Getting to know: Borussia Mönchengladbach

The fifth-biggest club in Germany in terms of membership (almost 80,000 members), Borussia Mönchengladbach were founded in 1900 - as the full name indicates: Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach e.V.

Borussia is the neo-Latin term for 'Prussia', the kingdom to which the city of Mönchengladbach belonged at the time of foundation. The club pulled up no trees until the 1970s, when Hennes Weisweiler's free-flowing side won five Bundesliga titles in ten years with a crop of brilliant home-grown youngsters – notably Günter Netzer, whose ownership of a city-centre nightclub was trumpeted as evidence of the club's devil-may-care approach – and engaged in a spectacular and spiteful long-distance rivalry, the original Klassiker, with Bayern Munich. Gladbach also won the UEFA Cup twice that decade and reached the 1977 European Cup final (losing to Liverpool), earning the nickname the Foals in the process as a nod to their insouciant attacking style.

Forced to sell players to balance the books, Borussia endured barren years in the 1980s and 1990s – the DFB Cup triumph in 1995 was one of the few the high points – and were relegated from the top flight in 1999. Another demotion followed eight years later, but the appointment of Lucien Favre in January 2011 turned the Foals from cannon fodder into European contenders. Several seasons of top-level European football have since followed – all the while staying true to the tradition of bringing through vibrant young players – with Dieter Hecking stabilising the club after Favre's surprise departure in 2015 and Marco Rose guiding the club into the UEFA Champions League knockout stages for the first time ever in 2020/21.

Honours

5x Bundesliga (1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977)
3x DFB Cup (1960, 1973, 1995)
2x UEFA Cup (1975, 1979)
Bundesliga 2 champions (2008)
German Supercup (1977)
European Cup finalists (1977)
Intercontinental Cup runners-up (1977)

Coach

After two years at the helm, Marco Rose was enticed to cross the Borussia divide and move to Dortmund for the start of 2021/22. His successor is in fact one of his predecessors at Red Bull Salzburg and another double winner in Austria, Adi Hütter. The 51-year-old spent the last three years enjoying further success at Eintracht Frankfurt before deciding on a change of scenery and a new challenge with the Foals.

Gladbach’s talismanic captain, Lars Stindl enjoyed a new lease of life in 2020/21 with 14 goals and eight assists in 30 Bundesliga appearances, despite turning 32 art the start of the season. When the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup winner plays well, inevitably the Foals do as well, with his experience in a more withdrawn role also benefitting the more youthful forwards of Breel Embolo, Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea.

Watch: All of Stindl’s goals in 2020/21

Although they reached the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time in their history after finishing ahead of Inter Milan in a Group B that also included Real Madrid, Gladbach never really got going on the domestic stage. They opened with a 3-0 defeat at Dortmund and never got above fifth place despite home wins over Bayern and BVB in a very good January. However, their Rückrunde form saw them slip out of the top half of the table by March. Although they went into the final day with a chance of European qualification, they ultimately missed out to Union Berlin after three defeats in their last five games.

The stadium

The Borussia-Park replaced the storied, much-loved but utterly outdated Bökelbergstadion in 2004, when Borussia competitively inaugurated their new home with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Dortmund. Built on the site of former British army barracks, the arena currently holds just over 54,000 spectators for domestic matches, but could accommodate 60,000 if the south stand was used in its all-standing variant.

In any case, the Borussia-Park is a thoroughly modern stadium, with top-class views from all angles and an impressive green-white-black lighting system. The facilities inside are as swish as anywhere in Germany, while standing tickets started as cheaply as €14.50 in 2019. While all of that makes it well worth a visit, the centrepiece is the noise: Gladbach fans are as passionate as any in the land, with the famed Nordkurve (north stand) whipping up a quite a din every other week, especially when their team score and Scooter’s “Maria (I Like It Loud)” blares out of the speakers.

Watch: Inside Borussia-Park

Known commonly as Gladbach since its foundation in the 14th century, the city has long served as a crossing point between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. That long, imperial history means plenty of stately buildings: the Dyck Castle (Schloss Dyck) and Rheydt Castle (Schloss Rheydt) in particular are famed for their beautiful gardens. The current name of Mönchengladbach came about in 1960 as a change from Münchengladbach to avoid confusion with the city of Munich (München).

Elsewhere, art lovers will enjoy perusing the collections of the Abteiberg Museum in the centre of town, before stopping for a coffee in the picturesque Alter Markt, while animal lovers are encouraged to pay the Odenkirchen Zoo (boasting bison and racoons aplenty) a visit. The city also hosts the Rheindahlen Military Complex, former home to the British Armed Forces in Germany, although we're not sure we should recommend that you get too close. Maybe visit the famed Water Tower (Wasserturm) instead.

Getting there

Mönchengladbach does have an airport, but it is used primarily for local aviation and flying lessons. Dusseldorf and Cologne-Bonn airport are the two major hubs in the region with daily flights across Europe and to North America, and are within an hour of Mönchengladbach by train. The city is also well serviced by two main stations (Mönchengladbach HBF and Rheydt HBF), with regular trains from Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund. For a greater variety of flights from North America and beyond, Frankfurt airport is Germany's busiest and just over two hours away from Mönchengladbach thanks to frequent, direct high-speed train services.

Located to the west of the city, the Borussia-Park complex houses the stadium, training grounds and administrative buildings. The easiest way to get to the Borussia-Park on a matchday is via shuttle bus: line 017 runs from Mönchengladbach HBF to the stadium in around 15 minutes. That service is well signposted inside the station and available from three hours before kick-off until two hours after full-time. From Rheydt HBF, there's a shuttle bus that departs for the Borussia-Park every five minutes..

If you're driving to the Borussia-Park, enter Am Nordpark 400 into your sat-nav; there are over 10,000 parking places in the vicinity of the stadium (costing €5 per car per day), but there is no pick-up or drop-off point. In that instance, your best bet is to drop your guests at one of the main stations (Mönchengladbach HBF or Rheydt HBF) for the shuttle bus. There is also space for 1,000 bicycles (this is Germany, after all), and a taxi rank at the Aachener Straße/Am Nordpark entrance.

Buying tickets

Tickets can still be bought via the official club website HERE.

Can’t make it? Watch here:

If you can’t make it to the stadium, Bundesliga matches are broadcast around the world. ESPN provides coverage in the United States, while BT Sports are the exclusive broadcaster in the United Kingdom. In Germany, Sky Sports show the majority of matches, with DAZN hosting one match per week.

Buy the kit

You can get your own Gladbach jersey from the official club shop.