Borussia have made two really big statements in the past three days. For starters, Mönchengladbach inflicted the first defeat on top team RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and then went on to beat Shakhtar Donetsk 6-0 in Ukraine – a team that had previously tamed Real Madrid and drawn with Inter Milan in their last two European games. Accordingly, Gladbach could hardly be more confident ahead of the clash with the Werkself. “In this game, we got lots of things, and possibly everything, right,” declared a happy coach Marco Rose after the runaway victory in Ukraine. It produced by far the biggest win for the Foals in the Champions League to date – and a win that catapulted Mönchengladbach to the top of the group of death with Real, Inter and Shakhtar. An interim position that few people expected but is richly deserved. Borussia were on the verge of victory against Real Madrid and Inter Milan but conceded late on. And in the league? There could be a continuation of the perennial duel of the past two years with Bayer 04 and Borussia competing for fourth place in the table right up to final matchday. The two teams are currently fourth and fifth with Mönchengladbach one place and one point behind the Werkself.
Rose has recently again and again rotated his side in the many double-fixture weeks. He can afford to do that as Mönchengladbach have a very balanced squad. Practically the only regular starters in every game are goalkeeper Yann Sommer, central defenders Matthias Ginter and Nico Elvedi plus right-back Stefan Lainer. Denis Zakaria also belongs to this group. However, the midfielder has been sidelined for the last eight months with a knee injury and is currently still not back in full training – an absence that hits Borussia hard and which they have had to get used to. The only other player missing due to injury is reserve full-back Andreas Poulsen and homegrown player Jordan Beyer is just set to be on the subs bench after overcoming a coronavirus infection.
A recent option is new signing Valentino Lazaro, who has arrived on loan from group opponents Inter Milan. The Austrian was ruled out at the start of the season with a muscle injury and only played his first minutes in a Gladbach shirt last Saturday against Leipzig. That was followed by fifteen minutes against Shakhtar. It is possible that Rose will entrust the midfielder with a somewhat bigger role against the Werkself. In any event, Lazaro already extends the broad range of players in the Gladbach squad.
Mönchengladbach are characterised by their versatility. Rose likes to switch between a back three and a back four and he is frequently able to change his line-up as he has a very balanced squad including up front. In addition, attacking players like Jonas Hofmann, Breel Embolo and Marcus Thuram are very versatile and can play in different positions without a reduction in quality. Much more important than a fixed formation: The team has taken the fast and energetic Rose football to heart and every player knows his role regardless of the particular formation. This flexibility makes Mönchengladbach a very unpredictable opponent and the quality in every part of the team is high and there are no obvious weak spots.
Borussia could be in an even better position if they were able to hold onto leads with greater regularity. But goals conceded late on have proved to be their Achilles heel in the season to date. The game against Real Madrid was particularly disappointing as Borussia missed out on making the most of an impressive performance as they gave away a 2-0 lead with two goals after 87 minutes. The Foals conceded the equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Inter Milan on 90 minutes – and Rose’s team was in the lead in the Bundesliga against both Union Berlin and Wolfsburg but ended up drawing 1-1 with goals conceded in the closing stages of both games.
Regression in the second season under Rose is not expected – on the contrary. The team has not lost any key players, has gained quality and is taking the next step under their coach. Particularly in the Champions League, Mönchengladbach have impressively demonstrated what this team is capable of domestically and in Europe. Will we again see a neck-and-neck race between the Foals and the Werkself? That can’t be ruled out…
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month…
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With their wonderful goals, Martin Terrier and Florian Wirtz are up for the Bundesliga Goal of the Year 2025. Voting for fans will run exclusively via the official Bundesliga app until Sunday, 4 January.
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The ‘year after’ the most successful year in the club's history brought many changes at Bayer 04. In an exclusive double interview with bayer04.de shortly before the Christmas break, Fernando Carro and Simon Rolfes spoke about building a new team capable of winning trophies, the work of coach Kasper Hjulmand, the young new signings who have quickly developed into key players, and their personal plans for the Christmas holidays. Their outlook for the coming year also shows that the potential is far from exhausted and ambitions remain high.
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Last-minute ecstasy, huge disappointment and a historic performance on the European stage - 2025 was a real emotional roller coaster, especially for the U19s. A rousing run in the knockout phase secured the team a place in the final of the German championships, where they lost by the narrowest of margins. Despite the departure of several key players, the young Werkself team quickly regained their usual strength and qualified for the knockout rounds in the UEFA Youth League for the first time at the end of the year. In 2025, youngsters Jeremiah Mensah and Montrell Culbreath made their debuts in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. The other youth teams also contributed great performances and a number of trophies to the collective Black and Red success, while the successful Bayer 04 Future Kids project broke new ground. Read on for the 2025 review of the youth teams.
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