Year in Review: Lots of changes in personnel and a good preseason
As we look back on 2023, we take a closer look at the months of July and August. There were lots
of changes in personnel, in addition to the new head coach Gerardo Seoane. The Foals also
celebrated a tenth anniversary of preseason preparations held at Tegernsee.
ON THE PITCH
In the first friendly under new head coach Gerardo Seoane, the Foals drew 1-1 with Wegberg-Beeck, but Gladbach beat 1. FC Saarbrücken 2-1 in their second preseason friendly on the way to their training camp in Rottach-Egern. After more successful friendlies against FC Ingolstadt (2-1 win), 1860 München (2-1 win), VfB Stuttgart (5-1 win) and HSC Montpellier (2-2 draw), the Foals convincingly won their first competitive game of the season against fifth-tier side TuS Bersenbrück 7-0 in the DFB-Pokal. Borussia kicked off their Bundesliga season with a spectacular 4-4 draw away to FC Augsburg, before losing 3-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
STANDOUT MOMENT
It was the tenth time that the Foals undertook their preseason preparations in Rottach-Egern. In honour of this anniversary, the main entrance to the Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt was adorned by a banner with the words: “10 years at Lake Tegernsee – Training Camp 2023”. There’s good reason why the Foals have done their preseason training camps in Rottach-Egern every year since 2012 (excluding 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic). “The conditions here are always perfect,” said Roland Virkus, Borussia’s managing director for sport. “That goes for both FC Rottach-Egern’s pitch and for the Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt.”
OFF THE PITCH
- Borussia made four more new signings: Maximilian Wöber (on loan from Leeds United), Tomáš Čvančara (Sparta Prague), Franck Honorat (Stade Brest) and Jordan (on loan from Union Berlin).
- Three more players also left the club: Jonas Hofmann moved to Bayer Leverkusen, Conor Noß to Blau-Weiß Linz and Oscar Fraulo on loan to FC Utrecht.
- Borussia began their pre-season preparations under their new head coach Gerardo Seoane on 9th July in front of approximately 1,500 fans.
- Gladbach reached an agreement with Florian Neuhaus to extend his contract until the summer of 2027.
- Jonas Omlin was named as the club’s new captain by Seoane. Julian Weigl and Florian Neuhaus were named as the Swiss player’s deputies, whilst the team council was made up of Tony Jantschke, Christoph Kramer, Alassane Plea and Ko Itakura.
- Borussia mourned the passing of Horst-Dieter Höttges and Gerhard Elfert. Höttges, who played for Borussia between 1960 and 1962, passed away at the age of 79. Elfert, who played for VfL from 1965 until 1967 and scored the club’s first Bundesliga goal, died at the age of 80.
- At the first “FohlenClub members talk”, the club’s two managing directors Stephan Schippers and Roland Virkus met with 40 members and answered lots of their questions.
- The season opener sponsored by Flatex proved to be a great success despite the bad weather. A total of almost 40,000 spectators made their way to BORUSSIA-PARK in the pouring rain.
- Borussia extended its collaboration with co-sponsor Audi and partner NEW. In addition, Kyocera (also a new digitalisation partner) and LVM-Versicherung became new co-sponsors of the foals. A partnership with MatchWornShirt was also agreed.
QUOTE
Julian Weigl: “It was a demanding, but good preseason. We worked hard in training and we wantto demonstrate that on the pitch. We’ve known for a long time that there would be some bigchanges at the club. We’ve lost some quality players, but those in charge have done well to signboth young, hungry lads and more experienced players. That’s why there’s a good balance in theteam. We’re on the right path.”