A look back on 2021: Sporting and emotional ups and downs

We kick off our look back at the year 2021 with the months of January and February. Alongside the sporting highlights of the year’s first two months, there was also activity in the transfer market, historic milestones and an announcement with significant consequences.

On the pitch

Following a short winter break, the Foals got back in business in the new year. The six Bundesliga games in January saw 14 points collected and memorable comeback wins at home, against FC Bayern (3-2) and Borussia Dortmund (4-2). The DFB-Pokal round of 16 tie also saw success, as Marco Rose’s side came back from going a goal down in the opening seconds to win 2-1 and progress. The Foals won seven points from losing situations in the league that season, against Union Berlin (1-1) as well as the games against Bayern and Dortmund. Unfortunately, February did not continue in the same vein, as the Foals earned just one point from the next four league games (0-0 at VfL Wolfsburg). Home defeats against 1. FC Köln and Mainz 05 were compounded by a loss away at RB Leipzig, which the home side won in second-half injury time after Borussia went in at half time 2-0 to the good. The Champions League round of 16 fixtured could not take place at BORUSSIA-PARK due to the Covid-19 situation in England at the time, so the Foals played their “home” fixture at the Puskás-Arena in Budapest, holding their own against Pep Guardiola’s team for large parts of the game but eventually coming away on the end of a 2-0 defeat.

Memorable Moments

The first two months of 2021 saw many special moments; the first win against Borussia Dortmund in nearly six years, reaching our first DFB-Pokal quarter final since the 2016/17 season, or our first Champions League knockout game in club history. The defining moment came on February 15th, though, as head coach Marco Rose announce that he would be using a release clause in his contract and leaving Borussia at the end of the season. “I thought long and hard about making this decision. I had to choose between going into a third season with a great, massively ambitious club, or seek a new exciting challenge elsewhere. I hope you can see that it was anything but an easy decision for me,” said the head coach on his departure.

Off the pitch

• There were two arrivals to Borussia in January who would go on to have key roles in the course of the year. Just after turning 18, Joe Scally stepped up to the first team, after signing in November 2019. As well as him, Borussia announced the signing of Manu Koné, who would rejoin his old club, Toulouse FC, on loan until the end of the season before becoming a Foal in the summer. Max Eberl was not in Mönchengladbach for all these events, taking four weeks off at the start of the year and returning at the start of February.
• Valentino Lazaro was awarded ARD Sportschau’s “Goal of the year 2020”. The Austrian’s “scorpion kick” strike in November 2020 against Bayer Leverkusen won the award.
• Borussia made another step in the fight against Antisemitism, signing a declaration from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The decision to take on the IHRA’s definitions should serve as an example to all football clubs, especially amateur clubs, to take a stand in the fight against Antisemitism.
• The women’s and girl’s teams, who did not get to play due to the Coronavirus situation, found creative ways to be active. Amongst other things, they set challenges and showed presentations to keep the players on their toes.
• The latest episode of “FohlenInsights - Europe's Dark Horses” was released on FohlenTV and Borussia’s social media channels, looking back on the Champions League Group Stage and the historic debut in the knockout rounds.

In words: Max Eberl

“People may come and go, but the club will always be there.”