Gladbach’s shocking collapse
What happened to Borussia?
01/20/2022, 1:39 p.m
Stunned, at a loss, helpless – at Bundesliga soccer club Borussia Mönchengladbach, the form curve in the 0: 3 disgrace in the DFB Cup against second division Hannover 96 is steeper than ever. The situation is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for coach Adi Hütter.
Understandable doubts about Borussia Mönchengladbach’s team spirit were rejected by captain Lars Stindl after the next disaster. “Of course we’re a team,” said the 33-year-old, but he also knew: “Of course I have zero arguments after a game like that.” At 0: 3 at Hannover 96, the Bundesliga soccer club gave a shockingly weak picture on Wednesday evening. Rearing up, playful ideas, tackling presence: none of that was seen in the DFB Cup round of 16. Coach Adi Hütter seems increasingly at a loss. The pressure on the Austrian and also on sports director Max Eberl is growing.
Hütter is not afraid for his job. “No,” the 51-year-old replied with an almost petrified expression when asked. “I worry about how we played and I’m angry about how we played.” The anger and the bewilderment about the catastrophic performance were visible on him. Given the failure of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the chance of a cup coup was greater than it had been for a long time. With the exception of the 2-1 win at Bayern at the start of the second half of the season, Hütter’s team has been completely out of shape for weeks. Only goalkeeper Yann Sommer reliably calls up his performance. Gladbach have huge gaps in defense and are completely harmless up front despite their high potential in play.
Even the opponents gave alarming signals on Wednesday. “We were all very surprised at how the game went. Gladbach gave us very little resistance,” said Hannover midfielder Sebastian Kerk on Sky. A significant statement when the twelfth-placed in the second division talks about a Bundesliga club that delivered impressive Champions League games against Real Madrid or Inter Milan with almost the same staff last season and has already beaten Bayern in the cup this season with 5 :0 shot out of Borussia Park.
Suddenly a relegation candidate
In the current constitution, Gladbach is a relegation candidate. The lead over the relegation zone is still four points. Actually, Borussia wanted to orient themselves towards the European Cup again under Hütter, who came from Frankfurt in the summer as the successor to Marco Rose for 7.5 million euros. In a way, the coach was the royal transfer from sports director Eberl. The 48-year-old, who has made Borussia a top address since they were almost relegated in 2011, has had to put up with a lot of uncomfortable questions this season.
In difficult times due to corona, Eberl did not manage to extend contracts with top performers such as Matthias Ginter or Denis Zakaria. In addition, players who were apparently willing to change were not transferred for various reasons. Now the team is in danger of falling apart. The future of numerous top performers is open, which causes unrest. The Ginter case is the best example. The national defender’s contract will not be extended, and the long-standing top performer should, if possible, leave VfL in January. Hütter left Ginter 90 minutes on the bench in the 1-2 draw against Leverkusen on Saturday. On his 28th birthday, he was suddenly back in the starting XI against Hannover, but didn’t bring any stability. Such decisions by Hütter do not contribute to the calm in the environment and the team.
Hütter tries a lot to give his lethargic team impetus. But it doesn’t work. In Hanover he tried again from the start with Alassane Pléa and Marcus Thuram up front for a long time. At the break, he replaced the completely disappointing French again. Hütter understands that he is now also being discussed. “Sure, given the situation we’re in, that’s definitely not satisfactory. You have to say that very clearly,” he said. “Of course I will do my best to get the team back on the road to success.” Hütter spoke of a “huge task” and of wanting to speak “plain language”.
Before the home game against 1. FC Union Berlin on Saturday, his statements at least indicated that he also had doubts about the attitude of some players. “We just have to field the right eleven at the weekend, who accept the situation and clearly oppose it,” he said. One hope is national player Jonas Hofmann. The most recently injured Gladbach top scorer this season could return to the team.