An internal celebration took place at BORUSSIA-PARK on Saturday evening following the journey home from Bremen. The club said goodbye to players Oscar Wendt, Ibrahima Traoré, Valentino Lazaro, Max Grün and Julio Villalba as well as head coach Marco Rose, assistant coaches Alexander Zickler and René Maric, fitness coach Patrick Eibenberger and goalkeeper coach Steffen Krebs.
Borussia closed out 2020/21 with a 4-2 win against SV Werder Bremen on Saturday, finishing the season in eighth place in the Bundesliga. The Foals returned to BORUSSIA-PARK after the match, getting together one last time in the Business Lounge to enjoy dinner and reflect on the year gone by. “It’s about getting together once more after a long season before we then go our separate ways,” said Marco Rose. The evening was also an opportunity to say farewell with Rose, his assistants René Maric and Alexander Zickler and fitness coach Patrick Eibenberger all leaving the club for Borussia Dortmund. All four arrived from RB Salzburg in the summer of 2019. “I was allowed to coach this great club for two years. I am really thankful for that time,” said Rose. Also saying their goodbyes were goalkeeper coach Steffen Krebs, at Borussia since 2018 and now heading for VfB Stuttgart, as well as five players: Valentino Lazaro, Julio Villalba, Max Grün, Oscar Wendt and Ibrahima Traoré. The evening was especially emotional for those last two.
Wendt: "I love Borussia"
Wendt has been a part of the Borussia furniture for the last decade. The left-back arrived from Copenhagen in 2011 and played a total of 244 Bundesliga matches (16 goals), 37 European games (1 goal) and 24 DFB-Pokal fixtures (2 goals). Overall, the Swede has appeared an unbelievable 305 times for Gladbach, scoring 19. “Obviously it makes me extremely proud to have been a part of the history of this great club,” said Wendt. “Everyone who knows me knows what these ten years have meant and what they will always mean. It's been a wonderful time for me. I love Borussia, the area, the fans and the boys that I share the pitch with each day. This club will always remain in my heart.” The 28-time Sweden international will now return home to continue his career with IFK Göteborg, the club where Wendt started his professional career 16 years ago.
Traoré: An emotional goodbye after seven years
For Traoré, it was time to say goodbye after seven years at the club. The 33-year-old joined VfL in 2014 from Stuttgart and has since featured in 132 competitive games (99 in the Bundesliga, 21 in European competition and 12 in the DFB-Pokal.) He has scored eleven goals for the Foals. “Thank you for seven outstanding years,” wrote Traoré on social media. “It is time to say goodbye. Once a Foal, always a Foal!” Valentino Lazaro will also leave Mönchengladbach after one season with the club. He returns to parent club Inter Milan after the end of his loan spell. The 25-year-old, recently named in the preliminary Austria squad for the upcoming Euros, scored twice for Borussia in his 28 games for the club. One of those goals was the unforgettable scorpion kick that earned the title of “2020 Goal of the Year”.
After four years as a Foal, Julio Villalba’s time at the club also came to an end on Saturday. Borussia signed the striker out of Paraguay in January 2017 before he was loaned back to his hometown club Cerro Porteno for the remainder of the season. Villalba was never able to get a foothold in the Borussia starting XI as he struggled with several injuries and in 2020 the attacker went out on loan to SCR Altach in Austria in order to get more gametime. The 22-year-old featured twice for the Foals in his four years at the club. Max Grün leaves Borussia after two years without a competitive appearance. The 34-year-old was signed from SV Darmstadt 98 in 2019 to serve as our third-choice goalkeeper.
International players called up
After the season finale, the Foals will now head off for the summer. Internationals Yann Sommer, Nico Elvedi, Denis Zakaria, Breel Embolo (all Switzerland), Matthias Ginter, Florian Neuhaus, Jonas Hofmann (all Germany), Stefan Lainer, Valentino Lazaro (both Austria), Marcus Thuram (France) and László Bénes (Slovakia, recently on loan at FC Augsburg) will get a few days to catch their breath before beginning preparations for EURO 2020 (11th June – 11th July). Left-back Andreas Poulsen, on loan at Austria Vienna since January, will represent Denmark U21s in the European Championship quarter-final on Monday, 31st May. They face Germany with kick-off set for 21:00 CEST. Poulsen will return to Borussia next season. The rest of our players can enjoy five weeks off to recharge their batteries ahead of next season.
