Borussia Mönchengladbach was founded in 1900, with its name derived from a Latinised form ofPrussia, which was a popular name for German clubs in the formerKingdom of Prussia. The team joined the Bundesliga in 1965 and saw the majority of its success in the 1970s, where, under the guidance ofHennes Weisweiler and thenUdo Lattek, a young squad with a fast, aggressive playing style was formed.[7] During this period, Mönchengladbach won the Bundesliga five times, theUEFA Cup twice and reached aEuropean Cup final in1977.
Since 2004, Borussia Mönchengladbach have played atBorussia-Park, having previously played at theBökelbergstadion since 1919. Based on membership, they are the fifth-largest club in Germany with over 75,000 members in 2016[8] and 93,000 as of 2021.[9] The club's main rivals are1. FC Köln, against whom they contest the Rheinland Derby.[7] Their secondary rivals includeBorussia Dortmund,Fortuna Düsseldorf andBayer Leverkusen.
In November 1899, a group of discontented members left their sports association, TC Germania Gladbach (referred to as "Teutonia Gladbach" in some sources). On 17 November 1899, thirteen of these young men formed a new club, this time specifically focused on association football, in theZum Jägerhof pub. They chose the wordBorussia (Latin: "Prussia") as their association's new title, although this was not yet the club's official founding.Borussia was chosen because Mönchengladbach was located in the western provinces awarded to the Kingdom of Prussia as part of the 1815Congress of Vienna. Other notable football clubs in western Germany that chose the name "Prussia" as their title includeBorussia Dortmund in 1909 andSC Preußen Münster in 1906.[10]
Players of FC Borussia in 1900
Borussia's early years were faced with the problems typical for association football teams in theGerman Empire: the sport, only recently imported from theUK in the 1880s, was not yet institutionally accepted, and as a result there were logistical shortages of football fields, goals, changing rooms, and player equipment. Borussia's players initially had to finance their own gear for what was at the time a considerable financial expenditure for working-class people.[10]
Borussia was the second dedicated football club in the city of Mönchengladbach. FC Mönchengladbach, founded six years earlier in 1894, quickly became Borussia's first rival. Whereas FC Mönchengladbach was socially and financially established, young Borussia found it difficult to guarantee regular access to training grounds and equipment. As a result, the team joined theMarianische Jünglings-Kongregation Mönchengladbach Eicken (German: "Marian Youth Congregation Mönchengladbach Eicken"), a conservative Catholic sporting association. Within this larger organization, the footballers reformed into theFussball Club Borussia 1900 on 1 August 1900, marking the club's official founding date.[10]
From within the congregation, Borussia was able to more effectively organize official games against various opposing teams. The team scored 2–1 victories over both Blitz Neuwerk and Germania Mönchengladbach, and a 4–2 victory over Rheydt FC. As early as 1902, Borussia crossed international borders for the first time, losing 0–2 against Helmondia Helmond in theNetherlands, before playing the Dutch team to a 1–1 draw at home.[10]
The appeal of both association football in general and Borussia in particular caused tensions with the conservative ideology of the Youth Congregation; the practice of football players wearing shorts instead of long trousers and the reality of football practice on Sundays hindering Church attendance created tension between Borussia and the Youth Congregation Eicken, and Borussia ultimately left the congregation on 24 May 1903.[10]
To continue successful football competitions and to ease the organization of games, the club had applied to join theRheinisch-Westfälischer Spielverband (German: "Rhenish-Westphalian Sports Federation") on 16 February 1903, and was accepted on 23 February. Borussia continued playing local and regional opponents like Britannia Düsseldorf and BV Solingen. They also continued to travel to the nearby Netherlands, drawing Eindhoven VV 1–1. Borussia received a 0–11 defeat against Borussia Cologne in October 1903 in the away fixture; the loss was repeated 1–4 at home in the return game.[10]
Crest 1904–1919
In 1904, Borussia competed with several other local teams in the third class of the second district of the Rhenish-Westphalian Sports Federation. After Borussia's only competitor for the title, BV Solingen, skipped the 1905 fixture in Mönchengladbach, Borussia won the title without having to face their opponent. On 8 January 1905, Borussia additionally scored a respectable[according to whom?] 1–0 win over its city rival FC Mönchengladbach, albeit against the third team, confirming an earlier 6–1 win over FC Mönchengladbach on 26 December 1904. After having won the district cup, Borussia competed for the third class federation cup against, among others, teams from Essen and Cologne, ultimately losing the title to Kölner FC 99.[10]
After some decent[vague] athletic success in the year 1905 (18 games, 12 wins, 1 draw, 5 losses), Borussia nonetheless faced frustration,[according to whom?] as the playing grounds were judged[by whom?] insufficient for competition play. The team was subsequently excluded from major competitions until a more appropriate[according to whom?] locale could be found.[10]
Ultimately, Borussia acquired a patch of land onReyerhütterstraße in Mönchengladbach to enable organized play, at a time when the growing spread of football made it more and more of a hassle[tone] in terms of property damage and noise pollution.[vague] By achieving access to its own football grounds, Borussia thus evaded the growing number of police actions that were launched to call football enthusiasts to order. Regular play continued, after more than a year of absence, in the second class of the second district, against teams like FC Mönchengladbach II, FC Eintracht Mönchengladbach and various teams from Düsseldorf and Krefeld, among others. After a 2–0 against Rheydt and two victories over Düsseldorf teams (4–1 against Britannia Düsseldorf, 4–1 against Union Düsseldorf), the first home game was held inReyerhütterstraße against Preußen Krefeld. Borussia won the game with two goals difference.[11]
At the end of the competition, Borussia was district champion, with eight wins in eight games (although Borussia had lost a 0–2 game against FC Mönchengladbach II that was subsequently annulled when FC Mönchengladbach II was disqualified from the competition),[vague] with 25 goals scored and only 8 conceded. But Borussia was skipped[by whom?] for promotion regardless; the club was once again assigned to the second class (now calledB-Klasse) as a result of a league reform.[11]
In 1907, Borussia leftReyerhütterstraße, where a new factory was under construction, and reached a deal with Gladbacher Turnverein 1848 to cooperatively run a ground near theSchweizerhaus, a famous gastronomy in the vicinity of theKaiser-Friedrich-Halle [de]. Games at the new grounds go well,[according to whom?] with a 5–1 win over Borussia Köln, which had inflicted[tone] a painful[tone] 0–11 loss on Borussia in 1903, as well as a 5–3 against Rheydt. The season as a whole was mediocre for Borussia,[according to whom?] ending with five wins, four losses and a draw at 19 goals scored and 13 conceded in third place.[vague] Borussia qualified for a promotion tournament to determine the team to be promoted to A class, but lost 0–6 to Viktoria Mönchengladbach.[11]
The 1908–09 season was better[according to whom?] for Borussia. After a 0–2 loss at home against FC Eintracht Mönchengladbach, Borussia regained its footing,[tone] beating Viktoria Mönchengladbach 4–1 in an away game and drawing them 2–2 at home. On 13 January 1909, Borussia scored an overwhelming[tone] 13–1 victory over Spiel und Sport Essen. Losing no game but the opener against Eintracht, Gladbach easily[according to whom?] came first in the league, thus qualifying from Group South to face the promotion candidates from Group North,FC Cleve 06. After a resounding[tone] 5–1 win at home, the enthusiasm was dampened[tone] by a 3–4 setback in the away fixture. In the tiebreaker game, Borussia won 4–1, at last gaining promotion to the first division.[11]
Going into the 1909–10 season, Borussia exchanged its previous black and white colour scheme with blue and yellow vertical stripes. Gladbach started into the higher league with significant issues,[vague] bringing Rheydt SpV only to a 2–2 at home before struggling with a crushing[tone] defeat in the 0–9 away fixture. The team ended the season with five wins, five losses and two draws in fourth place, avoiding relegation. The club's tenth anniversary had seen a record 143 registered members, up from 32 in 1906 and 75 in 1908.[12]
In the 1910–11 season, the league grew from seven to ten teams, adding opponents like Germania Hilden, FC Krefeld and Eintracht Mönchengladbach, bringing the game plan for Borussia to 18 games, not counting numerous friendly matches that brought the total number of games played to over 30, placing a significant strain[according to whom?] on the amateur players. Aside from a noteworthy[according to whom?] 11–2 victory over rivals Rheydt SV, the season was another mediocre performance for Borussia.[according to whom?] The season forced Borussia to once again move the playing ground, after theSchweizerhaus grounds were deemed[by whom?] to dangerous[vague] in response to complaints by opposing teams. Borussia subsequently moved to grounds near the Catholic graveyard, and finished fourth in the league.[12] The new grounds were known asStadion am Rosengarten.[13]
The 1911–12 season was the first major success[according to whom?] in the club's history. Borussia easily dominated[according to whom?] the league with twelve wins, one draw and one loss, and thus earned qualification for promotion games towardsVerbandsliga as northern district champions as well as the West German championship. Borussia defeated VfJuB Düren, the southern district champions, in a 4–2 game, before achieving a 5–0 blowout[vague] againstVfB 1900 Gießen, theHessian champions. Ultimately, Borussia lost the finals for the West German championship against Cologne BC 01, the precursor of Borussia's greatest[according to whom?] all-time rival,1. FC Köln, at a 2–4 scoreline.[12]
In a step down from the previous season's outstanding[tone] performance,[according to whom?] Borussia proved to struggle in the 1912–13 season. While the team was not threatened by relegation at any point in the tournament, Borussia ended in the middle of the table without a serious claim towards the title,[according to whom?] and was no serious threat in the West German championship either.[according to whom?] Borussia ended the season in sixth place in the league, at eight wins, two draws and eight losses.[12]
In the last full season before theFirst World War, the German footballing structure was again reformed in the 1913–14 season. The system of two federation leagues (German:Verbandsliga) of twenty clubs each was replaced with a system of four district leagues (German:Kreisliga) of ten clubs each. This left Borussia in the Rhenish Northern District (German:Rheinischer Nordkreis) along with teams from Aachen and Düsseldorf, as well as other teams from Mönchengladbach. In the preparation for the season, Borussia performed miserably,[according to whom?] losing 1–3 to Viktoria Duisburg and 1–6 to Duisburg SV. Borussia, nonetheless, entered the season with a clear goal to earn the district championship.[according to whom?] The team fell well short[tone] of that target, coming third in the league at five wins, five draws and four losses. The highlight of the season[according to whom?] was a friendly match against an English professional team.Dulwich Hamlet, which Borussia's amateur footballers lost 2–5 (initially having led 2–1 by the 80th minute before conceding four goals in the last ten minutes).[13]
In March 1914, the club purchasedDe Kull, a decommissioned gravel pit and the grounds on which the laterBökelbergstadion would be built. TheFirst World War halted the progress of both the stadium and football in general, as many players volunteered or were drafted for military service. With rapidly changing player lineups, Borussia contested the war cup (German:Kriegspokal), beating Düren 7–0. In total, Borussia played 18 games in the 1914–15 season, in spite of the logistical difficulties caused by the war.[13]
In time for the 1915–16 season, it had become clear[to whom?] that the war, initially anticipated by all sides to conclude quickly, would last longer than expected. Regardless, Borussia was able to assemble a functional team for the season (reinforced regularly by players on vacation from frontline duty), and played games against Union Krefeld, Viktoria Rheydt, Konstantia Kaldenkirchen, VfB Krefeld, FC Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Mönchengladbach. After a shaky[tone] start, including a 1–4 friendly game loss to Borussia Düsseldorf, Borussia found its footing[tone] in the league, and briefly rivalled Krefeld for the first place in January 1916. Ultimately, Borussia finished second in the league. By mid-1916, Borussia was forced to cease regular play due to the lack of regularly available players. By 4 November 1916, even the provisional club leadership had to cease operations, as too many of its members were called up for military service.[13]
Borussia suffered several losses due to war casualties: The club's chairman since 1912, Heinz Körstgens, was killed in action in 1915, as was Stephan Ditgens, Borussia player and uncle of Borussia's first ever Germany national team player,Heinz Ditgens.[13]
In the immediate aftermath of the military armistice of 11 November 1918, football clubs all over Germany began to gradually resume operations. Members of Borussia had informal meetings about the resumption of play even during the last months of the war, as early as mid-1918. The first recorded game of this phase was a 5–0 over Rheydt SV on 15 August 1918, followed by the turnaround in the form of a 2–7 thrashing[tone] at the hands of[tone] Rheydt SV in the return fixture a week later. The aftermath of the war interrupted the blossoming[tone] football of 1918–19, as only seven of Borussia's 14 planned games were held due to the occupation of the region by theBelgian Armed Forces.[14]
The decades-long struggle[tone] to find a usable locale to play continued, asDe Kull was not yet ready to be used. By early 1919, the team returned toSchweizerhaus as a temporary measure. On 15 March 1919, FC Borussia merged with another local club, Turnverein Germania 1889, becoming 1889 VfTuR M.Gladbach. The club achieved its first major success in 1920, defeating Kölner BC 3–1 to win the 1920–1921 West German championship final.[14]
The union between Germania and Borussia only lasted a matter of two years; the club was thereafter known asBorussia VfL 1900 e.V. M.Gladbach.[15]
Following the rise of theNazi Party to power in 1933, the German league system was reformed to consist of 16 Gauligen – Gladbach found themselves playing first in theGauliga Niederrhein, and later in variousBezirksklassen (district leagues). Also while under the Third Reich, Mönchengladbach's first ever international player was capped;Heinz Ditgens playing in a 9–0 win overLuxembourg forGermany in the1936 Olympic Games.
Historical chart of Borussia Mönchengladbach league performance
Eventually, Mönchengladbach resumed play in June 1946, gaining successive promotions to the Landesliga Niederrhein (the regional second tier) in 1949 and the top flight, the Oberliga West, in 1950. Following many years of promotions and relegations, Borussia won their firstOberliga title in the 1958–59 season.
In August 1960, Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated1. FC Köln in the West German Cup. Weeks later, the club won theDFB-Pokal, a first national honour, after defeatingKarlsruher SC 3–2 in the final. Borussia therefore qualified for theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup in1960–61, where they were defeated 11–0 on aggregate by the Scottish club,Rangers. Rangers won 3–0 in Germany and 8–0 in Glasgow.
The following year, the club took on the now-familiar nameBorussia VfL Mönchengladbach after the city of München-Gladbach became Mönchengladbach.
The 1961–62 season in the Oberliga ended again with Borussia in 13th place in the table. In 1962–63, the club hoped in vain[tone] to join the circle of[vague] DFB clubs which would start the following year in the newly founded Bundesliga.Helmut Beyer, who remained in office for 30 years, took over the responsibility of president that season andHelmut Grashoff took over as second chairman. In July 1962, Borussia signedFritz Langner, who had won the West German championship in 1959 withWestfalia Herne, as their new coach. To Langner's chagrin,[according to whom?] the new leadership soldAlbert Brüllsfor a record fee of 250,000 DM toFC Modena in Italy in order to rehabilitate the club financially. Helmut Grashoff, who collected the fee in Italian lira in cash in a suitcase, later said he had feared, after the money transfer, "being thought a bank robber".[16] The proceeds from the transfer enabled Langner to rebuild the squad with the signing of players likeHeinz Lowin,Heinz Crawatzo andSiegfried Burkhardt. That year, the A-Youth team won the West German championship with a squad that included future professional footballers,Jupp Heynckes andHerbert Laumen.
Further honours would have to wait a decade. Borussia's results in the ten years leading up to the formation of theBundesliga in1963 were not strong enough to earn them admission into the ranks of the nation's new top flight professional league, and so the club played in the second tier, theRegionalliga West.
In the next season, 1964–65, the club signed the youngsters,[tone] Jupp Heynckes andBernd Rupp, and some of the youth team joined the professional squad. Their average age of 21.5 years was the lowest of all regional league teams.[17] They earned the nickname "foals" due to their low average age as well as their carefree and successful play. Reporter Wilhelm August Hurtmanns coined the nickname in his articles in theRheinische Post. He was taken with the style of Borussia and wrote that they would play like young foals.[17] By April 1965, the team had won the Regionalliga West and thus secured the participation in the Bundesliga promotion round in Group 1. This saw the team play against the competitors of Wormatia Worms (Second in the Regionalliga Südwest), SSV Reutlingen (Second in the Regionalliga Süd) and Holstein Kiel (Champions in the Regionalliga Nord) in first and second matches. Of the six games Borussia won three (5–1 in Worms, 1–0 against Kiel and 7–0 against Reutlingen).[18] The achievement of the first place made promotion to the Bundesliga safe. Together with Borussia Bayern Munich rose by winning Group 2.
Mönchengladbach enjoyed[tone] its first taste[tone] of the Bundesliga in the1965–66 season, earning promotion alongside future powerhouse[tone]Bayern Munich. The two clubs went on to engage in a fierce struggle,[according to whom?] as they challenged each other for domestic supremacy throughout the 1970s. Bayern took first blood[tone] in the struggle for supremacy[tone] between the two: winning the Bundesliga championship in1969. Mönchengladbach struck back[tone] immediately in the next season with a championship of their own and followed up with a second title in1971, becoming the first Bundesliga club ever to successfully defend their title.
1965–1969: Early years in Bundesliga and struggles
The commitment of Weisweiler as coach pointed the way for the sporting success of the club in the Bundesliga. The economic situation of the club did not allow to finance a team of stars. Weisweiler corresponded to the needs of the association with his attitude to promote the education and development of young talents.[19] He pressed Players not in a fixed game system,[vague] but promoted individualism and gave them considerable freedom on the field. This resulted in a carefree and offensive style of playing, the hallmark ofFohlenelf.
The club signed withBerti Vogts andHeinz Wittmann, both players whose names should be closely linked to the sporting successes of Borussia.
The first Bundesliga match in the 1965–66 season took place away againstBorussia Neunkirchen and ended 1–1, the first Bundesliga goal scorer wasGerhard Elfert. The first home game againstSC Tasmania 1900 Berlin Borussia won 5–0. Weisweiler knew how to give the team tactical freedom and to promote the individual enthusiasm of the players. These freedoms cost the still immature team in the first Bundesliga season with a number of sometimes high defeats. The Borussia finished the first season in the Bundesliga on the 13th place in the table.
In the following season 1966–67 showed the scoring power of the Mönchengladbacher team, which scored 70 goals. The strikerHerbert Laumen scored 18,Bernd Rupp 16 andJupp Heynckes scored 14 goals. Due to the good goal difference, the team was able to complete the season on the eighth place in the table. With an 11–0 home win overFC Schalke 04 on Matchday 18, the team celebrated the first highest ever victory in Bundesliga history.[vague][20]
The successes had the side effect that the salaries of the players jumped up and thus good players were not easy to hold onto.Jupp Heynckes moved for the former record transfer fee of 275,000 DM toHannover 96,Bernd Rupp moved toSV Werder Bremen, andEintracht Braunschweig signedGerhard Elfert. The club boughtPeter Meyer andPeter Dietrich and thus compensated for the departure of seasoned players. With a 10–0 win on the twelfth match-day of the season 1967–68 overBorussia Neunkirchen, the team showed again their scoring power. The team reached in this and the next season third place in the table. The club signed in the season 1968–69 their future coachHorst Köppel, who had already had first experiences in the national team, and from hitherto unknown amateurVfL Schwerte the then long-time goalkeeperWolfgang Kleff andHartwig Bleidick,Gerd Zimmermann andWinfried Schäfer, who played ten seasons at Borussia.
1970–1980: Golden decade; dominance in the league and successes in Europe
The 1970s went down as the most successful in the club's history.[21]
Club crest 1970–1999
Under coachHennes Weisweiler, the young side displayed an offensive-minded philosophy and powerful play that attracted fans from all over Germany.[according to whom?]Borussia won the championship five times, more than any other team in this time. At the same time a rivalry developed with FC Bayern Munich, with which Borussia together ascended in 1965 to the Bundesliga.
After the club had twice finished third in previous years,Hennes Weisweiler in the 1969–70 season coached especially the defence. Deviating from the "foal" concept, Borussia bought for the first time experienced defensive players likeLuggi Müller andKlaus-Dieter Sieloff. WithUlrik le Fevre the club signed their first Danish player, later followed byHenning Jensen andAllan Simonsen. This season saw the first Bundesliga victory over Bayern. After a 5–1 win overAlemannia Aachen on 31 October 1969, Borussia topped the Bundesliga for the first time. Today (as of December 2018) Borussia takes third place in the list of league leaders in the Bundesliga behind Bayern and Dortmund.
On 30 April 1970, with a home win againstHamburger SV in the 33rd Round of the season, Borussia were named as champions.
On 16 September 1970, Herbert Laumen scored the first goal for Borussia in European club football in the 6–0 win againstEPA Larnaca.[22] The first round of the following season 1970–71 saw only one defeat for the club.[citation needed] In the history of the Bundesliga unique is an incident in the home game of the 27th matchday againstWerder Bremen, known as thepost break from Bökelberg. In the game on 3 April 1971, after a penalty area scene in the 88th minute, the striker Herbert Laumen overturned the left goal post after a head clash with the Bremen goalkeeperGünter Bernardinto. After unsuccessful attempts of repair, as no replacement goal could be set up, the referee stopped the game at the score of 1–1. The DFB sports court in Frankfurt rated the game as a 2–0 win for Bremen. As a consequence, the DFB obliged the clubs to provide a replacement for both goals. The championship was decided only on the last match day as a head-to-head race with Bayern Munich. Nine weeks after the post-break game, on 5 June 1971, Borussia were the first side in the history of the Bundesliga to defend their championship title, with a victory atEintracht Frankfurt.
Berti Vogts with the UEFA Cup, 1975Monument to the trio of foals – Herbert Wimmer, Berti Vogts and Günter Netzer (from left to right), situated in the pedestrian area of Mönchengladbach-EickenGame scene from the final of the UEFA Cup 1975, withFC TwenteBerti Vogts in a running duel withJohan Cruyff in theWorld Cup final of 1974
On 20 October 1971, in theEuropean Cup, the champions took part in acan-throwing game in football history match againstInter Milan instead.[vague] Borussia won the match at Bökelbergstadion 7–1, butUEFA cancelled the game, as the Italian strikerRoberto Boninsegna was hit by an empty coke can and received medical treatment.[vague][23] Coaching legendMatt Busby described the game of the colts:[24]
Nobody in the world would have won against this team today. That was football in the highest perfection.
After a 4–2 away defeat inMilan and a goalless draw in the replay at theBerlin Olympic Stadium, Borussia were eliminated from the Cup of the national champions.
Die Fohlen won 2-1 against1. FC Köln in the Rheinland derby by a goal byGünter Netzer in1973 to win their secondDFB-Pokal. For Netzer this was the last game for Borussia: he left the club and moved toReal Madrid.[25]
In addition to the game-winning scene in the 93rd minute from Netzer, there were numerous other highlights in the 30th cup final in history,that of the one best, playful highly interesting and exciting in the history of this competition in the annals entered and of which one could swarm only in highest tones ( Kicker ).[26]
The first international final match took place on 9 May 1973.Liverpool won theUEFA Cup first-leg 3–0 on the second try after the game was cancelled the day before due to rain. On 23 May 1973, Borussia Mönchengladbach won the second-leg 2–0, but Liverpool won the cup by aggregate victory.[27]
The following seasons were marked by the departure of well-known players, although the main Mönchengladbach striker remained. In the 1973–74 season, Jupp Heynckes's 30 goals made him the top-scorer in the Bundesliga, the first Borussia Monchengladbach player to be so.[citation needed] In that first season following the departure of Günter Netzer, Borussia finished as runner-up to champions Bayern Munich by one point.[citation needed] With a total of 93 goals scored Borussia set a new club record.[citation needed] Borussia graduated in the following years 1972 to 1974, the championship in third and fifth place and vice-champion.
In the 1974–75 season, Borussia laid the foundation for a feat previously unheard of in the Bundesliga. On Matchday 17, the "foals" topped the league table and did not relinquish the league lead until winning the championship on 14 June 1975. The joy over the title was clouded by the departure of coachHennes Weisweiler, who left the club after eleven years in the direction ofBarcelona.[28] The next international final with Mönchengladbach participation took place on 7 May 1975. The first leg of the UEFA Cup in Düsseldorf between Borussia andTwente ended goalless. The second leg on 21 May 1975 was won by the VfL 5: 1. With the highest away win in a UEFA Cup final, Borussia won their first international title.[29]
Udo Lattek, who came from the rivalBayern Munich, although he had already signed withRot-Weiss Essen, took over the club in the 1975–76 season.[citation needed] In contrast to the departed Weisweiler, Lattek represented a rather safety-first philosophy.[according to whom?] The team topped the Championship on the twelfth round of the season, with a victory overWerder Bremen andEintracht Braunschweig, and retained that lead to the end of the season.
On 3 March 1976, onAsh Wednesday, was the next international appearance of Borussia. In theEuropean Champions Cup, Borussia Mönchengladbach played against Real Madrid, where nowGünter Netzer andPaul Breitner were under contract, 2:2. In the second leg (17 March 1976), which ended 1–1, the refereeLeonardus van der Kroft did not recognise two Mönchengladbach goals, in the 68th minute a goal byHenning Jensen and in the 83rd minute byHans-Jürgen Wittkamp. Once a foul must have preceded the goal, once the referee decided on offside, although it had been not indicated by the linesman. The draw was enough for the Madrilenians to progress.[30]
The team won three consecutive titles from1975 to1977.[citation needed] On 12 June 1976, Mönchengladbach won a fourth league title.
In the 1976–77 season, Lattek went with an almost unchanged team at the start.[citation needed] AsWolfgang Kleff was injured, the club signed a new goalkeeper.[citation needed] InWolfgang Kneib, who came fromSV Wiesbaden, Lattek found a safe substitute.[according to whom?] Borussia needed one point to defend the title on the final day.[citation needed] The match took place away against Bayern Munich, then sixth in the table, and ended 2:2 by an own goal in the 90th minute byHans-Jürgen Wittkamp. Borussia made the hat-trick and won on 21 May 1977 for the third consecutive time and for the fifth time overall the German championship title. The DaneAllan Simonsen received after this season the award as Europe's Footballer of the Year with theBallon d'Or.
The team narrowly missed a fourth consecutive championship title in season 1977–78: Monchengladbach lost out to 1. FC Köln only by a worse goal difference.[citation needed]Borussia won against Borussia Dortmund 12–0 on the final day of the season, still the highest victory in the history of the Bundesliga.[citation needed] However, the Domstädter won their last game 5:0 at FC St. Pauli: they had a better goal difference by three goals and so won the championship. For the first time in the Bundesliga first and second were tied after the end of the season. Borussia would have been able to decide the championship in their favour had they won the match against 1. FC Cologne a few weeks earlier. However, the game ended in a draw, with Cologne player Heinz Flohe netting a vital 83rd-minute equaliser.
Although Mönchengladbach lost the1977 final of theEuropean Cup toLiverpool inRome (25 May 1977), they also made four appearances in theUEFA Cup, with wins in1975 and1979 against losses in1973 and1980. The club's run had come to an end with eight trophies to their credit, and although they would continue to be competitive for many years, success would be much harder to come by.[6]
In the following season 1978–79Udo Lattek managed Borussia for the last time. Many regulars left the club, such as the later vice-president Rainer Bonhof, or announced their career end, such asJupp Heynckes andBerti Vogts. Lattek did not succeed in offsetting these departures with appropriate new signings. On Matchday 30, the team was in 15th place with a goal-difference of 38:47 goals: three wins from the last four games improved the finish to tenth place. It was the first season in a long time in which the club finished with a negative goal difference. Borussia signed Jupp Heynckes to be assistant coach to Lattek this season. The second international title started on 9 May 1979.[vague] The first leg in the UEFA Cup againstRed Star Belgrade ended in a draw. In the second leg on 23 May 1979, Borussia won 1–0 at home to win the UEFA Cup for the second time.
After the departure of Lattek in the 1979–80 season, the club appointedJupp Heynckes head coach. The season was marked by two new entries. The club signedHarald Nickel ofEintracht Braunschweig. With a transfer fee of 1.15 million DM this was the hitherto most expensive new purchase. From Herzogenaurach cameLothar Matthäus. Borussia finished the season in seventh place. On 7 May 1980, Borussia Mönchengladbach was again in a final for the UEFA Cup. At home, the team won againstEintracht Frankfurt 3–2. In the second leg on 21 May 1980, Eintracht Frankfurt won 1–0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach and secured the trophy due to the larger number of away goals scored.
In the 1980s, Borussia could no longer build on the titles they accumulated in the past decade and fell behind Bayern Munich. Due to the lack of ticket revenue from the smallBökelbergstadion, the club had to sell top performers repeatedly. Nevertheless, it was possible to settle frequently in the upper third of the Bundesliga and play in the championship fight. In the 1980–81 season, many long-time players left the club, includingKarl Del'Haye, the first player signed by Bayern with hostile intent.[vague][31] Borussia committed with Wolfram Wuttke only to striking players.[vague] They replacedWolfgang Kleff in goal toUli Sude.[vague] The team reached this season's sixth place in the table. The sporting record did not improve in the following two seasons. With a seventh-place finish in 1982, Borussia missed participation in European competitions. The following year,Uwe Kamps guarded the goal for the first time, eventually becoming a key player.
In the1983–84 season, Borussia contested the title. WithBernd Krauss,Michael Frontzeck andUli Borowka, Borussia committed players who played for a long time successfully for the club. In the end, they landed tied behind VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV in third place. It was the first time in the history of the Bundesliga that three clubs tied the table on the last matchday. In the same season, Mönchengladbach also lost theDFB-Pokal final to Bayern Munich on penalties,Lothar Matthäus andNorbert Ringels both missing from the spot after the game originally ended all square at 1–1. Matthäus subsequently joined Bayern for a then-record fee of 2.25 millionDM, leading some fans to question whether he had deliberately missed his penalty.[32]
In the 1984–85 season, Borussia won 10–0 on Matchday 8 againstEintracht Braunschweig, which is so far the last two-digit victory in Bundesliga history.[33] In the semi-finals of theGerman Cup VfL met again atBayern Munich. After no goals had been scored in the regular season inMunich's Olympiastadion,Søren Lerby converted a penalty kick against Borussia goalkeeperUlrich Sude in the 101st minute. This remained the only goal of the evening, so that Borussia missed the entry into the final.
The season 1985–86 brought no sporting highlights in the Bundesliga, with the club finishing fourth. Borussia Mönchengladbach gave away a 5–1 win over Real Madrid on 27 November 1985 inDüsseldorf (11 December 1985),[contradictory] when the club lost 4–0 in Madrid and dropped out of the UEFA Cup.
In the 1986–87 season, there was once again a coaching change.Jupp Heynckes announced his move toBayern Munich. The club nominatedWolf Werner as the new coach. At the end of the season, Borussia stood with the third place in the table for the last time in this decade at aUEFA Cup place. TheAssociation of German Sports Journalists votedUwe RahnPlayer of the Year. Again Borussia reached the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. But also this time Borussia lost against the later DFB Cup winnerHamburger SV. On 22 April 1987, Borussia lost against the Scottish representativeDundee United after defeat at home inBökelberg in the UEFA Cup semi-final. It was also the first defeat in aEuropean Cup game on the Bökelberg. After the departure ofJupp Heynckes, the era of long-standing engagements of head coaches ended. In the first 23 years from 1964 to 1987, Borussia only had three instructors; Since the departure of Heynckes, Borussia had committed 16 new coaches until 2008, with the exception of interim solutions. It was Werner's release on 21 November 1989 that saw first premature dismissal of a coach at Borussia at all. Only three later coaches managed to succeed in Mönchengladbach for more than three years,Bernd Krauss (1992–1996),Hans Meyer (1999–2003) andLucien Favre (2011–2015).
In the next season, Borussia signedStefan Effenberg, a player who worked long and successfully for the club. Borussia finished the season in seventh place and thus missed the participation in international competitions. The early 1990s followed a significant downward trend. As a result of the sporting decline, the number of spectators at the Bökelberg was declining for the first time. Already in the 1989–90 season, the club had fought against relegation. In the following years, Borussia placed in the midfield of the league. In the 1991–92 season, Borussia played again a good cup season. In the Cup semi-final, goalkeeperUwe Kamps saved all four penalties againstBayer Leverkusen, and Borussia reached the final. The final on 23 May 1992 saw the Mönchengladbachers lose against the club from second divisionHannover 96 3–4 on penalties.
In 1993, the club signed the playersHeiko Herrlich andPatrik Andersson, and in 1994,Stefan Effenberg came back, who played for Borussia Mönchengladbach from 1987 to 1990. Under coachBernd Krauss, they managed a renewed connection to the Bundesliga top end. In the 1994–95 season came the first trophy for Borussia since 1979, where they won the DFB-Pokal with a 3–0 victory overVfL Wolfsburg. Borussia would also win the Supercup against the German champions Borussia Dortmund a few months later.
The team's performance slipped in the 1990s andDie Fohlen soon found themselves struggling in the lower half of the Bundesliga table.
After the first round of the 1996–97 season, Borussia finished 17th place in the table. The club dismissed coach Krauss due to the sporting failure. At the end of the season, the Mönchengladbacher were in eleventh place. None of the other four coaches who followed Krauss remained in office for more than a year. UnderFriedel Rausch, Borussia could only remain in the Bundesliga after a dramatic season finale in 1998. Before the last matchday, the Borussia were three points above the relegation zone. On the final day of the season, they managed a 2–0 away win atVfL Wolfsburg;Karlsruher SC lost toHansa Rostock and went down due to the worse goal difference.
In the international arena, the season was disappointing despite two victories in the first round of the UEFA Cup againstArsenal. Borussia lost in the second round of the first leg 2–4 against Monaco, the most recent victory Borussia reached with a 1–0 in Monaco, but were eliminated from the competition. In the 1998–99 season, Borussia won 3–0 against Schalke 04 on Matchday 1 and was at the top of the table for the first time in 13 years. As a result,[vague] the team suffered six losses and two draws, resulting them to stand on the ninth day at the bottom of the table. On the tenth and eleventh round followed by a 2:8 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen and a 1:7 at VfL Wolfsburg, two consecutive heavy defeats. The team remained until the end of the season in 18th place. After a total of 21 lost games, the consequence was the first relegation from the Bundesliga. As a consequence of the relegation, several top performers, including goalkeeperRobert Enke, defenderPatrik Andersson, and midfielderKarlheinz Pflipsen andSebastian Deisler all left the club.
Finally, in1999, Gladbach were relegated to2. Bundesliga, where they would spend two seasons. Upon returning to the Bundesliga in 2001, Mönchengladbach continued to be in the bottom half of the league.
The first season in the 2. Bundesliga started the same way as the previous one ended. In the DFB Cup, the team were knocked out early after a lost penalty shootout against the regional league SC Verl. The second division season 1999–2000 ended the Borussia despite a bad first round still in fifth place in the table. Four points were missing for direct promotion.
Blackboard at Borussia Park withHennes Weisweiler and the names of the players of the "Team of the Century"
In the 2000–01 season, the team was able to celebrate as a runner-up in the Bundesliga 2 re-emergence in the Bundesliga and reached the semi-finals of the DFB Cup, but were knocked out as in the previous year against a Regionalligisten (Union Berlin) on penalties. Borussia won first place in the nationalfair play ranking in 2002 in the draw for a place in the UEFA Cup, but the lot was not drawn. Also in the season 2003–04 Borussia missed participation in the UEFA Cup. On 17 March 2004, the Borussia were eliminated by a 0–1 defeat against the then second divisionAlemannia Aachen in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. A victory against the Alemannia would have been enough, because the final opponentWerder Bremen was already qualified for the UEFA Champions League due to the table position. The season was under the mottoBye Bye Bökelberg, because on 22 May 2004, the last Bundesliga match took place inBökelbergstadion. The Borussia defeated1860 Munich 3:1; the last goal on Bökelberg was headed byArie van Lent.Uwe Kamps came on in the 82nd minute and came to his 457th match in the Bundesliga.
In 2004, Mönchengladbach appointedDick Advocaat, who had guided theNetherlands national team to the semi-finals ofUEFA Euro 2004 and was a successful manager atRangers, as their new coach. However, Advocaat was unable to have much success and resigned in April of the following year.[citation needed] Former Mönchengladbach player and German internationalHorst Köppel was appointed caretaker for the remaining five fixtures of the season.[citation needed] Köppel had managed the club's reserves since leavingBorussia Dortmund in June 2004. For the2006–07 season, former Mönchengladbach player and coachJupp Heynckes was appointed as team coach.
Borussia had taken steps to improve their financial situation with the construction of their new stadium calledBorussia-Park with a permitted capacity of 59,771 spectators (limited to 54,067 for Bundesliga games and to 46,249 for international games). The club had long been hindered by playing in a much smaller and older facility (Bökelberg, capacity 34,500), and with the opening of the new stadium in 2004 can look forward to[vague] increased revenues through higher ticket sales and the ability to host lucrative international matches.
On the 31st matchday of the 2006–07 season, Borussia Mönchengladbach were relegated from the Bundesliga afterArminia Bielefeld won againstWerder Bremen 3–2, while Mönchengladbach lost 1–0 at home to VfB Stuttgart. They were promoted back to the Bundesliga on the 32nd match-day of the 2007–08 season after winning the match againstSV Wehen 3–0.
For the 110th anniversary of the club, the club brought out a DVD on which the club's story is told in a 110-minute film.[citation needed] On 28 July 2010, it was premiered in a cinema in Mönchengladbach.
In the 2010-11 DFB Cup, for the first time after five years the round of 16 was reached. In the Bundesliga, they succeeded after 16 years in getting the first victory againstBayer Leverkusen, but at the end of the preliminary round, the club were in last place.
Due to the seasonally poor athletic performance, a merger of leaders from the local economy founded theinitiative Borussia, which accused the club management of mismanagement. According to the initiative, the old, encrusted structures should be dissolved in order to give Borussia a future. So the money should be invested in the sport rather than in the planned museum complex with attached hotel.[34] At the 2011 Annual General Meeting, only 335 of the 4769 members present voted in favour of the initiative's goals.[35][36][37]
The first newcomer in the winter break was the free transfer of strikerMike Hanke ofHannover 96.[39] The defence was reinforced withHåvard Nordtveit andMartin Stranzl. On 13 February 2011, Michael Frontzeck was dismissed due to continued failure as a coach. Decisive were defeats against the direct relegation competitors VfB Stuttgart and FC St. Pauli.[40][41]Lucien Favre was hired as the new head coach.[42] After the team had been in the last place in the table until the 30th match day, they achieved three consecutive wins and reached 16th place after a 1–1 draw at the last game day, which allowed one last chance to remain in the league. Borussia competed in two relegation matches against the second league team VfL Bochum and were able to prevent relegation with a 1–0 at home and a 1–1 draw in Bochum.[43][44][45]
Under Favre, who took over in January 2011, Borussia Mönchengladbach has in recent years shown ambitions to re-establish themselves in the top regions of the Bundesliga. In the2010–11 season, after a disastrous first half of the season, Borussia Mönchengladbach managed to narrowly avoid relegation through the post-season relegation play-offs.
The following season,2011–12, followed this up with a strong season in which they were for much of the year in contention for the championship and eventually finished in fourth place. They missed out on qualification to the2012–13 UEFA Champions League after losing 4–3 on aggregate to Ukrainian clubDynamo Kyiv in the playoff round. During the2012–13 Bundesliga season, after losing some key players, notablyMarco Reus who was voted player of the year in the Bundesliga in the previous season, Borussia Mönchengladbach still contended for the international places until the last match day, eventually finishing in eighth place.
In the2013–14 Bundesliga season, they had another very successful year, achieving an excellent third-place after the first half of the season and finishing the season in sixth place, entering them into the2014–15 Europa League competition at the play-off stage. They finished the2014–15 Bundesliga season in third place, saving the club a place for direct qualification to the2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage. The club found itself in a tough group,[46] together withJuventus,Manchester City andSevilla, and, although they finished bottom of the group, they claimed a respectable points tally of five, claiming draws home and away against Juventus and defeating eventualEuropa League winners Sevilla 4–2 at home.
After a poor start to the2015–16 Bundesliga season, including five defeats, Favre resigned[47] and was replaced withAndré Schubert as interim coach. The club's fortunes immediately changed, as it won six-straight Bundesliga matches and eventually finishing the season in fourth position, earning qualification to the Champions League for a second successive season.
In the2016–17 season, Borussia drew a difficult group in theChampions League, but managed to finish in third place aboveCeltic and qualify for theUEFA Europa League knockout phase. However, after a promising start in the Bundesliga, the club experienced a poor run of form exacerbated by injuries, and had dropped to the 14th position by the winter break.[citation needed] As a result, André Schubert resigned and was replaced by ex-VfL Wolfsburg managerDieter Hecking. Hecking began with three wins in four Bundesliga matches as Borussia rose to ninth place and also earned a place in the quarter-finals of theDFB-Pokal.
A new record transfer was made by the club for the season. For the German international and world championMatthias Ginter, the club transferred 17 million euros plus bonus payments toBorussia Dortmund.In the ninth edition of theTelekom Cup, Borussia had as early as January of the same year again to be content with the fourth and last place after a defeat on penalties againstWerder Bremen and against1899 Hoffenheim. The first round of the DFB Cup 2017–18 was able to make Borussia victorious. The VfL won the West duel againstRot-Weiss Essen 2–1. In the league prelude, theFohlenelf kept by a goal ofNico Elvedi 1–0 in theRheinland derby against1. FC Köln the upper hand and "overwintered" after a final 3–1 home win againstHamburger SV to half-time as sixth with 28 points from eight wins, four draws and five defeats. In the DFB Cup Borussia were eliminated on 20 December 2017 in the last competitive game of the year after a 0–1 defeat in the second round againstBayer Leverkusen in theBorussia-Park at home, after the "Werkself" had already on the 9th matchday of theBundesliga at the same place won 5–1. The second round match failed; the decisive goal to 1–2 defeat at1. FC Köln fell in the fifth minute of stoppage time. By contrast, the financial data in the 2017 financial year was more positive. Despite a lack of participation in international competitions, the association posted the second-best result in its history with a turnover of 179.3 million euros and a profit after tax of 6.56 million euros after the record year 2016. The 2017–18 season ended for Borussia after a 1–2 defeat atHamburger SV left them in ninth place and thus missed, as in the previous year, the qualification for the European competitions. The game was also the last for Hamburg in the highest German league after 55 years of uninterrupted affiliation.
In July 2018, the French strikerAlassane Pléa fromNice arrived for the record sum of 23 million euros. In the first round of the2018–19 DFB-Pokal, Mönchengladbach defeatedBSC Hastedt 11–1.[48] Thus, Borussia surpassed the previous record, which had been set by the club in an 8–0 victory in the away game at 1. FC Viersen in the first round of the1977–78 DFB-Pokal.
In the2019–20 Bundesliga, Mönchengladbach started the season well, and was on top of the league in December 2019, after defeatingBayern Munich 2–1. However, a shaky run of results in the second half of the season meant they ultimately finished in fourth place, 17 points behind champions Bayern. Mönchengladbach thus qualified for theUEFA Champions League, and were drawn againstInter Milan, Real Madrid andShakhtar Donetsk. Borussia achieved their largest win in the Champions League with a 6–0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, withAlassane Pléa scoring a hat-trick.[49] They advanced to the knockout stage after finishing second place inGroup B, but were ultimately knocked out in the round of 16 byManchester City.[50]
The official club anthem is the songThe Eleven of the Lower Rhine,[51] which is sung before every home game. The song was recorded by the group BO, the band of the fan project.[52]
A known fan group of the club were "Steinwegs Mamm",[54] who provided the drum in the 1960s for the team, and Ethem Özenrenler, known by his nickname "Manolo", who beat the drum in the northern curve of the Bökelberg Stadium for over 25 years since 1977.[54]
After the DFB Cup match against theMainz 05 on 25 October 1994, a 6–4 win forMönchengladbach, a fan friendship developed between Mainz and Borussia, which is now maintained by only a few supporters.
On the other hand, there is a long friendship withLiverpool, which comes from the time both teams regularly met in international games.
Fans of Borussia travel to Liverpool at regular intervals to watch local Reds games. Conversely, followers from Liverpool still use a visit to Mönchengladbach to symbolise the mutual fan friendship of both clubs.[55]
The fans of Mönchengladbach collected 21,000 DM for the families of the 96 dead in thestadium disaster in Sheffield (1989) and presented it to Liverpool in 1991 in Mönchengladbach.[56][57]
For the 110th anniversary of the club on 1 August 2010, Liverpool were the opponents in a friendly match. The match in front of 51,515 spectators in the Borussia Park Mönchengladbach was won by Borussia, 1–0.[58]
By contrast, there is a strong sporting rivalry between Mönchengladbach and the regional rival1. FC Köln.
Widely considered the most severe of Mönchengladbach's rivalries,[59] the animosities between Mönchengladbach and Cologne had their spark in 1964, when Cologne managerHennes Weisweiler switched allegiance in favour of Mönchengladbach.[citation needed]
Mönchengladbach's stadium,Borussia-Park, is furthermore located at a road namedHennes-Weisweiler-Allee in Weisweiler's memory.
This initial outrage on behalf of FC Köln supporters was soon met with a serious sporting rivalry: Although Cologne initially had had the athletic edge as a founding member of the Bundesliga and the league's first champion, Mönchengladbach quickly closed the gap. Between the seasons1969–70 and1977–78, Mönchengladbach won five championships, Cologne won one, andBayern Munich secured the remaining three.
The 77–78 season has become remembered in both club's collective memories: Although Mönchengladbach defeated Borussia Dortmund in thehighest victory in Bundesliga history with a crushing 12–0, Cologne carried the championship with a 5–0 win overFC St. Pauli due to their slightly bettergoal difference (+45 versus +42 in Cologne's favour). To add insult to injury, Cologne was back under the leadership of Hennes Weisweiler, the personified point of contention between both clubs.
Although neither club has been able to win a Bundesliga title since the 1977–78 season, the rivalry remains, with several incidents of violence between supporters of both clubs.[60][61][62][63] Overall, Mönchengladbach has been more successful in matches between the two, winning 54 out of 105 duels, drawing 20 and losing 31. Notably,
Mönchengladbach is more likely to win than FC Köln even in away matches (24–10–17 in Mönchengladbach's favour).[64]
The first iteration of Borussia vs FC Köln was played on 1 January 1961 in front of a crowd of 11,000 inOberliga West (1947–63). Cologne defeated Mönchengladbach 4–1.[65]
Both Mönchengladbach and Munich had not been starters in the Bundesliga – each won their right to a spot starting with the1965–66 season. Munich finished third, Mönchengladbach 13th.
Both clubs rose to dominance between the 1969–70 and 1976–77 seasons, when five championships went to Mönchengladbach and three to Munich.
However, with Mönchengladbach's decline in the 1980s and 1990s, Munich could firmly assert its dominance in both the Bundesliga and in the direct comparisons with Borussia: out of 119 matches played Munich won 61, Mönchengladbach won 29 and the two clubs drew 32.[66]
Yet, Mönchengladbach has remained a notable wildcard with the ability to inflict painful defeats on Munich, for example whenIgor de Camargo scored the decisive goal in the 1–0 victory in the first ever game of goalkeeperManuel Neuer and defenderJérôme Boateng at Munich on 7 August 2011.[67]
Gladbach was also able to win in Munich in 2015 with a 0–2 victory, one of the few victories over Bayern in their home stadium, as well as being a rare domestic loss for then-Bayern manager,Pep Guardiola.[68]
On 27 October 2021, Gladbach beat Bayern 5–0 in a DFB Pokal (German Cup) match, the worst Bayern loss since 1978 in any competition.[69][70][71]
While not nearly as pronounced as Dortmund's rivalry againstSchalke 04 or Mönchengladbach's own struggle against 1. FC Köln, Dortmund and Mönchengladbach still occasionally lock horns, mostly because of the naming similarity.
Both are the twoBorussias of the Bundesliga. The songEs gibt nur eine Borussia ('there is only one Borussia') is popular among Mönchengladbach supporters when facing Dortmund squads. The duel between the two has been dubbed theBorussengipfel, theBorussia Summit, in the media.[72][73]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^"Borussia-Park".Football Stadiums. 27 September 2016. Retrieved12 June 2021.
^Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009).Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 383 and 753.ISBN978-3-11-018202-6.
^Mangold, Max (2005).Das Aussprachewörterbuch (in German) (6th ed.). Mannheim: Dudenverlag. pp. 212 and 560.ISBN978-3-411-04066-7.
^abcdefghAretz, Markus; Giebeler, Stephan; Kreuls, Elmar (5 November 2015). "1899 bis 1905. Der Ball kommt ins Rollen: Borussias Gründerzeit".Borussia Mönchengladbach: Die Chronik (in German). Göttingen. pp. 12–16.ISBN9783730702123.OCLC909060983.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abcdAretz, Markus; Giebeler, Stephan; Kreuls, Elmar (5 November 2015). "1905 bis 1909. Neue Spielstätte und ein Aufstieg".Borussia Mönchengladbach: Die Chronik (in German). Göttingen. pp. 17–21.ISBN9783730702123.OCLC909060983.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abcdAretz, Markus; Giebeler, Stephan; Kreuls, Elmar (5 November 2015). "1909 bis 1913. Ein erstes Finale".Borussia Mönchengladbach: Die Chronik (in German). Göttingen. pp. 22–29.ISBN9783730702123.OCLC909060983.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abcdeAretz, Markus; Giebeler, Stephan; Kreuls, Elmar (5 November 2015). "1913 bis 1918. (Kein) Fußball in Kriegszeiten".Borussia Mönchengladbach: Die Chronik (in German). Göttingen. pp. 30–35.ISBN9783730702123.OCLC909060983.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^abAretz, Markus; Giebeler, Stephan; Kreuls, Elmar (5 November 2015). "1918 bis 1921. Endlich Frieden, endlich Leben, endlich Fußball".Borussia Mönchengladbach: Die Chronik (in German). Göttingen. pp. 36–43.ISBN9783730702123.OCLC909060983.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Nachkriegszeit". Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach GmbH. Archived fromthe original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved22 August 2012.
^abLaura Lotz (15 August 2012), "Wie RP-Redakteur Hurtmanns auf die "Fohlenelf" kam",Rheinische Post (in German), no. 189, Mönchengladbach: Rheinische Post Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, pp. C2
^Matthias Weinrich,Hardy Grüne:Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs. Band 6:Deutsche Pokalgeschichte seit 1935. Bilder, Statistiken, Geschichten, Aufstellungen. Agon-Sportverlag, Kassel 2000,ISBN3-89784-146-0, S. 272.
Werner Jakobs; Rainer Kalb; Markus Aretz (1999),100 Jahre Borussia Mönchengladbach – Die Borussen-Chronik (in German), Düsseldorf: Verlag Rheinsport networking,ISBN3-934702-00-7
Holger Jenrich; Markus Aretz (2005),Die Elf vom Niederrhein. 40 Jahre Borussia Mönchengladbach in der Bundesliga (in German), Göttingen: Verlag Die Werkstatt,ISBN3-89533-503-7
Helmut Grashoff; Susanne Grashoff (2005),Meine launische Diva: 30 Jahre mit Borussia Mönchengladbach (in German), Norderstedt: Radtke & Bahr GbR,ISBN3-00-016918-0
Holger Jenrich (2007),Das Borussia Mönchengladbach Lexikon (in German), Göttingen: Verlag Die Werkstatt,ISBN978-3-89533-585-3
Markus Aretz; Ingo Rütten (2008),Akte Aufstieg: Borussias Tagebuch der Saison 2007/08 (in German), Göttingen: Verlag Die Werkstatt,ISBN978-3-89533-626-3
_zur_1._Bundesliga%2c_4-2_(Kiel_77.585).jpg)
_met_de_UEFA-cup%2c_Bestanddeelnr_927-9405.jpg)
_in_de_aanval%2c_Bestanddeelnr_927-9402.jpg)
.jpg)
