23rd matchday
Point taken, victory awarded – many construction sites at Gladbach
Gladbach’s Ko Itakura (l) and Freiburg’s Philipp Lienhart in a header duel. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
A 0-0 as a pick-me-up, two undisciplined players and a coach who has a lot of work to do. After the 0-0 draw against Freiburg, Gladbach is in no man’s land in the table.
In difficult times, demands become more modest. After the good years with international games and big football evenings in the Champions League, even a 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg at Borussia Mönchengladbach can cause enthusiasm.
“I’m proud of the squad that defended excellently and with great passion,” said sports director Roland Virkus after the game against the Champions League aspirants from Breisgau on Saturday.
After all, there was a 0:4 in Mainz last weekend, in the last home game against Freiburg even a 0:6. You can be satisfied with a 0-0 draw against the fifth-placed team.
All in all, the ups and downs this season is an expected reaction after the big upheaval with a new coach and sports director. Freiburg coach Christian Streich, who was very happy with the point, also recognized the differences in Gladbach. “You can’t expect the team to finish fourth or fifth every year. Mönchengladbach have a good team, but not so good that they can win five or six games in a row,” said the Freiburg coach. “Normally they would have played against Juventus next week and not us,” said Streich.
Farke satisfied with the performance of his team
For Daniel Farke, after the 3-2 gala against FC Bayern and the bitter bankruptcy at FSV Mainz 05, a solid performance by his team was important. “We rightly received a lot of criticism for conceding too many goals and poor mileage. That’s why I can only compliment the boys today,” said the 39-year-old, whose nerves have also suffered. Farke received the first yellow card of his career for an alleged complaint to the referee.
The coach certainly didn’t set a good example because the discipline of his players left a lot to be desired. Marcus Thuram received harsh criticism for his swallow in the second half. Ex-national player and Sky expert Dietmar Hamann even demanded a severe penalty for the vice world champion. “For me, Thuram should be locked. For me, that’s a shame for football,” said Sky expert Hamann, adding: “It’s gross unsportsmanlike behavior and gross unsportsmanlike behavior is punished with red.”
Farke announced that he wanted to talk to Thuram, “that he shouldn’t do that. Normally he doesn’t want to do something like that”.
Also Bensebaini with unsportsmanlike behavior
Ramy Bensebaini, who, like Thuram, will leave the club at the end of the season, also acted unsportsmanlike in the closing stages and was shown a yellow-red card for his mocking applause (87′). “He has to have a better grip on himself. That can’t happen,” said his coach, whose team has stabilized a bit with the clean sheet and the point win.
But many construction sites remain, the upheaval will not be over in the next season. Virkus even spoke of up to four transfer periods. Patience will be required on the way back to the road to success and small success stories could help. That’s why Farke hid his disappointment at losing two points and instead said: “I can only congratulate the team on their performance.”
