Even after the exploit, approval was far from unanimous. André Schubert’s rise at Borussia Mönchengladbach had been dizzying; from under-23 coach to reluctant first-team caretaker to permanent head coach. From bottom of the Bundesliga to the Champions League. He inherited a team that had lost its first five games of the 2015-16 Bundesliga season from Lucien Favre, perhaps the best coach in the division, but one that felt as if he had run out of solutions.
Schubert took that side and infused it with counterattacking zest. Gladbach won their first six league fixtures under the new man on their way to glorious recovery. Yet as they celebrated a return to the Champions League after the final home game of last season, a victory over Bayer Leverkusen (already assured of a top-three spot themselves), murmurs of dissent over Schubert’s long-term viability were reported by more than one observer.
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