So a summer break almost always helps Bundesliga clubs to shake off the heaviness of an unsatisfactory season and build new confidence. In this respect, nobody at Borussia Mönchengladbach is surprised by the significantly improved mood compared to May. However, no one could have expected that the atmosphere would be so radically reversed.
After all, a spring in the relegation battle is behind the club, there was the resignation of long-time sports director Max Eberl, the separation from coach Adi Hütter and a resignation by Lucien Favre shortly before signing the contract as the new head coach. All that now seems to have been overcome. A renewed optimism can be felt across the club grounds. And when Daniel Farke was asked at the press conference before Borussia’s game at FC Schalke this Saturday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) whether he was always in a good mood, the new coach replied: ” That’s simply because I’m a friendly person.”
Farke’s positive energy, which can also be felt in such press rounds, is mixed with the celebration of the victory in the first game against TSG Hoffenheim and the joy at the latest results of the work of the sporting director Roland Virkus, who has been in office since February.
Extend Pléa and Hofmann
In the past few days, Virkus has initially been able to extend the contract with striker Alassane Pléa before an expansion of the collaboration with national player Jonas Hofmann could be announced. “Something is happening here again. It’s going back in the direction that has always distinguished Borussia,” said Hofmann. This spirit of optimism should help to ensure that the cooperation with other players whose contracts expire in 2023 is extended so that the squad does not bleed dry. But Farke has already expressed “huge praise” to Virkus, who was initially viewed with great skepticism.
It’s no secret that the Mönchengladbach club management would have preferred Rouven Schröder from FC Schalke to Borussia Park. When Virkus was promoted from the head of the youth academy to sports director after his rejection, he looked rather pale. This was partly because he was automatically compared to the charismatic Eberl, who had become the face of Borussia, and partly because he is not a great entertainer. But so far that has not been necessary in this position. Virkus’s technical work is more compelling than many thought, including when it comes to his ideas on the team’s playing style.
National player in the ranks of Borussia: Jonas Hofmann
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Image: nordphoto GmbH / Bratic
In Eberl’s later phase, the plan was pursued to send Borussia on a ball hunt and to let clubs like Union Berlin, SC Freiburg or Eintracht Frankfurt play the high-intensity football. Hütter was brought in for this, but there were no suitable players. So Virkus now ordered a “return to the typical Borussia approach to football”. A style of play with a lot of ball possession suits players like Pléa, Hofmann, the currently injured captain Lars Stindl, Florian Neuhaus or Christoph Kramer better.
Last season’s crisis was due not least to the team’s problems in getting involved with the style that those responsible had in mind, with Farke this topic is out of the world for the time being. Perhaps this choice of coach will even be regarded as Virkus’ biggest coup. After a good four years at Norwich City in England, where he was promoted to the Premier League twice and gained experience in games against Pep Guardiola, Jürgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, Arsène Wenger and José Mourinho, the 45-year-old Farke is a seasoned coach.
In Germany he is still completely fresh, unencumbered by any dull career phases at HSV, Hertha BSC or VfL Wolfsburg. And he seems to excite the players. Because without the right coach, Pléa and Hofmann would hardly have been persuaded to commit themselves to this club in transition in the medium term, which some believe is threatened with a fate like SV Werder Bremen, which after several years in the upper third of the Bundesliga and on the European stage until it crashed into the second division.
Virkus and Farke want to prevent this at all costs, and Marcus Thuram and Yann Sommer are also due to extend their contracts, which end in 2023. The same could apply to Ramy Bensebaini if he is not sold this summer.
The fact that people like Hofmann and Pléa have announced themselves to Borussia could “help to extend the contracts with other players,” said Virkus, who would like to fulfill his coach’s wish for at least one powerful striker. Borussia is currently looking so attractive again that reinforcements may not only be impressed by the salary, but also by the appeal of a promising new start.
