. New signing Hahn produced a ‘Man of the Match’ performance and scored twice as they went on to win 4-1.
Thanks to their Europa League win against Sarajevo Gladbach were drawn in Group A alongside Villarreal CF, FC Zurich and Apollon Limassol. They’re first game was at home to Villarreal and ended in a 1-1 draw. Another draw and two wins followed in the Bundesliga as Gladbach stretched their unbeaten start to the season to 10 games including cup competitions. They produced a disappointing display away to Zurich in Europe and could only manage a 1-1 draw in a game where coach Lucien Favre and Raffael faced their old side. An impressive 3-0 win away to Hannover followed, ending the Lower Saxony side’s unbeaten run before demolishing Apollon 5-0.
Then came the big one, a league match at home to Bayern Munich. Thanks to a superb performance from Favre’s side they came the closest of anyone to beating Pep Guardiola’s side in the league so far this season. In the end the points were shared in a 0-0 draw as keepers for both sides rightfully earned praise. Gladbach did suffer an injury blow in the game with midfield general Granit Xhaka being ruled out for at least the rest of 2014 with an ankle injury, possibly even longer.
A couple of match days later they came up against Hoffenheim at home, both sides were still unbeaten in the league, and finished the game as comfortable 3-1 winners with an impressive display of control throughout. Another win against Apollon, 2-0 away, followed before Die Föhlen’s form took a downturn. Before their first loss of the season they were in 3rd position but by the next time they won a game they had fallen down to 6th in the table.
Their first defeat came against Borussia Dortmund, who had lost their previous 5 Bundesliga games. It was a close game to call and was decided by one of the most bizarre own goals you are ever likely to see with Gladbach’s Christoph Kramer scoring into his on net from 50 yards away (see video below). A frustrating home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt was followed by a narrow defeat to European qualification rivals VfL Wolfsburg.
Favre’s charges managed to get themselves back to winning ways in the next round of fixtures at home to Hertha Berlin. A 3-2 victory was secured with Raffael featuring against another of his former clubs as Gladbach held off a late surge following a Salomon Kalou penalty for the capital side.
The final round of the Europa League group stage saw Gladbach host FC Zurich knowing a win would secure top spot in the group. Zurich were dispatched with relative ease as Gladbach strolled to a 3-0 win with Branimir Hrgota grabbing 2. Even though getting top spot is meant give you an easier game in the next round it wasn’t the case for Die Föhlen as they drew Spanish side Sevilla CF, who of course are last year’s Europa League Champions and are doing well domestically this season.
They had 3 Bundesliga games to round off the Hinrunde, Bayer Leverkusen and Augsburg away with Werder Bremen at home sandwiched in between the two. The game against Leverkusen turned out to be an enthralling 1-1 draw as Roel Brouwers earned a point for Gladbach after a trademark Çalhanoglu wonder goal (see video below). Bremen were dismissed with a 4-1 win before Die Föhlen’s Hinrunde ended on a low with the defeat to high-flying Augsburg.
Whilst Augsburg were in superb form and it was at the SGL Arena Gladbach will be disappointed that they could really stamp their authority as a true top of the league contender possibly would’ve. Off the field Gladbach suffered a blow recently when Kramer revealed that he would return to parent club Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season and has signed an extension until 2019. It was well known that Gladbach were interested in signing the player on a permanent basis as were many other European sides.
With the defeat to Augsburg Gladbach fell to 4th after Leverkusen overtook them, a slightly disappointing end to the year. However being on the verge of the top 3 whilst still being involved in Europe and the DFB Pokal is testament to the players and the staff. All in all then, it wasn't a bad Hinrunde for Favre's Foals.
