Borussia Mönchengladbach: a German team

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Shock in Champions League Group G as Napoli fail to beat Gladbach

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In a shocking turn of events in Group G in the Champions League, the favourites to win the group Napoli failed to beat Gladbach on home turf whilst Galatasaray managed to get a huge 5-1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv, knocking out the Italian side in the group stages of the competition. Gladbach, provided they get a good result against Galatasaray at home in the next matchday, will be going through as group winners with the Turkish side right behind them. It was a very disappointing campaign for José Mourinho's side who weren't able to beat Galatasaray (losing once and drawing once) or Gladbach (drawing twice), leaving them in 3rd place and going down to the Europa League. Napoli fans will at least rejoice at the fact that their side will most likely be favourites to win the Europa League as one of the stronger teams going down to that competition but nevertheless, it's been an incredibly disappointing Champions League campaign for them which comes to an end prematurely.

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The German champions on the other hand, will be absolutely thrilled that they've made it through to the next round. In their only 3 appearances in the Champions League, they got knocked out in the play-off round once, finished 3rd in their group once and bottom of their group once making this the first time in the club's history that they'll have made it past the group stages in the competition. Weiß is truly working wonders at Gladbach, as his side remains in 1st place in the Bundesliga following a series of decent results and can now look forward to an exciting round of 16 tie in the Champions League.

I'm very happy with the performance for sure. We didn't need to get a result in particular against them and in fact the pressure was on them the whole match but we held out and manage a 0-0 draw which is more than enough for me since it puts us in the next round. Galatasaray will be joining us and fair play to them, they're a great side and we struggled against them as much as we did against Napoli so it'll be interesting to see how far they can go in the competition but overall, it's great to see a German team other than the usual big sides doing well.
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Speaking of the Bundesliga, this is how the table stands after 12 games in the competition. Dortmund are still very much struggling and sit in 8th place, whilst Leipzig's nightmarish season continues as well as they sit in 14th although a recent victory against Werder Bremen allowed them to get to that point. Bayern are slowly making their way back up the table in the hopes of getting back their Bundesliga title but Gladbach continue their incredible form, sitting in 1st place with just one defeat all season. It is an exciting title race however with Frankfurt just a point behind and newly-promoted Hamburg impressing everyone by making it to 3rd place just 5 points off the top of the league.
 
Hey guys just a quick heads up - it's been a very busy weekend and will be a busy week for me coming up so the next update will be out maybe later today but after that I'm not too sure so if you enjoy this story, just be a little patient and I'll be back soon enough!
 
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Gladbach stay unbeaten after tough patch

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Despite a decent performance from the home side on the night, Gladbach were able to overcome the challenge and claim all 3 points in a tough away match, thanks to Origi's second Bundesliga hat-trick. Fischer also took part in the goalscoring, grabbing one of his own goals in the 41st minute. It was 4-1 at half-time and whilst Schalke looked more threatening coming back for the second half, they ultimately couldn't break down Gladbach's defence and had to settle for a compensation goal in the 93rd minute. It's a huge confidence booster for Weiß's side who go into their winter break top of the league and in a good position to retain their league title.

We definitely expected a tough match and we got on but thankfully we took our chances early on and Divock was able to put 3 away which was huge for us of course. I'm really happy with the performance honestly and it's just a great way to end 2019 and start 2020 on a good note. We have a lot of work ahead of us with the Champions League 1st Knockout Round and more Bundesliga matches so it'll be a tough season but hopefully we can grab some more decent results like this throughout the season and get some silverware as well!
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Speaking of the Champions League, we did have the 1st Knockout Round draw for the competition earlier in December and Gladbach were unfortunate enough to get Real Madrid in the draw. It will be a memorable trip to the Santiago Bernabéu for them but there is no doubt in most people's minds that it should be a win for Madrid in the overall tie.

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Gladbach stay unbeaten despite a pretty rough patch in the season in December, with 2 draws and 5 wins from 7 games played. Some impressive wins against Mainz, Hamburg, Schalke and Galatasaray though will definitely make the Gladbach fans enjoy their Christmases over the Christmas break that the Bundesliga sides will enjoy now.

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And halfway through the Bundesliga season, it's last season's surprise champions who still lead! With just one defeat to Bayern in the first half of the season, Gladbach are enjoying a 3-point lead at the top of the table with Frankfurt sitting in 2nd and 3 points of Bayern in 3rd. Dortmund and Leipzig are still having terrible seasons and will be hoping manager changes or transfers over the January transfer window will help them do better in the second half of what promises to be a very exciting season in Germany's top flight!
 
Some more unfortunate news I'm afraid... After a very busy week last week, turns out I'm going to have another incredibly busy week coming up due to work and uni so the next few updates probably won't be out for a while as I still need to make the graphics and gather screenshots and everything. I'll try to have it up during this upcoming weekend but I can't promise anything! Sorry to anyone still following :/
 
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Former Barcelona man signs with Gladbach as German champions continue good run of form

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It was a stressful January transfer window for Mönchengladbach fans who saw a few key players leave the club but some very exciting prospects arrive as well. Gladbach also suffered an unlikely defeat against Leverkusen in mid-January which put a dent in their Bundesliga title defence but the club quickly turned it around with some decent results in the league and the DFB-Pokal 3rd round.

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The first departure for Gladbach this January 2020 was Boadu. Brought in to be Pléa's backup and eventually a starting striker in Weiß's first season, the Dutch 18-year old failed to impress in the matches he featured in and was eventually brought down in the pecking order with Origi's arrival on a free transfer from Liverpool last summer. Boadu will be going back to his former club AZ in the Netherlands until the end of the season, where he'll hope to replicate the impressive form he had which made Weiß want to sign him for the club.

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Perhaps the most controversial transfer in Germany this month was that of Lars Stindl, who leaves Bundesliga leaders Gladbach for £6 million to join the other title challengers down in 2nd place: Frankfurt. As club captain, Stindl has definitely left a big hole at the club but we understand from our sources that the 31-year old was disappointed with his playing time and frustrated at being 2nd or even 3rd choice up front or in the midfield. It will be very interesting to see how Stindl performs, especially when the two sides meet in Frankfurt in April later this year.

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The last big departure which was one that definitely stressed out Gladbach fans was that of Christoph Kramer. After 2 spells which lasted 6 years combined at the club, the 28-year old world champion with Germany leaves the club for just over £16 million. A few Gladbach fans were actually happy with the amount of money they were able to get for him, especially considering he would leave for a mid to lower half of the table side in Werder Bremen. All that was left for Weiß to do now was to announce new signings in order to calm the club's fans' nerves, who were genuinely worried that their title defence might come to an end with no new signings so far.

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Youri Tielemans comes in from AS Monaco for a club record £25 million (€28 million), breaking the previous record set by Pléa's arrival from the French league two seasons ago. Die Fohlen fans were clearly very excited with the move, as the 22-year old is touted to become one of the best midfielders in Europe or perhaps even in world football and £25 million with just £15 million up front seems like a small price to pay for such a promising player. The fact that Tielemans wasn't able to impress at Monaco however has made some fans worried about the Belgian's performances in Europe later this season, as they'll face Real Madrid in the round of 16 in the Champions League.

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The second player to come in this window was an absolute bargain from Gladbach and perhaps the best deal of the season, with former Barcelona man Clément Lenglet coming in for just £12.25 million, or 60% less than what Barcelona paid Sevilla for him back in the 2018/19 season (£31.5 million). At 24 years old, Lenglet has the potential to not only become one of the best defenders in Europe but also to replace Stindl as club captain in the near future if he impresses. Gladbach's defence is now made up of Vagnoman, Calabria, Luiz Felipe, Ginter and Lenglet which should make them one of the most feared sides for attackers to come up against. Here's what Weiß had to say on the club's transfer window:

It was tough to say goodbye to Lars and Christoph of course, but I knew we would replace them with world-class players. The club's chairman told me when I arrived that he wanted me to sign young, promising players to align with the club's philosophy and I'm very proud to have been able to do that. We've lost some key experience from older players but have signed 2 players who have the potential to become some of the best in the world and can do that right here at Borussia Mönchengladbach, which is a huge positive for me. I hope the fans aren't too disappointed with some of the departures and can look forward to a very exciting future at the club for sure.
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The DFB-Pokal 3rd round hosted some really good games in Germany, with Leverkusen facing Frankfurt and Gladbach facing Schalke. In the end, both teams playing at home (Gladbach and Leverkusen) managed to come out as winners and will move on to the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals where they'll face Bayern and Leipzig respectively, perhaps some of the best matchups we'll have in this season's competition. Tielemans and Lenglet were definitely well-received by Gladbach fans after a few impressive performances in their first games with the club and it's fair to say that, as Klaus Weiß said, it's an exciting future at the Borussia-based club.

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Games against Augsburg and Hoffenheim were perfect matches for Gladbach's new signings, however the club did have a small hiccup against Leverkusen, losing 2-0 at home. It's a tough schedule ahead for die Fohlen, with a triple headline against Real Madrid away, Dortmund away and Bayern at home all after one another.
 
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Gladbach fall behind in intense title race

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It's been an unfortunate few weeks for Gladbach, who went from being title favourites at the end of January to now sitting in 2nd in the league and being worryingly close to Bayern, who will be looking to claim their Bundesliga crown once again after Weiß's side surprised everyone last season and won that title themselves.

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A 3-1 defeat at home along with a red card for newly-appointed club captain Viktor Fischer has left Gladbach fans in disarray. Their side seemed to be doing so well until the return from the winter break, which has seemingly not been a good one for the club as they keep on getting bad result after bad result. Lewandowski and Müller, who are so often Bayern's key players, did their job once again by scoring one and two goals respectively to bring their side all 3 points after going a goal down just 8 minutes into the game, courtesy of Gladbach's top goalscorer Divock Origi who took his tally to 23 goals in all competitions this season.

I'm extremely disappointed. We wanted a good result against Bayern to assert ourselves as one of the top teams in Germany and even though we are still considered one of the best teams in the country after that result, it just doesn't look good does it? We allowed Müller to come off the bench and steal 2 points away from us so you can be sure that we'll be even more focused than ever now and will absolutely be looking to win as many of our last 11 games as possible, to make sure that our fans can celebrate another title at the end of the season!
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Despite this recent bad result against Bayern and a 2-0 defeat away against arch rivals Dortmund, Gladbach fans will remember their team's incredible performance at the Bernabéu in mid-February, winning 5-3 away from home meaning a draw or defeat by less than 3 goals would be enough to see their side through to the Champions League quarter-finals in their first ever appearance in the Champions League knockout stages.

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Gladbach have won just one of their last 4 games in the league, with their latest victory being their 5-1 thrashing of Hoffenheim at the beginning of February. With a match against Köln to end the month and a second leg fixture against Real Madrid in the Champions League to look forward to, die Fohlen will hope they can cheer their team back to form and push for a second Bundesliga title in a row, a feat achieved twice already by the club.
 
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Thrilling tie sees 13-time winners Real Madrid knocked out of Champions League

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A world-class performance from Viktor Fischer, who scored Gladbach's second goal in the 33rd minute, sends his side through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history following a dominant match from the German champions. Real Madrid, who have won the competition a record 13 times, were no match for the German side who dominated at the Bernabéu but also delivered at home, winning the tie 7-4 on aggregate. Die Fohlen fans will be ecstatic following this result, especially as it comes after a series of bad results against the likes of Bayern, Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Köln in the Bundesliga.

I knew we could do it and to be honest, when you see some of the comebacks that have happened in the Champions League in the last few years, even Real Madrid needing a 3-0 win away from home would've been favourites! After all, we managed to win 5-3 away from home so I don't think it would've been unreasonable for them to be able to get that sort of result. We managed to finish the job though which is the most important part and I was really glad to see the fans so happy and excited for the next few months. We have a Champions League quarter-final tie and a Bundesliga title race to look forward to so it should be a great end to the season!
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A few Gladbach fans came forward on Twitter as they seemed worried that a job interview offer from Tottenham might have impacted their manager's mental state ahead of such a big game, but they'll be delighted to hear that our sources say Weiß dismissed the talks entirely. Whether that is to focus on the game itself or because he genuinely had no interest in becoming Tottenham manager is another question and one that will have to be answered later.

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A Bayern defeat at the hands of Leverkusen in the last matchday has allowed Gladbach to stay in 2nd place and on Frankfurt's tail, who managed to win their game in hand and push 4 points clear at the top of the league table. There aren't any low-pressure games anymore for Gladbach, who will have to chase Frankfurt down probably until the last few games of the season. Die Fohlen will now have to refocus for a home game against Werder Bremen, an away game against Hannover and then a very tough series of matches against Leipzig at home, Bayern away in the DFB-Pokal quarter-final and Frankfurt away on top of a Champions League quarter-final tie against an unknown opponent.
 
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Borussia Mönchengladbach come crashing out of Champions League despite 1st leg victory over Manchester United

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Gladbach's season seems to be getting worse and worse. Despite having a strong lead in the Bundesliga putting them on course for what should be a 2nd straight Bundesliga title, they've had to say goodbye to 2 other competitions where they would've been eager to impress. A huge shame for Weiß's side. The German outfit was drawn against Premier League side Manchester United following their incredible tie against Real Madrid (won 7-4), a tie which was supposed to be one of the tightest matchups of the round and whilst it ended up being tight on the scoresheet, Zidane's United completely dominated Gladbach in the second leg, giving them an easy pass to the Champions League semi-final. Weiß shared the fans' disappointment and seemed quite disappointed with his players despite a tough ask going to Old Trafford and winning there:

Of course I'm disappointed. We were in control and leading the tie 1-0 after a great performance at home. I obviously didn't expect an easy game at Old Trafford but I wanted to see more from my players. We conceded 18 shots all game and didn't even have a shot on target of our own. It was a disappointing performance in a tie that, in my opinion, we should've won. United have had years and years to hire the best managers, make some record breaking signings and benefit from insane TV revenue, whilst we just won our first Bundesliga title in 40 years last season. I'm proud of our performances in the competition this season and our fans can be sure that we'll come back again next year stronger and better and ready to beat teams like Manchester United.
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After a shaky month in March (getting brushed out of the DFB-Pokal by Bayern and managing just 1 league win in 3 games), some huge victories against Frankfurt and Stuttgart has meant that with 5 games left in the Bundesliga, Gladbach lead by 4 points with Frankfurt, Bayern and Hamburg all not too far behind. It's fair to say that Gladbach's second half of the season hasn't been as good as the fans would've wanted. Riddled with injuries, suspensions and unlucky results, die Fohlen had to fight incredibly hard to come back from 2nd place and make it 4 points clear at the top of the league, whilst managing a fantastic Champions League run to the quarter-final in their first ever knockout stage appearance. Having made it as far as Bayern in this season's edition of the competition, they've absolutely asserted themselves as one of the best German teams around and can do so for sure by winning a 2nd consecutive Bundesliga title in around a month's time.
 
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Last match-day drama in Bundesliga!

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A win against Schalke was all Gladbach needed to secure an incredible 2nd consecutive Bundesliga title and what a way to do it! A 4th minute goal from Youri Tielemans means die Fohlen took all 3 points and retained their Bundesliga title for the first time since the mid-1970s. In a season that was full of surprises, the Bundesliga ends with Frankfurt in 2nd place and Bayern finishing the podium in 3rd, whilst newly-promoted Hamburg manage an incredible 4th place finish. The usual big sides in Germany had horrendous seasons outside of Gladbach and Bayern, with Dortmund finishing bang mid-table and Leipzig getting relegated directly following a last match-day defeat against Bayern. To think that the side which finished 2nd last season is now relegated following a 17th place finish is utterly absurd but such is the Bundesliga these days!

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After another outstanding season for their club, Gladbach fans will be even happier about news from the club that Weiß, the 29-year old miracle manager, signed a contract extension until 2024, keeping him in Borussia for the next 4 years. Additionally, our sources have told us that the Gladbach board has given Weiß an impressive £70 million to spend next summer, amount subject to change if the wage budget is adjusted or some unwanted players leave. What an incredible time to be a Borussia Mönchengladbach fan!
 
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Gladbach dominate at Bundesliga season awards

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Following Gladbach's incredible 2nd consecutive Bundesliga title win, many expected them to dominate at the end of season awards in Germany and as you might imagine, they absolutely did. Divock Origi is an example of a player who completely overperformed this season, winning the European Golden Boot in the process and outscoring Cristiano Ronaldo for the reason, something which not many players will be able to say throughout their careers.

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Pléa was the goalscorer for Weiß's side last season and finished with 22 goals in all competitions. Origi scores 30 goals in his first season at the club and the recent formation change to a more traditional 4-4-2 should allow the Belgian to score even more often now and potentially with a new striker partner. Thorgan Hazard continues to impress in the Bundesliga as both him and his brother Eden dominate their respective leagues, which is really interesting to see.

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With 9 players in both Team of the Year's, it's clear to see that Gladbach's defence, midfield and attack were their strong points. Their whole team performed incredibly well and deservedly feature in as many awards as they did, especially when considering that this season, they did have Champions League football on top of domestic football, something which didn't affect them last season. After yet another successful season in charge, Weiß and his side will be able to now take a deserved holiday (except for 6-7 players who are off to the EUROs) and come back with £75 million to spend and a 3rd Bundesliga title to win.
 
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A record-breaking summer for Gladbach

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Following their second successive Bundesliga title last season, Gladbach had many football fans in Germany and around Europe excited as to what they were going to get up to in the summer. With a reported £70 million budget for new signings for the new season and an already-exciting squad full of young players with a lot of potential, Gladbach fans definitely have a few reasons to be excited for the new season to start.

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Despite all the good news coming from Die Fohlen over the summer, Pléa's departure was one of the few negative points from the club's summer. Leaving for just under £20 million, this means Gladbach have lost a bit of money on Pléa but have at least managed to send him off to a foreign club which they won't be facing in European competitions either. Gladbach fans did mention they were sad about the player's departure due to his incredible performances in his first season at the club but Origi's arrival last season put the Frenchman on the bench for most of the season, forcing the former Nice striker out eventually.

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Pléa's replacement was almost immediate and seemed actually planned, with 23-year old Jean-Kévin Augustin, another French striker. coming in for just over £20 million in what is an absolute bargain deal for Glabach. The former Leipzig striker finished at the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga in Weiß's first season in charge of Gladbach so he was clearly impressed by him, pushing him to sign him now that he wanted out from a second-division side. Augustin and Origi should make an incredible striker partnership for the upcoming season now and Gladbach fans will hope that both players can complement each other and do well together.

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With 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 being Weiß's two favoured formations, who better for him to pick up than promising German talent Oliver Batista Meier. The 19-year old comes in on loan from Bayern without an option to buy, something which I'm sure Gladbach would have been looking to get on their deal with Bayern considering Batista Meier's potential. The youngster will probably only be a backup player for Gladbach but could absolutely do a job for the German champions when called upon.

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Myron Boadu goes out on loan once again for die Fohlen following an unsuccessful loan back to AZ for the second half of last season. The Dutchman will be going a bit closer to his parent club to Augsburg and therefore will be able to get some first-team experience in Germany, something which I'm sure Weiß wants to get Myron accustomed to if he is to be the future striker of the club.

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Another incredibly exciting signing for Gladbach was that of Guilherme Arana. The Brazilian left-back comes in from Sevilla for a total of £35 million but just £20 million up front to replace the departed Andreas Poulsen who left for Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer. With Arana as the first choice left-back now, Vagnoman will probably become the backup left-back and right-back in the team for the time being, unless Calabria ends up in a bad run of form. Arana's arrival also broke Gladbach's transfer record, which they had already broken in January last season when they signed Youri Tielemans from AS Monaco. At almost €40 million, Arana clearly will be expected to perform for the German champions.

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The last signing made by Gladbach is probably the biggest in Germany this season so far and one of the biggest transfers in Europe, with highly-coveted Leon Bailey moving to the German champions for a total of £75 million with £45 million coming up front for Leverkusen. At 22-years old, Bailey certainly fits the new signing profile that Weiß has liked to get into his side but he's also a very experienced Bundesliga player who has the potential to become world-class so I'm sure Gladbach will be more than happy to have him at the club now, even if it means replacing Hazard or Fischer down on one of the two wings.

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There were even MORE good news from die Fohlen over the summer with Divock Origi committing his future at the club for another 5 seasons as the Belgian striker announced he was absolutely delighted to stay with the Bundesliga holders after an incredible first season at the club last year and the ambition the club was showing this year already. After 2 straight Bundesliga titles, a 3rd one would certainly make Gladbach the monopoly team in Germany considering Bayern and Dortmund's incredibly underwhelming performances in the last 2 years.

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It was a very successful pre-season for Gladbach, the only downside being that penalty defeat in the DFL-Supercup against Wolfsburg in what was a very tight game with a 96th minute equaliser from Tielemans at the away end. Gladbach's very impressive 7-0 win in the DFB-Pokal 1st round and 4-1 win in their friendly against Juventus has definitely made them one of the sides that I'm sure most German defences in the Bundesliga will be wary of. With their two opening Bundesliga matches against 1.FC Union and Hamburg, this should be the perfect opportunity for Weiß's side to get off to a good start and go into the Champions League draw for this season's group stage in a good mood.
 
Very impressive transfer business. Hopefully the team can do it in Europe this time around! Best of luck mate!
 
WeArePalace said:
Very impressive transfer business. Hopefully the team can do it in Europe this time around! Best of luck mate!
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Cheers mate, hoping for a better European campaign for sure! I have to say I didn't expect £70 million to spend haha, even after winning 2 league titles in a row!
 
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Impeccable start for German powerhouse Gladbach

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With a 3rd successive Bundesliga title in sight for Gladbach and their fans, it's fair to say they've taken a huge step towards that with their best start to a Bundesliga season under Klaus Weiß. The German manager recently switched out of his 4-3-3 system that we were getting used to and decided to opt for a 4-4-2 to best utilise Augustin and Origi up front together, as well as Hazard and Bailey on the wings and it has worked wonders for the club who are top of the league after 5 games.

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The most surprising and best result for Gladbach fans so far this season would have been their incredible 6-2 away win at the Allianz Arena in Munich against home side Bayern. The side now managed by Leonardo Jardim had to use one of their B team's keepers following injuries to Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich and let's just say it didn't really work out for Bayern, conceding an incredible 29 shots throughout the game and conceding 6 goals. Even with that horrendous result however, the German giants sit in 2nd place behind a team that is slowly becoming the best in Germany.

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We also had the opportunity to watch the Champions League group stage draw, which saw some very interesting groups form, one of which being group D. With Gladbach hungry for some great European performances following their miracle quarter-final exit last season, they'll definitely be favourites to go through as group winners but they'll be facing some very tough competition from Monaco and Valencia, who both surprised and finished in 2nd and 3rd respectively and are both unbeaten in their league campaigns as well, making for some very intense matchups between the 3 sides. København should, unfortunately for them, be going out of Europe entirely with a 4th place finish to be expected.

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Gladbach defend their Bundesliga title for the second season in a row and we can easily say it's one of the better title defences in Germany in recent times. With 4 games out of 5 where they scored 4 goals or more, Gladbach average an incredible 4.4 goals a game with their 22 goals scored and 5 conceded. They've also won all their games so far and sit 5 points clear at the top of the table in what looks like another incredible season for them. The big surprise is to now see Dortmund down in 16th place! After a surprise RB Leipzig relegation last season, are we about to see Dortmund get relegated themselves? As for the Champions League, Weiß's side had a steady start, managing to earn a point against Monaco in a 1-1 draw at home in a game that was as close as expected but definitely not as entertaining as expected. Let's hope for better performances from the German side in their next few Champions League games!
 
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Gladbach set for 3rd Bundesliga title in a row and Real Madrid UCL tie repeat

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If you thought Gladbach couldn't get any better, you're wrong. With 3 draws, 2 defeats and 13 wins in their last 18 games in all competitions, die Fohlen find themselves at the top of the Bundesliga quite comfortably, whilst also enjoying a very successful Champions League campaign. Despite a surprising hiccup against København in Denmark, wins against the latter as well as Valencia got them into the top 2 of the group as Monaco's draw against Valencia on the last match-day put Gladbach in 1st in the group. With the French side set to play Manchester City in the next round, we're left to wonder if fans would've preferred the English side in their 1st knockout round tie in February 2021 or their actual opponents... Real Madrid. After an emphatic 7-4 aggregate win in the 1st knockout round last season, Gladbach will be hoping to replicate their performance against the Spanish giants who find themselves down in 4th in La Liga.

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As we reach the halfway point of the season, the current German champions sit 13 points clear at the top of the table, with Wolfsburg behind them and Bayern following. With an incredible 55 goals scored in these 17 games, Gladbach continue their outstanding goalscoring form with an average of 3.23 goals a game. To give you an idea, Bayern's record for the most goals in a single season in the Bundesliga is from way back in 1971, when the Munich-based side scored 101 goals all season. Additionally, Bayern also hold the record for the least amount of defeats in a league season with just the 1 back in the 1986/87 season, another record that Gladbach could at least equal if their outstanding form continues.

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In an incredibly stacked FIFPro Team of the Year, we have the usual appearances of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as well as two Ligue 1 players in Neymar and Mbappé. Germany however is represented by 3 different players: Kimmich and Hummels of Bayern Munich and ... Leon Bailey of Gladbach! His incredible performances with Leverkusen last season and his 13 assists and 9 goals in 20 games with Gladbach so far this season get him a spot on the bench in the best team in the world, which is an incredible achievement for a club like Gladbach. It's a very promising second half of the season ahead of Weiß's side and Gladbach fans will be extremely excited to see what their team will be able to do not only in the Bundesliga, but more importantly in the Champions League.

A quick side note for you guys: as much as I'm loving writing this story and building this Gladbach team, I feel like it is just getting way too easy domestically. We're now consistently dominated Bayern, Leipzig and Dortmund and are also doing quite well in the Champions League. Even though I would really like to continue this story, I think it might get a little too stale especially given the money we would probably get next season and the signings we'd be able to make. As such, I will be starting a new story based in France (my home country) around a side that used to be very big in the early days of the Champions League and is one of the most decorated French sides in the history of French football. Expect this new story as soon as this 3rd season with Gladbach finishes! Hope you all understand ^^)
 
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Real Madrid-bound Ginter puts future team to the sword in dramatic UCL tie

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After 2 disallowed Madrid goals and a 91st minute striker from Matthias Ginter, who recently agreed a pre-contract deal with the Spanish giants and will join them in July this year, it's Gladbach who get past Los Merengues for the second season in a row in the Champions League and making it to the competition's quarter finals once again. A very impressive showing from the German side in the first leg allowed them 2 away goals but that all went out the window when Real Madrid scored twice in the opening 14 minutes. Hazard equalised about 20 minutes later and we then had to watch a very stale game between the two sides until centre-back Ginter, replacing Luiz Felipe who was out suspended, scored the winner very, very late on.

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Since die Fohlen's defeat to Frankfurt at the end of the first half of the season, Weiß's side has enjoyed a pretty incredible spell of 11 games, 10 wins and one a draw coming against Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tie. Wins 8-1 against Mainz in the Bundesliga and 13-1 against Düsseldorf were amongst the most impressive as Gladbach will now need to face Bayern in the DFB-Pokal quarter-final, exactly the same as last season, but we're sure it'll be Bayern who will be worried this time after losing 3-0 to the German champions in the league and seeing Dortmund fall to their rivals 4-0 as well.

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This incredible series of results makes Gladbach by far the best team in Germany, sitting 17 points clear at the top of the league with 9 games to go. With the best defence in the league conceding a little under a goal a game, Weiß has clearly managed to fix his defensive issues from last season but perhaps the most incredible transition in this side has been the focus on attack. With last season's 4-3-3, Gladbach ended their Bundesliga campaign with 81 goals in 34 games, already an impressive tally but this year, the switch to what was thought to be a more conservative 4-4-2 has led them to already 86 goals in just 25 games, an incredible 3.44 goal per game return. Perhaps the signings of Augustin and Bailey have helped out but it's definitely been a historic season for Gladbach who will have their eyes set on the goals record in the Bundesliga set by Bayern almost 40 years ago: 101.
 
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Third successive title win for Gladbach!

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Gladbach fans will be going home ecstatic on a lovely Saturday afternoon in Germany as their side won against newly-promoted side Paderborn 4-0 after an incredible 41 shots all game, taking all 3 points and winning the Bundesliga title for the 3rd time in a row, a feat which has not been achieved by the German side since the 1974/75 - 1976/77 seasons, the latter of which was also coincidently the last time they ever won a Bundesliga title. With a reported £100 million to spend next summer, it looks like Gladbach's dominance in Germany isn't going to stop for a while if they keep bringing in young talent with the potential to become world-class and if they, more importantly, manage to keep Weiß at the club. In terms of their European performances, it's fair to say that they're doing very well on that front too!

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After losing in the quarter-finals last season to Manchester United, who eventually went on to lose in the final against PSG, Gladbach would have wanted to make a statement in the Champions League to show that they're not just a great German side but also a great European side and what better way to do that than beating the holders of the competition with a 2-0 win at home and 2-2 draw away, taking the tie 4-2 on aggregate! Die Fohlen will now face one of Juventus, Barcelona or Liverpool in the next round, making for some incredible semi-final potential ties.

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Gladbach's incredible run came to an unfortunate end as they lost 1-0 to Hertha at home, taking their tally for the season to 2 league losses meaning they won't be able to equaliser Bayern's record of the least amount of league defeats in a season. They did however get another impressive victory against Bayern in the DFB-Pokal, winning 3-2 in extra-time and getting revenge for last season's competition. They will face Werder Bremen in the semi-final and one of Dortmund or Leipzig if they manage to make it to the final.

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Gladbach sit top of the league and already champions with 5 games to spare, meaning they can now relax and focus entirely on the Champions League and DFB-Pokal, two competitions where Weiß hasn't been able to impress as much as previously and will therefore want to show the fans that their side can perform in many different competitions. With 98 goals in 29 games, Gladbach are now 3 goals away from the goals record which we're sure they'll be very proud of and are almost guaranteed to break now.
 
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Gladbach do the double with incredible win over rivals!

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In a game that was perhaps not as tight as anticipated, it's once again Gladbach who came out on top in the Borussen derby to claim their 2nd DFB-Pokal title in 2 years, thanks to goals from Cuisance and Hazard in the first half and Calabria in the second half. An incredible performance from the German champions who end their season on a very high note following a record-breaking season in the Bundesliga and an impressive Champions League campaign.

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It was a happy end to the season for Gladbach fans despite their disappointing 4-2 aggregate defeat against Liverpool in the Champions League final, who we hope they'll be supporting in the final against Juventus, who managed to beat Barcelona 7-2 on aggregate after an incredible 7-1 win at home and a 1-0 defeat away.

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It ended up being an incredible end to the season for Gladbach who managed a ridiculous 107 goals from 34 games, conceding just 24 in the process. Bayern come in 2nd place after some decent results in their last few games, whilst surprise overachievers Stuttgart and Frankfurt finish in 3rd and 4th respectively. We'll be seeing Dortmund in the Europa League next season following their 6th place finish whilst Paderborn and 1.FC Union will be going right back down to 2.Bundesliga, joined by either Köln or Bochum. Leipzig will make it back to the German top flight after a decent season in the second division, finishing in 2nd behind Hannover with 71 points.


As this story will be coming to an end, I will be combining the season awards and the best 11 in this update to start off my new story ASAP. It's been a great adventure in Germany and I hope all of you will be following my story in France which should definitely last a bit longer and not end up being as easy as this turned out to be. Without further ado, here's the awards!

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It was an incredible season from newcomer Leon Bailey (to be expected though) and Tielemans as well, who fitted in this team very nicely since his arrival last January. Additionally, Calabria has turned out to be the deal of the century considering he cost us £6 million from Milan, definitely one of my best ever signings in FM.

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We dominated the Bundesliga awards, as expected, as once again we fall 2 players short of having a full Gladbach team in the Team of the Year. Bit of a shame but Tielemans got injured for 3 months later in the season which is probably why Goretzka is in the team ahead of him and not playing with an attacking midfielder means it's Correa who takes that spot in the Team of the Year. We also get 3 Gladbach players on the podium for Player of the Year and Arana winning the Newcomer of the Year too which is great.

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And finally, the club's best 11 since I took over in the 2018/19 season. Thorgan Hazard ended with the most appearances, featuring in the first team an impressive 130 times over 3 years with Cuisance close behind him with 114 appearances for the team. Bailey was by far the best performing player in the short time he was at the club for but a special shoutout goes to Origi, who managed an impressive 57 goals in just 90 games making him one of the best goalscorers I've used on FM not just this year but in previous years too! Pléa's return of 27 goals in 64 games isn't too bad either, whilst Calabria also deserves a special mention for his young age and incredible performances over the years. This is honestly one of the most fun and best teams I've been able to make in such a short amount of time at a club in FM with every single player being quite young (except Hazard who's now 28) and incredibly promising. Thank you all for following me on this journey and I hope you'll do the same with my new France story which I'll be starting later tonight or tomorrow! Also, I've included the story's game file below this paragraph so if anyone would like to just use the game save for themselves to have a bit of fun, go for it!

 
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