| Full name | Borussia VfL 1900 Mönchengladbach e.V. |
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| Nickname(s) | Die Fohlen (the Foals) | ||
| Founded | 1 August 1900 | ||
| Ground | Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach (Capacity: 54,057) |
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| President | Rolf Königs | ||
| Manager | Lucien Favre | ||
| League | Bundesliga | ||
| 2010–11 | Bundesliga, 16th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Borussia Mönchengladbach (German pronunciation: [boˈʁʊsi̯a ˌmœnçənˈɡlatbax]) is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. Borussia Mönchengladbach play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football. The club is one of Germany's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth largest club in Germany.[1] The official mascot of the club is the foal Jünter. "Borussia" is a Latinized form of Prussia, a popular term in naming German clubs located within the former Kingdom of Prussia.
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In 1960 the club won its first major honours when they beat Karlsruher SC 3:2 in the final of the German Cup and the following year took on the now familiar name Borussia VfL Mönchengladbach. Further honours would be another decade in coming. Borussia's results in the ten years leading up to the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 were not good enough to earn them admission into the ranks of the nation's new top flight professional league and so they played in the second tier Regionalliga West.
Mönchengladbach played their way into the Bundesliga in the 1965–66 season, alongside future powerhouse Bayern Munich. These two clubs would go on to a fierce struggle as they challenged each other for league supremacy throughout the 1970s. Bayern counted first, winning the Bundesliga championship in 1969. M'gladbach struck back immediately in the next season with a championship of their own and followed up with another one in 1971, becoming the first Bundesliga club ever to successfully defend their title.
Bayern then became the first club to win three consecutive titles, with Borussia finishing only a point behind the champions in 1974. Die Fohlen were able to take some consolation in a 2:1 victory over 1. FC Köln in 1973 to win their second German Cup. Under coach Hennes Weisweiler the young side displayed an offensive minded philosophy and powerful play that attracted fans from all over Germany. The team stayed on the attack and matched Bayern's achievement with three consecutive titles of their own from 1975 to 1977. M'gladbach lost the 1977 final of the European Cup to Liverpool, but also made four appearances in the UEFA Cup with wins in 1975 and 1979 against losses in 1973 and 1980. The club's spectacular 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.
Mönchengladbach's golden era ended in the 80's as the club had to sell many of its best players to keep its finances in order, and without talented coaches like Hennes Weisweiler and Udo Lattek it was not possible to stay on top. Even so, they managed to finish most seasons in the upper half of the league table and, in 1984, they were part of a four way race to the Bundesliga championship, finishing one point ahead of Bayern, and tied on points with Hamburg and champions Stuttgart, but behind on goal difference. That same season M'gladbach lost the German Cup final to Bayern on penalties.
The team's performance slipped significantly in the 90's and they found themselves struggling in the lower half of the Bundesliga table. They lost another German Cup on penalties – this time to Hannover – before winning their last honours to date with a 3–0 Cup win over Wolfsburg in 1995. Finally, in 1999, they were relegated to 2.Bundesliga where they would spend two seasons. The club's return performance in the Bundesliga was uninspired as they remained mired in the bottom half of the league.
In 2004, M'Gladbach appointed Dick Advocaat, who had guided the Dutch national team to the semi-finals of the Euro 2004 tournament and was a successful manager at Rangers, as their new coach. However, he was unable to turn the team's fortunes and resigned in April of the following year. Former Mönchengladbach player and German international Horst Köppel was appointed caretaker for the remaining five fixtures of the season. Köppel had managed the club's reserves since leaving Borussia Dortmund in June 2004. For the 2006/2007 season legendary Mönchengladbach player and coach Jupp Heynckes was appointed as team coach.
Borussia has taken steps to improve their financial situation with the construction of a new state-of-the-art stadium called Borussia-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 increased revenues through higher ticket sales and the ability to host lucrative international matches.
On the 31st matchday of the 2006/2007 season Borussia Mönchengladbach were relegated from the Bundesliga after Arminia Bielefeld upset Werder Bremen 3–2 while Borussia lost 1–0 at home to VfB Stuttgart.
They were promoted back to the Bundesliga on the 32nd matchday of the 2007/2008 season after winning the match vs. SV Wehen 3–0.
Off the pitch, the fans have developed a bond with fans of Liverpool FC, having played against each other in a UEFA Cup final and a European Cup final in the 1970s. It is a friendship that is developing every year with supporters of Liverpool FC travelling to Mönchengladbach annually and vice-versa. After the Hillsborough disaster, fans of Borussia Mönchengladbach donated a large sum of money for the Hillsborough fund. They also provided the opposition for Emlyn Hughes' Testimonial game at Anfield. Many "Borussen" wear Liverpool shirts and scarves in the "Nordkurve" (the BMG Kop) during home games.
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For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2011 and List of German football transfers winter 2011–12.
As of 24 July 2011[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Borussia Mönchengladbach's five Bundesliga championships entitle the club to display two gold stars of the "Verdiente Meistervereine".
Borussia Mönchengladbach's name is attached to a number of Bundesliga records:
For a list of every Borussia Mönchengladbach player with 50 or more appearances, see List of Borussia Mönchengladbach players
Players of the club achieved the following honours:
Player of the Year – Europe
Player of the Year – Germany
Player of the Year – Australia
Player of the Year – Austria
Player of the Year – Belgium
Player of the Year – Denmark
Player of the Year – Sweden
Player of the Year – USA
Bundesliga Top-Scorers
Goal of the Year
| Preceded by PSV Eindhoven |
UEFA Cup 1979 |
Succeeded by Eintracht Frankfurt |
| Preceded by Feyenoord |
UEFA Cup 1975 |
Succeeded by Liverpool |
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