Who are yer? Borussia Monchengladbach

 

The legendary Borussia Monchengladbach - ye of the long name who were one on the giants of European football back in the 1970s.

Indeed, they were so good they actually outdid the artisans of Bayern Munich, winning five Bundesliga titles during the decades thanks to household names such as Berti Vogts and Gunter Netzer.

 

That was all topped off nicely, thank you, with two UEFA Cup victories among five European finals - the most famous being the defeat to Liverpool, with the two clubs having close ties to this day.

 

 

Green, black and white by night: The home end at Borussia Park.

The trophies dried up shortly afterwards and a couple of German Cups aside, the past three decades have been tougher with occasional flirtations with the second division. Despite all this they remain among the top half dozen supported teams in Germany.

They're nicknamed The Foals, which comes from the time the young side that burst on to the scene in the late 60s.

 

 

Where do you come from? Borussia Park

 

Borussia Park sprang up in 2004 - an imposing 54,000 capacity stadium on the edge of town which replaced the Bokelberg which held a mere 34,500 and was holding the club back financially.

From the outside the Park dwarfs the area, big and imposing - and inside it doesn't disappoint. It's decked out in the deep green colours of BM (I can't keep writing out Borussia Monchengladbach, it'll take me forever)  and is two tiers all the way round, curved around the corners, with a modest upper section and vast lower tier. Giant scoreboards hang from two corners.

 

 

 

Give us a B: The home fans gather on the Nordtribune terrace.

A big chunk of BM fans gather on the sizeable Nordtribune terrace on the lower tier to the left of the main Westtribune stand, although bizarrely much of the home noise come from 500 or so hardcore fans tucked away in a corner above them between the two stands.

The giant main stand is itself a mix of executive boxes and hospitality areas for the prawn sandwich brigade. To the distant right of the main stand is the away fan's terrace.

The north end of the ground is pretty packed for most games, with the southern end more sparsely populated for lesser games.

 

From on high: Borussia Park from the north end, visitors are housed in the far left.

 

If you're looking for a passionate home seat the north stand upper tier's good, but if you're going a bit more neutral i'd aim for the upper tier at the Sudtribune.

 

 

We're on our way: Getting to the ground

 

Borussia Park is officially in the middle of nowhere. It makes Reading's Madjeski Stadium look positively central in comparison. It's well outside the city limits and nowhere near a train line so it's either a seriously marathon walk, and I mean Paula Radcliffe proportions, or the wiser option of a bus.

However, the good news is that they have the whole 'getting a bus to the ground and back' thing really well sussed, surprise surprise.

The chances are you'll be going from Monchengladbach Hauptbahnhof main train station, which also doubles up as the main bus station.

However, head away from the main bus terminus through the rail station and out the other side - that's where you'll find buses ready to whisk you to the ground, taking around 20 minutes. These are all free, there and back, for supporters. A huge percentage of supporters do travel by bus so I'd suggest heading out there up to 90 minutes before kick off to avoid the crowds.

After the match finishes it's a bit like a bus convention outside the north home end of the ground (not that i've ever been to a bus convention, mind so I'm guessing) as scores of bendy buses line up to deliver fans back to town. Eight roll in, fill up and leave - and eight more are there to take their place so although queues are lengthy they go down impressively quickly. Simple. I believe the same thing is in operation at the other end of the stadium.

 

 

The  stroll: short journey from home end to bus stop.

 

 

Watch out for the fact that there are two destinations - those at the front go to the more popular Monchengladbach main station, whilst others go to Rheydt station, the second main station in the town formerly known as Rheydt and now half of Monchengladbach. You'll only really want this one if you are planning to catch a train back in direction of Aachen, in which case it's a good move as Rheydt station is a stop further down the line.

 

 

Who ate all the pies? Eating and drinking

 

The ground's well served with food and drink outside. Inside it's cash payment (season 09/10) and the choice was so good I even ditched the obligatory bratwurst to get my chops around a fish roll. Yep, there was an entire stall serving various types of fish in rolls for 3 euros, and jolly tasty too as my Omega 3 levels went through the roof.

 

Who ate all the fish: One of the many food stalls ringing the home end.

 

 

 

Other than that, in the immediate vicinity there's very little so enjoy in town. Note that options around the train and bus station are pretty limited, particularly post match when it can virtually close down by early evening, so your best bet is to head to the Alter Markt.

 

It's a 20 minute walk or hop on a bus, about half pass through it. To walk there head left out of the station and up the partially pedestrianised shopping route Hindenburgstrasse - follow it to the end and you'll arrive at the old market square.

There are a good selection of bars including two I visited on the square. One was the Schlosser Das Alt to the far right of the square, which after the game was full of home fans and a sprinkling of away ones enjoying more football on the box. Head across the square and there's a cobbled alley down the hill with more food and drink options and an Irish bar on the right hand side.

 

If you do head to this part of town before the game the Alter Market is also handy for the club shop (see below), so you can bag your ticket there and then before making your way to the ground.

 

 

Bag a seat: Buying a ticket

 

For the vast majority of games you can buy a match ticket on the day - just watch out for the usual suspects  that may sell out such as Bayern Munich, or localish rivals Leverkusen, Koln, Schalke, Dortmund etc.

 

Check the website first here - it has large portions in English which is very helpful, and you can buy online too although you have to register first, and this can take a day.

If you're buying on the day you can skip hassle at the ground and purchase at the club shop, found just off the main shopping drag Hindenburgstrasse around 15 minutes walk from the station. From the station head left and up the main road, and turn right up Wallstrasses (In Marienhof) - it's down on the right.

Alternatively ticket booths are located outside the corners of the stadium.

 

 

Grab a souvenir: Club stores

 

Even if you don't ever bother with football merchandise it's gotta be tempting to see if they can fit the words Borussia Monchengladbach on a scarf. And how long it has to be to do it.

 

There's the aforementioned store in town Im Marienhof, on the corner of Wallstrasses and Viersener Strasse. It opens Mondays to Fridays form 10am to 7pm and Saturdays, 1-am to 4pm.

 

There's also one open at the ground for identical hours. Alternatively, head online...

 

 

It's green, black and white and all right: The Borussia shop at the ground.