The 2008–09 Borussia Mönchengladbach season was the 108th season in the club's history. They played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's first season in the top tier since their relegation from the Bundesliga in 2007.
They also took part in the DFB Pokal, Germany's top club knockout competition, where they reached the second round before being eliminated 2–0 by fellow Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus, who they coincidentally played a part in relegating later on in the season.
Season summary In the summer transfer window German under-21 youngsters Eugen Polanski and Robert Fleßers, along with Danish Tor des Jahres winner Kasper Bøgelund left upon the expiration of their contracts, with Angolan international Nando Rafael transferring to AGS for an undisclosed amount. In replacement, Michael Bradley, Karim Matmour, Gal Alberman and Jean-Sébastien Jaurès signed with die Fohlen.
At the start of the season, Mönchengladbach encountered troubles in the Bundesliga, with several disappointing performances. The worst of it came in a 5–1 defeat to 12th place Hannover 96, saw manager Jos Luhukay dismissed in October with only 1 win in 7 league matches, and elimination from the DFB-Pokal by Energie Cottbus. Christian Ziege's brief one match stint as manager saw Borussia get their 4th point of the season in a 2–2 draw to Bochum away, with Hans Meyer taking the reins for the rest of the season.
In the winter transfer window, Meyer signed Belgian goalkeeper Logan Bailly from Genk, Czech national Tomáš Galásek from Baník Ostrava, and Canadian defender Paul Stalteri from Tottenham Hotspur, with Meyer selling fellow Germans Alexander Voigt to Greuther Fürth, and Sascha Rösler to 1860 Munich. In a tough final day battle, Mönchengladbach played Dortmund in the Borussia derby, while Bielefeld faced Hannover. Cottbus took on Leverkusen, and won 3–1, and as Bielefeld finished with a 1–1 draw, they went down to 20th, cementing their place next season in the 2. Bundesliga. Mönchengladbach were able to salvage a 1–1 draw in the derby, which secured Bundesliga status. Meyer escaped the drop with die Fohlen while being bottom of the league from mid December to early March. Meyer left the club at the season's close, and recently sacked Arminia Bielefeld coach Michael Frontzeck took his place.
Squad Squad at end of season
Transfers
In PlayerTransferred fromFeeDateSource40 SC FreiburgUndisclosed6 Bayer LeverkusenUndisclosed19 Beitar JerusalemUndisclosed20 AuxerreFree26 Heerenveen€5,000,00030 GenkUndisclosed8 Baník OstravaUndisclosed13 Tottenham HotspurFree31 Standard LiègeUndisclosed
Out PlayerTransferred toFeeDateSource26 Mainz 05Free9 AGSUndisclosed13 Racing SantanderFree20 AalborgFree6 GetafeFree4 July 200817 Young BoysFree8 Hansa RostockLoan10 1860 MunichUndisclosed13 Greuther FürthFree23 Hamburger SVLoan21Released
Competitions
Overall record
Bundesliga
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
DFB-Pokal
In the first round, Borussia Mönchengladbach were drawn against VfB Vichte Bielefeld.
Statistics
Appearances and goals
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan=12 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during season
Goalscorers PlayerBundesligaDFB-PokalTotal1FW16Rob Friend707MF11Marko Marin4373MF26Michael Bradley5054DF31Dante303FW9Roberto Colautti123DF4Roel Brouwers213MF29Alexander Baumjohann303FW40Karim Matmour3039FW11Sascha Rösler022DF5Steve Gohouri202DF3Filip Daems20212MF37Tony Jantschke101DF15Thomas Kleine101MF28Johannes van den Bergh101DF18Tobias Levels101DF17Patrick Paauwe101FW27Oliver Neuville101—Own goal101Total39847
Notes
References