Page 48 - Soccer360 - Issue 103

Lars Stindl (C) of Borussia Monchengladbach celebrates with teammates Matthias Ginter (L) and Nico Elvedi (R) of Borussia Monchengladbach
Darmstadt’s Mathias Honsak (R) celebrates with teammate Marvin Mehlem (L) after scoring the 1-1 during the German DFB Cup Round of 16 soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and SV Darmstadt
Borussia Mönchengladbach
It’s safe to say that Borussia Mönchengladbach will be looking to redeem themselves this season. After failing to qualify for any European football following a very disappointing 10th place finish, die Fohlen sacked manager Daniel Farke but opted for perhaps a very surprising replacement: Gerardo Seoane. The Swiss tactician will also be aiming likewise for redemption after having a disappointing conclusion to his career at Bayer Leverkusen, where he was fired after a poor start that left the team hovering around the relegation zone. It won’t be easy, as Gladbach have seen a spate of players leave during the summer’s transfer market, including Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hofmann, Ramy Bensebaini, and Lars Stindl, but as expected, have brought in some new faces with the hopes of making last season’s dismal showing just a minor blip and not the sign of something more troubling.
NICKNAME:
Die Fohlen (The Foals)
Die Borussen (The Prussians)
MANAGER:
Gerardo Seoane
LAST YEAR FINISH:
Bundesliga, 10th
Darmstadt
Darmstadt are back in the top-flight after six years and naturally will be hoping to make their stay a little more permanent this season and avoid suffering the up and down fate that has afflicted many promoted sides. However, they will have to do it without their top goalscorer from last season, Phillip Tietz, who has moved on to Augsburg. As such, Darmstadt have attempted to mitigate this by signing Rennes attacker Fraser Hornby to fill Tietz’s shoes. They will face a tall task ahead - with many other teams all hoping to likewise avoid the drop - but will hope to use their solid form from last season, especially at home, to help them pick up the necessary points to stay afloat.
NICKNAME:
Die Lilien (The Lilies)
MANAGER:
Torsten Lieberknecht
LAST YEAR FINISH:
2. Bundesliga, 2nd
Eintracht
Frankfurt
Frankfurt players celebrate after scoring the 1-0 lead during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and SV Darmstadt
Eintracht Frankfurt had a busy summer - and not just from pre-season action. Die Adler saw quite a few departures
as well as incoming players, so it will be interesting to see what this squad can achieve this season. Last term saw them finish in seventh and secure a place in the Europa Conference League, and Frankfurt have a new coach in former assistant Bayern boss Dino Toppmöller, who played for them in 2002-03, who was appointed in June. However,
a major concern last term
was Frankfurt’s inconsistency that saw them fail to win in
10 games between February and May after a successful spell just a few months
prior. As such, Frankfurt
could theoretically either be challenging for a European football spot or maybe end up just settling into mid-table obscurity along with a crop of other sides.
NICKNAME:
SGE (Sportgemeinde Eintracht)
Die Adler (The Eagles)
Launische Diva (Moody Diva) Schlappekicker (Slipper Kickers)
Die Diva vom Main (The Diva From the Main)
MANAGER:
Dino Toppmöller
LAST YEAR FINISH:
Bundesliga , 7th
DID YOU
KNOW?
Gaol king Gerd Müller’s haul of 365 goals from just 427 games will likely never be beaten. Every single one of those came for Bayern, at a rate of one every 105 minutes, before the man known as “Der Bomber” left for the USA at the age of 33.
48 SOCCER360 MAGAZINE
Gerardo Seoane gives instructions to his players
2023-24 BUNDESLIGA SEASON PREVIEW