Farke: “We want to reestablish common values here at Borussia”

Daniel Farke is Borussia’s new boss. The 45-year-old spoke at a press conference on Sunday with sporting director Roland Virkus. Here are the most important parts:

Head coach Daniel Farke on…

…his new role as Gladbach’s head coach: I am very happy and very proud that I can lead this fantastic club forwards. Borussia is a club with incredible traditions. It is humbling to be sitting here today because I feel a great sense of responsibility and I know how important this club is to so many people. I am approaching this challenge with a great deal of gratitude and I am grateful for the trust that has been placed in me. I am very much looking forward to taking on the task and leading the club forwards with all involved.

…the club approaching Lucien Favre: Lucien Favre is a fantastic coach who did great things here. The fact that Borussia approached him is completely understandable. I have a good feeling about being here right now because this was all clarified well in advance and this just characterises the quality of the work here.

…his goals with Borussia: You have to be honest and open when talking about goals. If you look at the past decade, the club has done a very good job. But you have to say that the last 18 to 24 months have not been easy. The team was in a relegation battle for most of last season. After this difficult period, it would be wrong to set unrealistic targets. It is not our place to do that after last season. We need a healthy sense of realism and we have to concentrate on the task in hand as opposed to throwing out clichés about league positions.

…his approach: We want to reestablish common values here at Borussia and place them at the heart of what we do everyday- on the training ground and in every single game. If we can do that then we can achieve what Borussia has always stood for and that is great sense of unity within the club and with our incredible supporters. I don’t think any of our fans are expecting us to pick up 102 points next season. What our fans want to see is the Foals doing what they do best, being courageous and aggressive. A team that is not always flawless, but a team that approaches games with courage. This is the spirit that we want to generate. If we succeed in this then we will do well in the table.

…his ideals as a coach: As a head coach you have to lead the whole group. That doesn’t just mean the players, but the entire staff. You have to look to take everyone with you, the whole club and the fans. I believe that leading a group with a sense of empathy is one of the most important things. Nevertheless, you also have to get the ground work in place. You won’t succeed in football by just having a good understanding of human nature. You have to have substance. It is important to find the balance between these two things. I try to do that in a good way and I am convinced that I will succeed with this team.

…changes in personnel this summer: I am convinced that we have a good framework. The squad overall has enormous potential. We can build on that, too. Of course we need to have a good transfer window but it is not that easy at the moment due to the problems of the pandemic. We have talked about this and we are aware of the problems. Nevertheless, we will be looking to make good decisions in the transfer window and have a strong line-up as we start our preparations after the summer break. We are confident in what we are doing and we are hopeful that we will do things in the right way.

…his assistants that will join him at Borussia: Football is not a one man show. I am nothing without my team and I need assistants that I can trust 100%. That’s why I want to continue working with my team here and they will bring a high level of quality both personally and professionally. It was always the case that we would only go to a club where we were convinced by the entire project and that is how we felt with Borussia.

Sporting director Roland Virkus on…

...the decision to bring in Daniel Farke: When it was clear that we would not move forward with Adi Hütter, we started discussing names. We also looked at Lucien Favre. When it became apparent that we couldn’t make it happen, we went to Daniel and we soon realized that we have lots overlaps that fit with the club.

...the reasons for the signing: Daniel stands for the values that are important at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Other clubs may be in a better financial position but we have always functioned as a unit in the past and we have made up for it through togetherness, through a clear structure and through good decision making. This is what we want to get back to. Daniel has shown that he wants to follow our path and that’s why I am convinced that he is the right fit.

…the overlaps between Borussia and Daniel Farke: Daniel was at Norwich City for five years and he got promoted to the Premier League on two occasions. When you look at the manner in which they were promoted, you can see that it fits with Borussia. Under Daniel’s leadership, Norwich were defined by their footballing approach. He worked with a lot of youngsters and he had a good structure in the team. All of this impressed me and this was further consolidated by our conversations.

… the goals for this project: You have to be 100% convinced of something and after the talks with Daniel, we were 100% convinced of him. There are many overlaps. Now it is a matter of implementing these things by working together. We have not achieved our goals in the last two years for various reasons. But we don’t want to look backwards. We want to start a new era but that takes time. We want to steady the ship and work towards new targets.