Good to Know — Gladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s first team reached the Bundesliga...

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s first team reached the Bundesliga in 1965 and by December 2019 had won five national league titles, three DFB Cups and two UEFA Cups.

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s first team reached the Bundesliga in 1965 and by December 2019 had won five national league titles, three DFB Cups and two UEFA Cups. In the all-time Bundesliga table, the club ranked sixth. The attacking style with which the side dominated the Bundesliga in the late 1960s and 1970s — largely with young players — earned them the nickname “the Foals,” or the “Foal Eleven.”

That part is well known. Less well known

That part is well known.

is that Borussia Mönchengladbach’s founding was chaotic. A group of young footballers were deeply unhappy with the local sports club, left it, and founded a new football association called FK Borussia 1900. To secure a proper pitch, the group initially attached itself to a church organization.

After early local and regional successes, the club’s leadership wanted official registration so they could be admitted to league play. The result was a split from the church. In August 1900, the club was entered into the register for the first time under the name Borussia 1900 M.gladbach.

Borussia were not among the founding members of

Borussia were not among the founding members of the Bundesliga and before 1965 they were only a regional force in German football.

the Bundesliga and before 1965 they were only a regional force in German football. After the Second World War, the club first played two seasons in the Landesliga and then, from 1949/50 onward, oscillated between the 2. Liga West and the Oberliga West, then the top division. What few people know: the club won its first title as early as 1920, when it became West German champion — not under today’s name, but as VfTuR München-Gladbach.

Under new coach Hennes Weisweiler, Borussia Mönchengladbach ...

Under new coach Hennes Weisweiler, Borussia Mönchengladbach won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1964/65, at the same time as FC Bayern Munich.

Under new coach Hennes Weisweiler, Borussia Mönchengladbach won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1964/65, at the same time as FC Bayern Munich. That was also when the new nickname, the Foals, took hold. What few people know is that the nickname has a double meaning.

It points to the “young foals,” because Weisweiler at times fielded by far the youngest team in the league, with an average age of only 21.5, made up largely of players from the region or even from the club’s own youth setup. At the same time, it was a synonym for Gladbach’s fast, adventurous, attack-minded football, built on pressing, long passes and quick transitions — then simply known as Gladbach counterattacking football.

Another thing often forgotten: Gladbach won the 1970/71

Another thing often forgotten: Gladbach won the 1970/71 title even though they lost two points at the “green table.” And neither the team, nor the coach, nor the fans were at fault — the local authorities were.

title even though they lost two points at the “green table.” And neither the team, nor the coach, nor the fans were at fault — the local authorities were. In the home match against Werder Bremen, with the score at 1:1, Herbert Laumen crashed into the goal net after an aerial challenge with Werder keeper Bernard, and the post snapped. The DFB court ruled the match 2:0 in Bremen’s favor for “culpably causing the abandonment of a match.” Gladbach’s players were furious and published an open letter asking, with some justification: “Are we football professionals or construction workers?

Where does it say that players are responsible for putting up the pitch equipment, something city employees are responsible for? What fault is ours if a piece of wood somewhere in the municipal sports complex breaks and can no longer be repaired?” Fittingly, the supposed culprit Herbert Laumen moved to Bremen after the season — and “post-breaker” became his middle name.

Even so, Gladbach still won the title that

Even so, Gladbach still won the title that season — and not only that: they became the first club in Bundesliga history to defend a championship.

season — and not only that: they became the first club in Bundesliga history to defend a championship. And they did it in spectacular fashion, aided by a motivational trick few people remember today. After the first title in 1969/70, BMG still had to overhaul Bayern on the final day in 1970/71. Bayern lost 0:2 in Duisburg, while Mönchengladbach beat Frankfurt 4:1. The final tally was Gladbach on 50:18 points, Bayern on 48:20. Before the final matchday the teams had been level, with Bayern ahead on goal difference by one.

Ahead of Bayern’s match in Duisburg, Gladbach resorted to a very special stunt. While the Munich side were warming up, the stadium announcer boomed: “Ladies and gentlemen, dear visitors, please give your applause and support to MSV Duisburg, whose players will receive a special bonus of 2,000 marks each from Mönchengladbach if they win today.” Bayern were stunned, the stands delighted, and the Zebras suddenly looked highly motivated — especially striker Rainer Budde, who scored twice in the second half. Bayern then tried their own nasty trick. When Duisburg made it 2:0, Sepp Maier walked off the pitch, claiming fans had stormed the field and injured him. MSV official Jasbert saw it differently: “Beckenbauer gave him a signal, and then he went down.” Not every Roberto Boninsegna strategy works, and there was no “can” to help. The embarrassing part: the DFB had assumed Bayern would be champions and had sent the original trophy to Duisburg. Gladbach received theirs later the same day at Frankfurt Airport.

Udo Lattek succeeded Hennes Weisweiler as Gladbach coach

Udo Lattek succeeded Hennes Weisweiler as Gladbach coach — that is well known.

that is well known. Far less well known is how badly Lattek behaved in the move. Not toward Bayern, and not toward Gladbach, but toward Rot-Weiss Essen.

After his exit from Bayern, Lattek, then 40, was looking for a new challenge and seemed to find it at Essen. He even signed for 1975/76 there, only to switch to Borussia Mönchengladbach after Weisweiler’s surprise departure in May. Gladbach were reigning champions and Bayern’s great rivals of the previous years.

Lattek’s line was memorable: “What would you choose if you had the choice between a bicycle (Essen) and a Mercedes (M’gladbach)?” In Mönchengladbach, Lattek inherited an intact side featuring Uli Stielike, Jupp Heynckes, Herbert Wimmer, Allan Simonsen, Rainer Bonhof and Berti Vogts, and he reined in the Foals. Instead of Weisweiler’s all-out, hurrah style, he focused more heavily on the defensive side and won the next two league titles, in 1976 and 1977, with a stable back line. That completed another title hat trick in the 1970s. In 1977 he also reached the European Cup final with Gladbach. That same year, Rot-Weiss Essen were relegated from the Bundesliga and have never returned.