Although the title of FC Bayern Munich was essentially over after the victory against Borussia Dortmund on May 26, there was still a lot to play on the last day of the 2019/20 Bundesliga season.
One of the big stories was the race for the important place in the Champions League. Borussia Mönchengladbach had to win to hold Bayer Leverkusen.
Marco Rose’s team secured all three points for Hertha Berlin at home, thus securing the return to the most important European competition for the first time since 2015. Throughout the season, his young team has won more than their fair share of admirers in Germany and beyond.
Rose’s team is based on an experienced core strengthened by the attacking talents of Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea and the creativity of full-backs Stefan Lainer and Rami Bensebaini. Sounds familiar? It is more than an allusion to Rose’s old mentor Jürgen Klopp.
Klopp’s game days in Mainz came to an end in 2001 when Rose rose through the club’s youth as a promising left-back. The youngster became an important part of his promotion team two years later.
However, a strong bond between Klopp and his former defender is not the only bond that connects the Reds and their northwest compatriots.
Liverpool’s dominance in Europe led to rivalries with clubs across the continent in the 1970s and 80s, with Mönchengladbach becoming one of their earliest opponents.
The 1973 UEFA Cup final brought the first meeting of the two teams. Bill Shankly’s men secured a two-legged 3-2 win at the club’s first European triumph.
Despite their disappointment in 1973, Gladbach remained a force in Europe, and the German team secured another appointment with Liverpool, led by Bob Paisley, in the 1977 European Cup final.
The showdown in Rome was the first European Cup final for both teams and has become the most synonymous event in the relationship between the two clubs and their fans.
The goals of Tommy Smith and Phil Neal in the second half secured another premiere for Liverpool, but the imprint on both supporter bases ensured that there was no joy.
Friendship pacts were concluded with reciprocal invitations that have been exchanged over the decades. Hundreds of Liverpool and Gladbach fans welcomed into their homes and football communities.
When Mönchengladbach’s assets declined in the 1980s and 90s, they remained friends with Liverpool and sent a delegation of fans to the families affected by the Hillsborough disaster in 1991 with a donation.
A formal agreement between the two clubs followed, in which Mönchengladbach fans have been welcomed to Anfield since 1992, while a reverse contract was concluded in 2007.
Red fans are aware of the old friendship of the decade between the two clubs, but the relationship between Rose and Klopp has added a new level to the connection.
Rose spoke regularly about how playing under ‘Kloppo’ in Mainz shaped him as a player and later as a manager.
The 43-year-old led Red Bull Salzburg to an Austrian title in his first responsible season in 2017/18, with future Reds star Takumi Minamino playing a key role alongside Moanes Dabour and Valon Berisha.
Rose defended the title in 2019, with Minamino again crucial before deciding to cross the border in early 2019/20 and join Mönchengladbach.
He set out from the start to play a very urgent style at Borussia Park. Lainer followed him from Leipzig, Thuram and Bensebaini from Guingamp and Rennes.
The comparisons with Klopp are natural, but in contrast to the often lazy generalizations about aspiring German coaches, the similarities with Rose are clear.
Rose is sociable with the media and extremely defensive towards his young players – just like Klopp was with him – and also has an eye for building a base and challenging the elite.
His experience in Salzburg has shown that he can adapt to an existing infrastructure and an existing ethos, shape them himself and can successfully lean back.
The conversation between master and apprentice will undoubtedly reappear when Liverpool and Gladbach work together in the Champions League next season. Then we can be sure that Klopp does not underestimate his old full-back.
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