Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Gerardo Seoane was asked how he deals with criticism from fans on the Internet on Sunday before the game against Werder Bremen on broadcaster Dazn, and he replied brusquely: “I don’t judge criticism from people I don’t know on social media. Seoane was then asked in the press conference after the game what the whistles from the fans when his name was mentioned before the game had done to his coaching soul, and he replied coolly: “I didn’t hear that, I was still there Cabin.”
The fans probably wouldn’t care that the Swiss Seoane, 46, generally doesn’t answer any personal or emotional questions, if only the team regularly played as well as in the 4-1 win against Werder Bremen. While his name was read out as part of the team line-up, the whistle was loudly blown several times before kick-off, but in the final phase of the game the fans sang again exuberantly: “Gladbach is the greatest club in the world.” This is a local hit that follows Feelings and moods are also intoned very spontaneously. In the past few weeks the mood in and around Mönchengladbach has been extremely changeable, but on Sunday evening it was suddenly exuberant again.
A golden autumn on the Lower Rhine is not only pleasing to the regional tourism industry. Indian summer, kale and pumpkin harvests and three home wins in a row for Borussia are good for the image and for business. What is astonishing is that not only the fauna and flora here are subject to seasonal rhythms, the Borussia also often blooms in autumn.
Five years ago, in autumn 2019, Gladbach was the Bundesliga table leader for the last time, a year ago there were the only bright spots in an otherwise miserable season in autumn and in these weeks the team is also radiating something, at least in Borussia Park. The 4-1 win against Bremen was the third home win in a row, and if you combine the last two home wins with the 1-1 draw in Mainz, then Gladbach is currently in ninth place in the Bundesliga table with seven points from three games prepared, which at the end of the season would even meet the self-declared season goal with a “single-digit placement”.
“That was an incredibly good performance after that shit last Wednesday,” says striker Kleindienst
Gladbach’s mood had been significantly dampened by a 2-1 Bundesliga defeat in Augsburg and the recent 2-1 cup defeat in Frankfurt. But if this team has recently acquired one skill, it is that of offering consolation and compensation at least at home after bitter away embarrassments.
Both Niederrhein Tourismus GmbH and center forward Tim Kleindienst live in Viersen, north of Mönchengladbach. Borussia is an image carrier for the entire region and Kleindienst is currently Borussia’s most important image carrier. He contributed three assists to the 4-1 win against Bremen, and his goal participation account in his first weeks in Mönchengladbach now amounts to six goals and four assists. The fact that he used the adjective “unbelievable” 100 times after the game (“incredibly good performance by the team”, “played with incredible determination”, “incredibly self-confident”) should not be taken so literally. But this was a little bit of an expression of perhaps unexpected relief. Kleindienst literally said, with all due respect: “That was an incredibly good performance after that shit last Wednesday.”
The disappointment in the cup that was so bluntly described, 1:2 in Frankfurt despite being outnumbered for 75 minutes, had once again set Gladbach, who had been starving for years, back considerably in a season that was intended to be a medium-term turning point. The media doubts about coach Seoane in his second season at Borussia had peaked for the time being, which probably left him completely unaffected. “Internally we are very critical of our performance,” said Seoane, “but we discuss it purely in terms of content.”
The performance against Bremen was one of the best this season in terms of body language, running, play and exploitation. Seoane said: “In football, self-confidence plays a big role and once you have a few wins under your belt, then you might be able to do things that you didn’t manage to do before.” Striker Kleindienst said: “We have to build on the win against Bremen must develop the self-confidence that we can always play like this.” The Gladbachers, who have so far only been convincing every now and then, continue to look for consistency, after several successes in a row, including away. The problem that is already in sight: their next game is next Saturday evening at RB Leipzig.
