The promotion of Eugen Polanski to head coach will result in a major restructuring of the youth team at Borussia Mönchengladbach. One person with an emotional dimension in particular stands out: Christian Ziege is returning to his old place of work.
At Borussia Mönchengladbach, the promotion of Eugen Polanski to head coach has triggered a comprehensive reorganization of the youth team. When the former midfielder was promoted from interim to head coach on November 18, 2025, those responsible were aware that this step would have personnel consequences. Polanski stabilized the professional team with four wins and three draws from twelve competitive games, but at the same time he left a gap in his previous position as coach of the U23s. This vacancy – and several others – is now closed. One personality stands out in particular.
Due to the change at the top, almost all of the young coaches moved up an age group. The new U17 coach is Denis Hauswald, previously responsible for the U15s. He will be given a prominent man, Christian Ziege, as an assistant coach – a return with an emotional dimension.
The 53-year-old suffered a serious personal loss in November 2024. His wife Pia died after a long illness. In an Instagram post at the time, he wrote: “And there are always traces of your life, thoughts, pictures, moments. They will remind us of you, make us happy and sad and never let us forget you.”
The couple had been married since 1997 and they have two children together, Alessandro and Maria. Pia also brought a daughter, Katharina, from a previous marriage, with whom Ziege also maintains a close relationship. Everyone is adults.
Goat played and worked for Borussia
In terms of sport, Goat is closely linked to Borussia. The left midfielder and defender already played for the club as a professional. After his active career (72 international matches for Germany), he worked in the Lower Rhine, among other things, as a U17 coach, sporting director and as an interim and assistant coach. In 2008 he left Borussia for Arminia Bielefeld, most recently working as sports director in Saalfelden, Austria. Now he is returning to his old place of work.
The second team will be taken over by Oliver Kirch, who will succeed Polanski as U23 coach. Mihai Enache, who previously won the German championship with the U17s, will be responsible for the U19s in the future.
Mirko Sandmöller, head of the youth performance center, said about the big upheaval during the winter break: “We consciously decided against making changes during the season that would have affected several teams. We see the winter break as a better time to use the preparation with new coaching teams and to start the second part of the season well prepared.”
SUF
