Football Season Review

№4: Borussia Monchengladbach

Gladbach return to the Champions League qualifiers as they finish fourth at the end of the best season since 2015/16 under new coach Marco Rose. Especially the first half of the campaign was strong when Borussia beat eventual winners Bayern and took away eleven wins in total. They were a close challenger for the informal title of autumn champions that was eventually won by Leipzig Gladbach’s season was also carried by their strong home record. They won twelve times at the Borussia Park while only losing three times. The harmonious team could have aimed for even more if it hadn’t been for the slightly weaker and less consistent second part of the season. Moreover, their struggling opponents Bayern and Dortmund came back stronger after the winter break. Additionally, many key players injured themselves, among them Denis Zakaria and top scorers Alassane Pléa and Marcus Thuram (10 goals each). They had previously formed an effective attacking trio together with fellow striker Breel Embolo (8 goals). However, the squad proved deep enough as their replacements such as Stindl and Hofmann lived up to the challenge. Moreover, keeper Sommer saved Gladbach many points again with his great performances. Overall, new coach Rose convinced everyone with a clear tactical concept and good results. Gladbach will be hoping for a similar season in 2020/21. They will need to improve the depth of the squad even further to account for the more exhausting triple burden of Bundesliga, DFB Cup and potentially the Champions League.


Player of the Season: Yann Sommer