The history of Borussia Mönchengladbach
Milestones and background from the club's history, in chronological order.
More milestones and background for each event.
Categories
Competitions
Nicknames through the years Three names tell a story of near misses, late goals and an unbeaten season. Read the storiesClose the stories
Founding and early years
Borussia football club is founded
The Borussia 1900 M.-Gladbach football club is founded on August 1, 1900.
The club's statutes record this original name and its present black, white and green colours.
Merger creates VfTuR
Borussia joins Turnverein Germania 1889 to form VfTuR 1889 München-Gladbach.
The union is short-lived; the football section returns to Borussia in 1921.
First match at the new ground
VfTuR München-Gladbach1:0
FC Eintracht München-GladbachLocation: Mönchengladbach Stadium: BökelbergstadionAfter the Westdeutsches Stadion was handed over the previous day, Borussia win its first league match on Bökelstraße 1–0 against FC Eintracht München-Gladbach.
The ground remains their home until 2004.
First West German championship
Playing as VfTuR, Borussia beat Kölner BC 3–1 after extra time in the West German championship final in Neuss.
The victory takes them into the German championship finals.
The Borussia name returns
The football section separates from the gymnastics association and resumes playing as Borussia VfL 1900.
The brief VfTuR period ends.
A forced merger
The Nazi regime orders Borussia to merge with Sport-Club 1894 München-Gladbach.
The union is later dissolved, and the two club lines remain distinct.
Heinz Ditgens becomes an international
Heinz Ditgens becomes Borussia's first Germany international.
He appears at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
The present legal name
Since 1955 the club's legal name has been Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V.
The city is part of the familiar display name, but not the legal long name.
The Foals rise
West German Cup winners
Borussia beat 1. FC Köln 3–1 in the West German Cup final.
The regional cup triumph takes the club into the DFB-Pokal.
First DFB-Pokal victory
Borussia beat Karlsruher SC 3–2 in the final.
Albert Brülls scores the winner at Düsseldorf's Rheinstadion.
Regionalliga West champions
A 5–2 win over Rot-Weiss Essen clinches the Regionalliga West championship with a match to spare.
Borussia's 51 points are beyond Alemannia Aachen's reach; the Bundesliga promotion round follows.
Promotion to the Bundesliga
A 1–1 draw with Wormatia Worms completes Borussia's Bundesliga promotion round as group winners and sends the club into the top division for the first time.
Günter Netzer equalises at Bökelberg.
First German championship
A 4–3 win over Hamburg secures Borussia's first German championship.
The Foals finish the 1969/70 season ahead of Bayern Munich.
The broken goalpost at Bökelberg
A goalpost breaks during Borussia's Bundesliga home game against SV Werder Bremen at 0–0.
The match is abandoned and later awarded 0–2 against Borussia; the match card shows that official result.
First Bundesliga title defence
A 4–1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt makes Borussia the first club to retain the Bundesliga title.
Günter Netzer and Jupp Heynckes score at the Waldstadion.
The 7–1 win over Inter is annulled
Borussia beat Inter Milan 7–1 on the pitch.
Following the can-throwing incident, the European Cup match is annulled and replayed.
Championships and Europe
First UEFA Cup final
Borussia win the return leg against Liverpool 2–0 but lose the final 2–3 on aggregate.
The Bökelberg match follows a 0–3 defeat in Liverpool.
Netzer settles the cup final
Borussia beat 1. FC Köln 2–1 after extra time.
Günter Netzer scores the winner at the Rheinstadion to claim the club's second DFB-Pokal.
Third German championship
Borussia Mönchengladbach2:0
Eintracht BraunschweigLocation: Mönchengladbach Stadium: BökelbergstadionA 2–0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig on the penultimate matchday secures Borussia's third German title in 1974/75.
It is Hennes Weisweiler's final season at Gladbach.
Fourth German championship
Kickers Offenbach1:1Borussia MönchengladbachLocation: Offenbach am Main Stadium: Stadion am Bieberer BergA 1–1 draw at Kickers Offenbach secures the 1975/76 championship with a game to spare.
Under Udo Lattek, Borussia remain on top.
Three straight titles and a fifth crown
A 2–2 draw at Bayern completes three consecutive titles.
With five Bundesliga championships, Borussia are then the competition's record champions.
European Cup final in Rome
Borussia lose 1–3 to Liverpool in the Rome final.
Allan Simonsen briefly equalises; it remains the club's only appearance in this final.
12–0 Bundesliga record
Borussia beat Borussia Dortmund 12–0 at Düsseldorf's Rheinstadion.
It remains the Bundesliga's biggest win, although Cologne retain the title on goal difference.
Intercontinental Cup final
Representing Europe, Borussia draw the first leg 2–2 with Boca Juniors.
They lose the return leg 0–3 at Karlsruhe's Wildparkstadion, and Boca win the 1977 Intercontinental Cup.
Second UEFA Cup victory
Allan Simonsen's penalty gives Borussia a 1–0 return-leg win against Red Star Belgrade.
After a 1–1 first leg, Borussia lift the UEFA Cup for the second time.
Third UEFA Cup final
After a 3–2 home win, Borussia lose 0–1 away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt take the UEFA Cup on away goals.
Cup win, relegation and survival
DFB-Pokal final against Bayern
Borussia draw 1–1 with Bayern Munich after extra time at Frankfurt's Waldstadion.
Gladbach lose the penalty shoot-out 6–7.
DFB-Pokal final against Hannover
Borussia return to the final at Berlin's Olympiastadion.
The match against second-tier Hannover 96 remains 0–0 after extra time; Gladbach lose the shoot-out 3–4.
Third DFB-Pokal title
Borussia beat Wolfsburg 3–0 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.
The third DFB-Pokal remains the club's most recent major trophy.
First Bundesliga relegation confirmed
Werder's 1–0 win in their postponed match against Schalke confirms Gladbach's first Bundesliga relegation.
Bremen now have 32 points in 15th place, while Borussia have 20 and can reach only 29 from their three remaining games. Gladbach finish the season with 21 points in 18th place, their worst Bundesliga placing.
Return to the Bundesliga
A 3–0 win over Chemnitzer FC makes Borussia's Bundesliga return mathematically certain.
Celebrations had already followed the 2–2 draw at Fürth on May 13, 2001, but a three-point and 17-goal advantage over Waldhof Mannheim had initially made promotion only virtually secure.
Borussia-Park opens
Borussia inaugurate the new Borussia-Park with a short tournament against Bayern Munich and AS Monaco.
The opening match against Bayern ends 0–2; the arena replaces Bökelberg as the club's home.
First Bundesliga home match at Borussia-Park
Gladbach play their first Bundesliga home match at the new arena against Borussia Dortmund.
The match ends 2–3.
Second Bundesliga relegation confirmed
Bielefeld's 3–2 win over SV Werder Bremen confirms Borussia's second Bundesliga relegation.
Gladbach have 25 points and can reach only 34 from three remaining games. Frankfurt and Aachen still have to play each other, ensuring that at least one of them will also exceed 34 points. Borussia later finish the season 18th again with 26 points.
Immediate return to the top flight
A 3–0 win over SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Bundesliga 2 matchday 32 secures Borussia's immediate promotion.
After one season away, the club begin their continuing top-flight spell.
Bundesliga 2 champions
A 3–2 win at SC Paderborn mathematically clinches the Bundesliga 2 championship on the final day.
Before the match, 1. FC Köln could still have drawn level on points. The competition's own championship shield is first awarded from 2008/09.
Last-minute play-off victory
Borussia beat Bochum 1–0 in the first leg of the relegation play-off.
Igor de Camargo's late goal provides the basis for survival.
Bundesliga survival in Bochum
Marco Reus equalises in the second leg for a 1–1 draw.
Borussia beat Bochum 2–1 on aggregate and stay in the Bundesliga.
A return to Europe
Champions League qualifying place secured
A 0–0 draw with Augsburg secures Borussia a top-four finish and at least a place in Champions League qualifying.
With 57 points and one match remaining, Gladbach can no longer be caught by the chasing teams. They finish the season fourth.
Third place and the Champions League
A 2–0 win at SV Werder Bremen secures Borussia third place in the Bundesliga and direct entry to the 2015/16 Champions League group stage.
Raffael scores both goals.
Comeback in Florence
After a 0–1 first-leg loss and a 0–2 deficit in Florence, Borussia win 4–2.
Lars Stindl's hat-trick takes the team into the Europa League round of 16.
First qualification for the Champions League round of 16
Real Madrid2:0
Borussia MönchengladbachMatch 1 · December 9, 2020 · Location: Madrid Stadium: Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano
Inter Milan0:0
Shakhtar DonetskMatch 2 · December 9, 2020 · Location: Milan Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe MeazzaBorussia qualify for the Champions League round of 16 for the first time despite losing 2–0 at Real Madrid, as Inter and Shakhtar Donetsk draw 0–0.
The later final whistle in Milan confirms qualification. Gladbach finish second in Group B with eight points, ahead of Shakhtar on their head-to-head record.
First Champions League round-of-16 match
Borussia play their first Champions League round-of-16 match.
Travel restrictions move the first leg against Manchester City to Budapest, where they lose 0–2; Gladbach are eliminated in the return leg.
Borussia turns 125
Borussia mark 125 years since their founding in 1900.
The FohlenWelt museum preserves the trophies, matches and artefacts of the club's history.
Borussia-Park gains a naming partner
For the 2026/27 season, Borussia-Park becomes ista-Borussia-Park.
The arena remains the Foals' home ground.
2025/26 ends in 12th place
Borussia end the 2025/26 Bundesliga season 12th after a 4–0 win over Hoffenheim.
The club finish 34 matches with 38 points and retain their top-flight place.
