A sobering season is coming to an end for Borussia Mönchengladbach. In terms of sport, the foals will again miss all their goals and an alarming trend is also being confirmed economically.
For the third time in a row, the traditional club is in the red. The loss for 2022 was a whopping 24.6 million euros. “That’s not a nice result, that’s for sure. But we know where it comes from,” emphasized finance boss Stephan Schippers on Monday to the 1040 members present in Borussia Park.
Schippers said: “Due to the lack of the Champions League and the league’s new television contract, we had 30 million euros less TV revenue alone. Corona also cost us another ten million in 2022. Then there was the separation from Adi Hütter, and because of the World Cup we had two Bundesliga games less.”
But despite all attempts at an explanation, those responsible are put in a bad light. Just under two years ago, Borussia was still in the round of 16 of the Champions League and was eliminated by the star ensemble of Manchester City. In the meantime, nothing is left of the glamor of the premier class. The club is degenerating more and more into the gray mouse of the Bundesliga.
So the question arises: Who is to blame for Gladbach’s crash?
Schippers: “We are slowly washing out Corona”
A first cause is quickly found and has already been mentioned by Schippers. Because of course the people of Gladbach were no different than the rest of the world. The Corona crisis has eaten a big hole in the bank account.
“Up until the time of Corona, we were always in the black. We had 103 million equity, now there are still 47 million left. The three years have left feathers, that’s absolutely right. But it’s only because we were so well positioned that we got through the crisis so well,” said the 55-year-old SPORTS1-Interview.
After all, the club was unable to fill the stadium completely by mid-April 2022 and had to accept significant losses. Now “Corona is slowly washing itself out”. Schippers is convinced that he will soon be able to “be in the black again”.
Rose finish the beginning of the end?
But can this be done without further ado? Corona is considered the only external factor in the worrying Gladbach trend. Serious management mistakes by ex-boss Max Eberl are no less important. In the meantime, the sporting situation is precarious. Sports director Roland Virkus also has his shares in the game.
A look into the past is necessary to explain this. In principle, the Foals’ downward trend began as early as February 2021. The ball was set by the then coach Marco Rose, who decided prematurely to leave the club at the end of the season and join Borussia Dortmund.
The problem: Rose announced the change when Gladbach was fully involved in the race for the Champions League places. Almost all players were disappointed with their coach’s decision. Above all, the timing surprised many players – in the middle of the season, in an important phase in which you still had big goals.
Suddenly their heads hung down. Jonas Hofmann spoke in the GQ Magazine from a “severe loss” that had “a major impact on the mood”. Despite all the unrest, Eberl stuck to Rose, pulled the thing through at the end of the season – and failed with a bang.
Gladbach only finished eighth and failed to qualify again for international business. TV revenues fell by around 30 million euros from 95 to 65 million euros.
Hütter misunderstanding hurts twice
After the Rose era, the next sticking point was not long in coming. Gladbach paid a proud transfer fee of 7.5 million euros to Frankfurt for Eberl’s chosen successor, Adi Hütter.
Otherwise, Borussia relied on a concept that is lived so much by very few clubs: continuity. And that, in turn, did not suit Hütter at all. The Austrian pursued a completely different idea than Rose, but did not get the necessary staff. He was dissatisfied with the squad from day one, so Gladbach also played under Hütter. The goals for the season quickly became hopelessly distant.
Among other things, Hütter criticized the internal communication and the transfer policy: “Unfortunately, what was promised to me in the summer transfer period has not been kept. Nothing has changed at player level,” the 53-year-old complained after his dismissal, which closed his chapter in Mönchengladbach after just one year.
Eberl’s surprising departure also hit Hütter hard. “It was a slap in the face for me because I felt like I could tear trees out with him. Then it was a difficult year. I didn’t perform like that either,” he explained. And so the Austrian caused a special depreciation of another 5.7 million euros.
A not insignificant aspect of the current economic situation. “The football world knows that we had to buy Adi Hütter from Eintracht Frankfurt for 7.5 million euros. And if you separate after a year, then of course you have to put two thirds of this investment into depreciation. That hurts,” said Chief Financial Officer Schippers.
The Hütter project was doomed to fail early on. And Eberl, who was celebrated for a long time as a doer and guarantor of success, was extremely unhappy in his last decisions. The aftermath can still be felt today.
Does Farke suffer Hütter’s fate?
Gladbach showed up with a new management duo for the 2022/23 season. Coach Daniel Farke should steer the club back into calm waters together with sports director Virkus – and finally lead them back into the European Cup.
But Virkus fell into the same trap that had previously caught Eberl. On the Lower Rhine, continuity remained a valuable asset, which also entailed certain risks. The core of the team had existed for a few years, sometimes seemed full and often no longer radiated the fire that would have been necessary for top performances.
Farke noted on the first match day that a new striker was needed, for example. His wish was not granted. Instead, Gladbach went into a season for the second time with a fresh coach who wanted to initiate a change but had no suitable staff available.
The logical receipt: Six games before the end of the season, Gladbach is only in tenth place and will most likely not qualify for the European Cup for the third time in a row. Another year beckons in which additional TV revenue will go to waste.
Of course, coaches shouldn’t completely absolve themselves of responsibility. Nevertheless, massive management errors can hardly be denied.
Gladbach wants to learn from their own mistakes
And then there are the eternal discussions about player contracts. The club wants to avoid cases like Marcus Thuram and Ramy Bensebaini, who will leave Gladbach free of charge in the summer.
“We must not run into a situation similar to 2023,” Virkus said SPORTS1 added: “We will make sure that we do not lose any players whose contracts expire in 2024. We are in good talks about that.” The working papers of Patrick Herrmann, Hannes Wolf, Florian Neuhaus, Nico Elvedi and Stefan Lainer, among others, will expire next year.
Borussia Mönchengladbach: Farke, Virkus and Schippers at the general meeting
In order to be able to write black numbers again, Gladbach now wants to change the transfer policy. “We have to dare to let good players go,” Schippers said. There has to be a balance between buying and selling.
Regardless, the foals are caught in a dilemma. Virkus still has to make up for omissions from past decisions. His hands are tied financially. At the same time, an upheaval is required in order to be able to provide Farke with a powerful squad in the summer.
As long as there is no money, it will also be difficult to sign young talents. It will soon become clear whether Gladbach can attack the European Cup in the coming year or whether it will have to orientate itself downwards.
