Borussia Mönchengladbach have been on a steady decline since their fourth-place finish in 2020, with back-to-back 10th place finishes in recent seasons. Gerardo Seoane is now the man tasked with stopping this decline, but will it get worse before it gets better at Borussia Park?
The Foals had been on a steady rise since 2018, culminating in the side competing in the Champions League in 2020 for fourth time since the 1970s. But ever since Marco Rose decided to move on to manage Borussia Dortmund in 2021, they have never fully recovered.
Seoane comes into the club after being sacked by fellow Rhineland side, Bayer Leverkusen only nine months ago. With many of Gladbach’s star men of the last few seasons plying their trade away from Borussia Park, it will be a tough job for Seoane, who is looking to repair his reputation after a horrid beginning to the last season with The Werkself.
The Foals will be hoping Seoane, who has signed a three-year-deal at Borussia Park, can bring a better atmosphere to the club after a forgettable campaign under now Leeds United head coach, Daniel Farke. The 44-year-old won back-to-back Swiss Super Lig titles with Young Boys in Switzerland, earning the move to Leverkusen and with a third place finish in the Bundesliga in his CV, it is clear to see why Gladbach have opted for the Swiss coach. But what style of play can The Foals fans expect from their side this season under Seoane?
What style of play will he bring to Borussia Park?
When looking at how Seoane likes to set up his teams, you have two different styles and formations to analyse, but both carry the same principles of the Seoane playbook.
At Young Boys, Seoane liked to deploy a 4-4-2 system with attacking full-backs and two midfielders in a deep pivot. In Switzerland Seoane’s side won a domestic double through high pressing, direct play and emphasis on deliveries into the box from wide areas. In the build-up of play normally one of the sixes would drop in to create a three at the back and the full backs would push on, overlapping the wingers.
This build-up was replicated by Seoane at Leverkusen, with Charles Aranguiz often dropping in to start attacks and the explosive pairing of Mitchell Bakker and Jeremie Frimpong bombing on from full-back positions. The key differences to the systems Seoane deployed at both clubs, was the formation and lack of pressing shown at the BayArena. Seoane’s Leverkusen side played in a 4-2-3-1 formation with a spearhead in Patrik Schick at the top of the team. His side often dropped back when they didn’t have the ball to counter attack quickly on side’s with the explosive pace of Frimpong, Diaby and Bakker. By the end of his first season in charge, Seoane’s Leverkusen were the side with the least pressures on the opposition, showcasing the contrast to his time at Young Boys. Schick was an integral part of Seoane’s system at Leverkusen, as the Czech Republic International could hold the ball up and link attacks well, suiting Seoane’s more direct style and counter attacking weapons.
It remains to be seen how Seoane will line his Gladbach team up at the start of the season, but there are suggestions he could revert to the 4-4-2 formation, which brought him so much success in Switzerland.
Gladbach in turmoil
The last few seasons have seen a settled side at Borussia Park be stripped of its main assets and leaders. Only this summer, Gladbach have lost their top goal scorer in Marcus Thuram for free, club legend and last year’s player of the season Lars Stindl for free and possibly worst of all their key player of the last five seasons, Jonas Hofmann has departed to rivals Bayer Leverkusen.
This came after his €10m release clause was activated by The Werkself. Hofmann had enjoyed his best season in a Gladbach shirt last season, scoring 12 goals and assisting another 10.
Another key player who departed Borussia Park this summer was Ramy Bensebaini who left for Dortmund as a free agent. This mass exodus doesn’t even take into account the players who left in the two transfer windows prior in Matthias Ginter, Yann Sommer and Breel Embolo.
The situation in the future isn’t looking rosy for the side either with as many as seven first-team players running out of contract in 2024 including the likes of Nico Elvedi and Florian Neuhaus, who have been linked with moves away this summer.
One man who looks destined to move away this summer is young star midfielder Manu Koné, who is attracting interest from Europe’s elite. Gladbach would be hoping for offers upward of €40m for the Frenchman, but a recent knee injury at the Under-21’s Euros has cast doubt over whether the transfer may happen.
This Koné money would be of benefit to Die Fohlen who can try and rebuild their depleted squad to Seoane’s liking. The Foals have already responded to losing Hofmann by bidding for Franck Honorat of Brest as a replacement for the Germany International. But how much work does Die Fohlen need to do in the transfer market?
Squad analysed
With the season just over a month away, Gladbach’s squad is looking very light and lacking in many areas. As aforementioned there are many key men who have departed this summer such as Thuram, Bensebaini, but maybe the transfer which will have been felt the most by Gladbach will be the one of Hofmann to Leverkusen.
The German international had been at the club since 2016 racking up 184 appearances for The Foals. He was key contributor going forward for Die Fohlen in recent years, as shown by his 22 goal contributions last season. If Die Fohlen are to have a successful first season under Seoane they will need to replace Hofmann wisely.
According to reports they are trying to do this through signing Frenchman Honorat from Brest. The 26-year-old scored six goals in Ligue 1 and racked up five assists for a struggling Brest side. And when comparing his FBRef statistics to those of the departing Hofmann it is clear to see what Gladbach see in the Frenchman.
The two players have a similar style of play, in that they both use their technical ability and quick thinking to create and score rather than outright pace. Both rank high in shot-creating actions, crossing, key passes and expected assists, showing their creative skills.
Although Hofmann is clearly the better player, you have to take into account that Honorat was playing in a worse side and under Seoane, Gladbach fans will be hoping the Frenchman can unleash his full potential.
If Gladbach do end up selling Koné on top of Hofmann they will have money to play with in the market, which they will need to bolster their squad. Looking at their squad there is three key areas that need strengthening.
Firstly, the firepower of Hofmann and Thuram needs to be replaced. Gladbach have already brought in Robin Hack and Grant-Leon Ranos but further acquisitions are needed.
Hack, who was signed from Arminia Bielefeld, is an exciting wide man with pace to burn who is sure to thrive under Seoane. The German scored 10 goals in the 2. Bundesliga last season but in his last Bundesliga season the 24-year-old failed to score. This may worry fans of Gladbach especially considering the other forward signing is Ranos from Bayern Munich.
Ranos is a 19-year-old Armenian striker who played for Bayern Munich’s Under-23 side in the Regionalliga, scoring 20 goals and assisting a further 12. This is incredibly impressive numbers for a 19-year-old, who has been compared to the German great Miroslav Klose, but stepping up two divisions and delivering is most likely a step too far for the Armenian.
This is why Gladbach must sign another number nine to help burden the load on Alassane Plea who seems set to be Die Fohlen’s main attacking threat next season. Schick excelled under Seoane at Bayer Leverkusen and one exciting talent who has similarities to the Czech Republic international is Thijs Dallinga.
Dallinga scored 12 times for Toulouse in the club’s first season back in Ligue 1. The Dutchman only joined the French side last summer from Excelsior in his native Netherlands but is already attracting interest around Europe. The 22-year-old, as shown by the graphs below, is a similar type of player to Schick as he likes to be a traditional number nine who scores goals in and around the box.
Compared to Schick, the 22-year-old isn’t as creative or beneficial in the build-up of play, something he can improve on but is good aerially for someone who is only 5’10”. Both strikers aren’t ones to beat their man or carry the ball, which suits Seoane’s system as he likes his wide men and full backs to do this work, before crossing and delivering for the number nine.
In a two-man frontline with Plea, Dallinga could bring his game to another level under Seoane’s tutelage. A move to the Bundesliga after just one season in the Europe’s top five leagues for Dallinga would be intriguing and one many would keenly follow.
The next position to address for Gladbach would be left-back due to the departure of Bensebaini to Dortmund earlier this summer. Gladbach alongside other Bundesliga sides have been linked with Derrick Kohn, who shone for Hannover 96 last season in the 2. Bundesliga.
The 24-year-old came through the ranks at Bayern Munich before moving to Netherlands to play for Willem II. He was an ever present for the Dutch side during his two seasons at the club, but returned to his native country last summer to join Hannover. The full-back scored five goals and assisted a further two goals in an impressive campaign.
Die Fohlen face competition from Mainz 05, Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart for his signature, but if they do pull of the signing it will leave their left-hand side in good stead for years to come with young gun Luca Netz also at the club.
Finally, with Elvedi only having a year left on his contract and the departure of Ginter being heavily felt last season, The Foals should be on the lookout for another centre-half to compete with Ko Ikatura, Marvin Friedrich and Elvedi. Edmond Tapsoba, like the aforementioned Schick, excelled under Seoane at Leverkusen meaning a similar profile player would be a welcomed addition to Gladbach’s backline. When looking at FBRef statistics, Stuttgart’s Waldemar Anton seems to fit the bill when looking at the sort of centre-half Tapsoba is.
The 26-year-old is great at progressing the ball, breaking the lines with passes. Both players are very comfortable on the ball and help their teams massively when building attacks and playing through the thirds, but neither stand out defensively.
This being said Tapsoba doesn’t have as much defending to do in a possession-based Leverkusen side compared to Anton who was in a relegation threatened Stuttgart side. This and the fact Anton has played in a back three at Stuttgart mean the German may not instantly slot into Gladbach’ team but under Seoane he could flourish in his prime years.
One stumbling block may be the transfer itself with Stuttgart most likely seeing Gladbach as competitors next season meaning they wouldn’t want to sell one of their key players, especially if fellow centre back Konstantinos Mavropanos leaves.
How might Gladbach line-up with all this considered?
The backline would welcome Kohn and Anton to it with the American Joe Scally most likely preferred to Stefan Lainer due to his pace and directness. If Seoane goes with a 4-4-2 formation then the midfield will most likely consist of Julian Weigl and Christoph Kramer with Weigl being the one to drop in to start attacks from deep. On the wings, new signing Hack will start while Honorat may see himself start his Gladbach career in a wide area, somewhere Hofmann played in his Gladbach days. Up front Dallinga would be partnered by Frenchman Plea, with Seoane going back to his Young Boys days of direct attacking and balls being delivered into the box.
The other option Seoane has is to play the 4-2-3-1, which worked in his first season at Leverkusen. This would see Honorat move centrally behind Dallinga, with Hannes Wolf starting on the right-hand side. The only problem with this formation would be the amount of trust put on Dallinga’s shoulders but Plea could easily be switched in for the 22-year-old.
All of this is hypothetical with signings unknown at this point but considering the amount of departures at Borussia Park over the last few seasons, an overhaul is needed and if players don’t come in then Seoane may experience a tough first season at the helm. The Foals need to be careful they don’t regress more this season with a relegation battle feared by Gladbach fans, especially considering the players who have left this summer scored 39 of the teams 52 Bundesliga goals last term.
A fascinating window and season awaits for Die Fohlen.
GGFN | Stuart McCracken
