Mark Uth was the homegrown hero on the pitch in the rout of Gladbach but the fans are eating out of the manager’s hands An outpouring of emotion at FC Köln is always taken with a pinch of salt by the rest of German football. It’s boom or bust, on top of the world or on hands and knees on the floor. This was the former, with local boy and goalscorer Mark Uth telling Sky at full time he’d be lobbying Steffen Baumgart for “two days off and a beer,” a request that was swiftly validated. “If he’s asking for it,” said Baumgart, “he’ll definitely get it.” Yet even in the glow of derby day victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach this...
Marco Rose returned to Borussia Mönchengladbach with Dortmund on Saturday but it was his replacement at Borussia-Park who was victoriousThe biggest reaction in Borussia-Park arrived at exactly the moment it was expected. As Marco Rose came out to take his place on the bench – arriving fashionably late, no doubt – there was no sneaking into position without Borussia Mönchengladbach’s fans giving him a hot reception. The faithful of the Nordkurve, at least, had certainly not forgotten the slow and painful end to last season after Rose’s impending departure for Borussia Dortmund was announced, the day after Valentine’s Day.The bad news for the returning coach was that wasn’t the noisiest the 25,000 gathered on Saturday night got. After a far-from-impeccable...
The mesmerising dominance of Pep Guardiola’s side made a talented team look like a bunch of choreographed patsiesThe critical passage of this game, you felt, arrived around an hour in, when Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1-0 down and having just enjoyed a rare shot on goal – threw on two attacking players in attempt to wrestle back control. On came Marcus Thuram and Valentino Lazaro, jogging onto the pitch with vim and purpose, pointing in various directions for no reason, in the way that substitutes often do.At which point, with Ederson in possession, Manchester City simply walked the ball up the pitch and scored. Ten passes in total, broken only by a desperate sliding clearance from midfielder Florian Neuhaus by his...
The serial Bundesliga champions were two goals up and strolling before they were taken apart by Marco Rose’s team Few would have blamed Marco Rose for being self-congratulatory or even a bit smug. That is not really the Borussia Mönchengladbach coach’s style, so he went for plainly, patiently and concisely explaining his tactical plan that worked to perfection for the benefit of viewers after the match. A plan, by the way, that worked on not just any opponents, but on Bayern Munich.Any time Bayern stumble it’s a shock, and particularly so in the thus far imperious Hansi Flick era. There are, however, degrees of shocks and if any team was going to not just wrestle the champions to the floor,...
More than 40 years since Borussia Mönchengladbach were champions, rising hopes for them are a boost for the BundesligaThis, the more gnarled of Bundesliga followers would tell you, is the real Klassiker. Years of mere intermittent threats to Bayern Munich’s dominance have made Borussia Dortmund, Germany’s most visible other club and the champions’ most frequent irritants, the default opposition for a showpiece. More than 40 years have passed since Borussia Mönchengladbach were champions for a fifth and as yet final time, an era in which the mantle of top dogs was a real back-and-forth. In the 1970s, Gladbach’s first two titles and last three were split by a Bayern run of three in succession.It may be way too early to...