Even at this early stage the sinking feeling was familiar and impossible to shake, and something had to give at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The first Bundesliga coaching change of the season is upon us just three games in, and it is not a major surprise that it is Eugen Polanski departing. Neither is it a shock that Gladbach are involved; after all, it was at exactly this point last season – three games in – that they parted ways with Gerardo Seoane.
A club with more prospects and direction would have chosen to move on from Polanski in the summer, but the reality is that Gladbach have few of either. Saturday afternoon’s humiliation at Freiburg – a club enjoying a 100% record, guided by poise and purpose, having spent the Johan Manzambi money wisely – was no bad day at the office but a season in microcosm. The home side cruised into a 2-0 lead inside the first half-hour before the Gladbach captain, Tim Kleindienst, was sent off for a second yellow card (after an utterly avoidable first one).
One former Gladbach player, Yannik Engelhardt, scored twice while another, Matthias Ginter, made two assists. It finished 5-0 and could have been way worse. Polanski fell on his sword on Sunday morning and there is no doubt how painful it is.
Polanski first arrived at Gladbach when he was eight years old, came through the academy, made his professional debut for the club in 2004 and was head coach of the under-23s for three years before being parachuted into the first-team role to mop up the mess just under a year ago, after Seoane was sacked. After successfully avoiding relegation, we made a number of changes for this season. We had high hopes, but we didn’t manage to achieve them.
I sincerely hope that Borussia gets back on track very quickly.” Polanski’s sincerity is not in doubt but he must know that his words carry more hope than expectation. He never really stood a chance, an inexperienced coach inheriting a bad situation and a squad of limited means. The last time they were in Europe, five-and-a-half years ago, Gladbach reached the Champions League last 16, before being bounced out by eventual finalists Manchester City.
Marco Rose’s team was equipped with talent including Yann Sommer, Ginter, Denis Zakaria, Ramy Bensebaini, Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram. Today’s vintage is just not of the same quality. The intervening years have not been kind and losing Thuram and Bensebaini, for example, after their contracts expired underlines how poorly succession has been managed.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
