Bundesliga season preview: Borussia Mönchengladbach
With not long until the 2016/17 Bundesliga season gets under way in earnest, it is high time to put each club's upcoming campaign under the microscope. Accordingly, bundesliga.com's previews will provide you with all you need to know ahead of the big kick-off on 26 August…
Big question
Next up are Borussia Mönchengladbach…
In the relegation places after six games of the 2015/16 campaign, Gladbach looked like a team reborn once Andre Schubert replaced Lucien Favre as coach in late September. The Foals ended the season in fourth with the third-most goals scored in the division.
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The question now is whether the five-time Bundesliga champions can emulate their 1970s glory years and re-establish themselves as a permanent fixture in the upper echelons of German football.
In Mahmoud Dahoud, Andreas Christensen and Nico Elvedi, Gladbach have three of the most promising players aged 20 or less in the Bundesliga. The return of FIFA World Cup winner Christoph Kramer has lifted spirits among the BORUSSIA-PARK faithful, who saw captain Granit Xhaka depart earlier in the summer.
Coach
There is excitement around what Schubert might achieve given a full season to himself.
Most recently the coach of the Germany U-15 team, the 45-year-old was initially appointed to succeed Favre on an interim basis last September before being given the job permanently in November having helped Gladbach become the first team in Bundesliga history to win five consecutive games after losing the previous five.
His experience in youth football stood him in a good stead with a team whose average starting line-up last season boasted three teenagers and a captain who was 23.
It will be interesting to see how Schubert balances a squad now targeting a two-pronged attack on the Bundesliga and Europe.
The oldest player in the team at 31, the Brazilian is still a long way from slowing down.
His ability to play in the space between the opposition's defence and midfield, and willingness to finish on either foot, make Raffael a deadly weapon for the Foals.
Key dates
Gladbach open their 2016/17 Bundesliga campaign against fellow top-four aspirants Bayer 04 Leverkusen. A trip to FC Bayern München's Allianz Arena follows on Matchday 8 before the Rheinisches Derby against 1. FC Köln on Matchday 11.
Home ground
Replacing the smaller Bökelberg stadium in 2004, BORUSSIA-PARK can welcome an impressive 54,057 fans, of which 16,145 stand as per popular demand.