For the Haters
Embarrassing disasters and major defeats
The phase from 2004 to 2010: The years from 2004 to 2010 were a period of embarrassing management blunders by the club leadership. The club showed no coherent strategy whatsoever — coaches were hired and fired in rapid succession, transfer policy lurched between expensive gambles and desperate bargain-hunting, and the boardroom was riven by infighting. Sporting mediocrity became the norm, with Gladbach yo-yoing between mid-table anonymity and relegation anxiety. The nadir came with actual relegation in 2007, a humiliation that forced a fundamental rethink of how the club was run.
0-11 against Glasgow Rangers: In the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1960, Gladbach received a brutal introduction to international football in their very first competitive European tie. They lost 3-0 at home to Glasgow Rangers, then suffered an 8-0 hammering in Glasgow.
Failure in Madrid: In the 1985/86 UEFA Cup round of 16, Borussia Mönchengladbach faced Real Madrid. The Foals made short work of the first leg, winning 5-1. Yet they were eliminated. In the return, Santillana scored in the 89th minute for Real Madrid to make it 4-0 on the night — a collapse for the ages.
DFB-Pokalfinale 1992: Nach einem gewonnenen Elfmeterkrimi im Halbfinale gegen Bayer Leverkusen trifft BMG im DFB-Pokalendspiel im Jahr 1992 auf den damaligen Zweitligisten Hannover 96. Man verliert nach einem 0:0 nach Verlängerung im Elfmeterschießen. Eine Mega-Blamage zum denkbar ungünstigsten Zeitpunkt.
The 1998/99 season: Gladbach have been relegated twice, each time as bottom of the table. In 1998/99, Borussia won 3-0 against Schalke 04 on the opening day — and then proceeded to lose virtually everything else. A squad that looked competitive on paper simply fell apart under pressure. The coaching carousel spun faster and faster, tactical ideas changed weekly, and the dressing room descended into factions. By spring, relegation was a mathematical certainty. The opening-day victory against Schalke made the subsequent collapse all the more painful — it proved the talent was there, but the character was not.
Even Heynckes couldn’t fix it: In the 2006/07 season, Borussia were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by Regionalliga side VfL Osnabrück in the second round — a humiliation that epitomised the club’s dysfunction. Jupp Heynckes, the club legend who had returned to save his beloved Gladbach, found a squad that was beyond salvation. The defeat to a fourth-tier side in front of a half-empty Borussia-Park was the symbolic low point of an era defined by chronic underachievement and institutional chaos.
Embarrassing Defeats
Embarrassing defeats: Gladbach have produced some results best forgotten. The club lost 0-7 twice — away at Stuttgart on September 18, 2010 and at home against Bremen on April 30, 1966. The 0-11 against Glasgow Rangers in their first international competitive match in 1960 stands in a league of its own.
The Cup Curse: No Title Since 1995
Since 1995, Gladbach have won nothing — and the DFB-Pokal has become the symbol of this barren spell. The club regularly blows it in the decisive moments: a semifinal exit to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023/24 when a final was within reach. Even more bitter was the elimination at third-division side 1. FC Saarbrücken — away, without any fight. Gladbach and the cup has been a story of failure for three decades. The one exception: the 5-0 against Bayern in 2021 in the second round — but even after that, it was over in the round of 16.
The Rose Bombshell: BVB Move 2021
In February 2021, coach Marco Rose announces his move to BVB for the following season — right in the middle of a Champions League campaign. The team, which had just reached the last 16 in a group with Real Madrid and Inter Milan, fell apart. The second half of 2020/21 became a disaster. Rose secured the CL qualification ticket, but the spirit was gone.
0-6 Against Freiburg (December 5, 2021)
Matchday 14, 2021/22 season, under Adi Hütter. All six goals conceded in the first half. Eggestein (4'), Schade (7'), Lienhart (12'), Höfler (17'), Höler (24'), N. Schlotterbeck (37'). After 37 minutes it was 0-6 — after that, nothing happened because there was nothing left to happen. The Gladbach players walked off at halftime to a chorus of boos from their own fans.
The Eberl Saga: Resignation and Leipzig
On January 28, 2022, Max Eberl resigned at a press conference in tears. "I just want to be Max Eberl." Football showed sympathy, Borussia fans stood behind their architect. Then Eberl surfaced months later at RB Leipzig — and the mood turned. For large parts of the fanbase, the move to German football's bogeyman was an unforgivable betrayal of trust. Eberl left behind a squad with expiring contracts and inflated wages — the time bomb that detonated in the following years.
The Free-Transfer Catastrophe: Thuram and Bensebaini 2023
In the summer of 2023, Marcus Thuram (peak market value ~40 million euros) and Ramy Bensebaini (~25 million euros) left for zero transfer fee. Thuram went to Inter Milan and promptly won the Serie A title. Bensebaini joined BVB. Yann Sommer left for Bayern Munich. Three key players in one window, two of them without a cent in return.
The Coaching Carousel 2021–2025
Four head coaches in five years. Hütter (one season, arrived for 7.5 million in fees), Farke (one season), Seoane (just over two years, points average 1.13 — the worst since Michael Frontzeck). Plus severance payments for sacked coaches. The money burned on the coaching bench was missing from the squad.
Season 2025/26: Relegation Battle in the Anniversary Year
On matchday 3, Gladbach conceded a 0-4 against Bremen — Seoane was sacked, the earliest coaching dismissal in club history. Two weeks later, matchday 5, Borussia lost 4-6 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, trailing 0-5 at halftime. Three days later, Roland Virkus resigned as sporting director. The club sat in 18th place. It was the 125th anniversary year. A relegation battle instead of a birthday party.
The Dark Years: 2004-2010
The period from 2004 to 2010 represents Gladbach's nadir. Multiple relegation battles, uninspired coaching appointments, and a squad that bore no resemblance to the Fohlen tradition pushed the club to the edge. Twice Gladbach were relegated (2007 and again narrowly avoided in subsequent seasons), and the gap between the club's proud history and present reality became a chasm.