Hans Meyer – The Communist: “I was only their twelfth choice,” Meyer said dryly when introduced as Gladbach’s new head coach in September 1999. Dry one-liners and self-irony were his trademarks. His quotes became some of the league’s most-cited and most entertaining, and long after retirement he remained a welcome talk-show guest. Yet Meyer did more than provide punchlines.\n\nUnder him, the Foals won promotion back to the Bundesliga in 2001 and reached the DFB Cup semifinal.
With ugly, rumbling football and plenty of luck, emergency man Meyer also avoided relegation in spring 2009. Since 2003, he has also been an honorary member of the club and, as part of the presidium, helped shape its sporting direction.