The 2008–09 Borussia Mönchengladbach season was the 108th season in the club's history. They played in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

, 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 The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

, Germany's top club knockout competition, where they reached the second round before being eliminated 2–0 by fellow Bundesliga side

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...

, who they ironically played a part in relegating.

Season summary

In the summer transfer window,

Jos Luhukay Jos Luhukay (born 13 June 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former player, who was most recently head coach of VVV-Venlo. Playing career He began his career at the age of 15 at his hometown club FC VVV and he made his league debut in Januar ...

notably sold

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

under-21 youngsters Eugen Polanski and Robert Fleßers,

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

'' Tor des Jahres'' winner

Kasper Bøgelund Kasper Bøgelund Nielsen (born 8 October 1980) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Bøgelund played 17 games for the Denmark national team, and he represented Denmark at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2004 Europe ...

, and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Nando Rafael, to

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

, Aalborg, and AGS, with all bar the last being free transfers. In replacement, Michael Bradley,

Karim Matmour Karim Matmour ( ar, كريم مطمور; born 25 June 1985) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. During his playing time career, Matmour played for SC Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintrac ...

Gal Alberman Gal Alberman ( he, גל אלברמן; born 17 April 1983) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Career Maccabi Petah Tikva Alberman was born in Petah Tikva, Israel, to a Jewish family. Alberman star ...

and

Jean-Sébastien Jaurès Jean-Sébastien Jaurès (; born 30 September 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as defender for AJ Auxerre and Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. Whilst at Auxerre he helped them win the Coupe de France in 2005 ...

signed with ''die Fohlen.'' At the start of the season, Mönchengladbach encountered troubles in the

, with several disappointing performances. The worst of it came in a 5–1 defeat to 12th place Hannover 96, saw

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

dismissed in October with only 1 win in 7 league matches, and elimination from the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

. 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, with Hans Meyer taking the reigns for the rest of the season. In the winter transfer window, Meyer signed

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Logan Bailly Logan Bailly (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Having started his career at Genk, Bailly has had spells at German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, Scottish Premiership club ...

from

Genk Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Tomáš Galásek Tomáš Galásek (; born 15 January 1973) is a Czech former football player and current manager. He was a holding midfielder who was also strong as a centre-back. Club career Galásek started his career with Banik Ostrava in 1991, before mo ...

from

Baník Ostrava ''Baník'' is a Slovak word meaning "miner". Since the 1950s it has been part of the name of various sports clubs in Czechoslovakia associated mostly with coal mining regions. In Poland, the same practice was conducted with the name ''górnik''. ...

, and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

defender

Paul Stalteri Paul Andrew Stalteri (born October 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Germany, winning the league and cup double with Werder Bremen in th ...

from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

, with Meyer selling fellow

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Alexander Voigt Alexander Voigt (born 13 April 1978) is a German football manager and former player. Playing career Born in Cologne, Voigt started his career with 1. FC Köln (1998–2005), where he also started to play when he was only nine years old. He als ...

to Greuther Fürth, and

Sascha Rösler Sascha Rösler (born 28 October 1977) is a German retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Youth Born in Tettnang, Rösler first played football in 1982 for TSV Meckenbeuren. Via VfB Friedrichshafen, for which he played from 1990, h ...

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football. 1860 Munich was one of the founding members of ...

. In a tough final day battle, Mönchengladbach played Dortmund in the Borussia derby, while

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

faced

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. Cottbus took on

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...

, 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 The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. Mönchengladbach were able to salvage a 1–1 draw in the derby, which secured

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 Michael Frontzeck (born 26 March 1964) is a German professional football coach and former player who is assistant coach of VfL Wolfsburg. As a player he was a left back who notably played in the Bundesliga across three spells for Borussia Mö ...

took his place.

Squad

''Squad at end of season''

Transfers

In

Out

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

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Borussia Monchengladbach season Borussia Mönchengladbach seasons