Gladbach comeback

When coach Lucien Favre took over at Borussia Mönchengladbach back on Valentine's Day, there was little reason to think their season would come up roses in the end. The Foals had been in dead last for much of the 2010-11 campaign.

They only had 16 points then and were coming off a bitter loss to lowly St. Pauli. Discipline, and morale, were correspondingly poor.

Fast forward less than three months, and Gladbach are on a three-game winning streak that has seen them beat three teams in the top half of the table, including champions Dortmund. More importantly, they've moved up to third-from-bottom, meaning that at least a spot in the relegation playoff is now in their own hands.

The Foals' revival has been as sudden as it was unexpected, given the difficulty of their schedule in late April and early May. But if they can secure three points against Hamburg on Saturday, they look a good bet to pull off one of the most astonishing comebacks in Bundesliga history.

But miracle would be a misleading term for Borussia's phoenix-from-the-ashes act. Their winning streak is due to a good coach who's made necessary adjustments and kept his cool, and to a bit of overdue good fortune.

Defensive stability

The main cause of Gladbach's stuggles this season was obvious. The team was horrid defensively. Favre's solution was to play a more conservative midfield, while putting his trust in a veteran center back and teenage goalkeeper.

Despite some initial flutters, Austrian Martin Stranzl has proven to be a very valuable winter acquisition. But perhaps the biggest surprise has been 19-year-old Marc-André ter Stegen between the posts.

Ter Stegen has kept the Foals in a number of matches, most recently in last Saturday's 2-0 win over Freiburg, in which the wunderkind produced a first-rate save against red-hot Papiss Demba Cisse early on.

Favre has taught the whole team to advance the ball in controlled fashion and avoid having to pay for individual mistakes. The Foals now look a lot like Hertha Berlin, the last team Favre coached, when they came respectably close to winning the Bundesliga title 2008-9.

The contrast between then and now could hardly be starker. Gladbach's porous defense earlier on means they are still second worst in the league in goals conceded, with 64. But in their last five matches, they've only let in two.

So it's no wonder that the Foals have had chances to win. But other trends have also broken Gladbach's way and allowed them to make the most of those opportunities.

Right time, right opponents

Gladbach are on a roll, although the wins have come in a fashion that has added a few gray hairs to Favre's head.

They were thoroughly outplayed by Dortmund, and their victories over Hanover and Freiburg were also of the knife's-edge variety. But they kept their cool.

"I'm always supposed to stay calm," Favre told reporters after the Freiburg match. "It's not good for my team otherwise. They would notice. And I did stay calm, although it was difficult."

Gladbach's run illustrates that there are good times and bad times to play specific opponents. Dortmund appeared to be affected by some home-stretch jitters on their march to the title, while Hanover clearly felt the pressure of trying to qualify the Champions League and were forced to abandon their usual counter-attacking strategy.

Freiburg also had a man sent off - it was a turning point in the match and another lucky break for Gladbach.

On the other hand, keeping one's nerves in check is part of being able to win. That's another skill Favre has imparted to his charges. Gladbach received seven red cards in their first 22 matches, and only one since the Swiss coach's arrival.

Now if only they can stay up, maybe the Foals can calm down some of the surrounding white noise.

Coup de grace or coup d'etat?

Gladbach is a club with a long, storied tradition, but where there's tradition, there are also plenty of former greats with unfulfilled ambitions.

Alongside Borussia's home-stretch run, ex-midfielder Stefan Effenberg announced that he will mount a bid to take over management of the club, when the board meets in late May.

"I'm someone who stands up and takes a hand-on approach instead of just saying I know better in interviews," the "Tiger,"as the former German national is nicknamed, told a reporter in an...er...interview.

Keeping Gladbach in the first division would be coup de grace that would help the low-key Favre and Sports Director Max Eberl fend off the coup d'etat - and give the embattled club some needed continuity.

And it would also likely help the Foals retain the services of their best player, midfield whiz-kid Marco Reus, whose 10 goals this season have kept his team in the hunt. The 21-year-old has been linked with both Bayern and Dortmund (for whom he once played as a youngster), but the scuttlebutt has been predicated on the assumption Gladbach were headed down.

But Borussia have thrown a monkey wrench into experts' and fans' expectations. Now one final win against Hamburg could show that news of their demise was indeed dramatically premature.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Matt Hermann