The man to bring attacking football back to Gladbach
James Thorogood
April 10, 2019
Borussia Mönchengladbach have secured the highly coveted signature of Red Bull Salzburg head coach Marco Rose. What's the story behind the promising coach with a penchant for attacking football?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Sven Simon/E. Kremser
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On Wednesday, Marco Rose finally ended the speculation regarding his future by announcing his decision to join Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer.
"There wasn't just one offer, there were a few more," revealed the 42-year-old. "I've decided to seek a new challenge in the Bundesliga, which I'm really looking forward to. Gladbach are a great club with big ambitions and a great fan culture. Those are both things which excite me."
Fresh from announcing Dieter Hecking's impending departure, the Foals have moved fast to quash any lingering uncertainty regarding the club's future.
"In Salzburg, Marco Rose has produced six years of fantastic work and we're delighted that he'll be joining us as of next season," said sporting director Max Eberl.
While it remains to be seen whether Rose will be taking charge of a side in Europe next season, DW takes a look at what has led to him being one of the most in-demand coaches on the continent.
A lefty from Leipzig
Born in Leipzig, Rose is the grandson of one-time German international Walter Rose – a top tier footballer either side of World War II. His own playing career started in Germany's second division with VfB Leipzig in a five-year stint that was brought to an abrupt end when the club went bankrupt. It was during eight seasons with Mainz that the left-back made a name for himself under Jürgen Klopp, as the club twice won promotion to the Bundesliga in 2002 and 2005. "I was a totally dependable leader, but I wasn't an easy player to deal with and I had a bad temper," admits Rose.
Stepping up with success
Rose took his first step in football management after dropping into the Mainz reserves as a player/coach. A one-year stint with Lokomotive Leipzig saw a successful survival battle in the fourth-tier before Red Bull Salzburg offered him an avenue to further his footballing education. After impressing with Salzburg's youth sides and winning the UEFA Youth League in 2017, Rose was seen as the natural successor to Oscar Garcia later that year. His debut season saw the Austrian outfit crowned champions.
Comfortable in Europe
The 2017-18 campaign also included an incredible European run that took Salzburg to the semifinals of the Europa League. The club had never made it past the quarterfinals in eight previous attempts. Rose's brand of attacking football was a breath of fresh air until they ultimately got knocked out by Marseille. The wins over Dortmund and Lazio in the knockout stages will forever be firmly etched in the club's history books. Despite getting ousted by Napoli in the last 16 this season, Salzburg underlined by their attacking reputation by being the second-highest scoring team in the competition at the time and played their part in the elimination of 'sister club' RB Leipzig.
Praise from Jürgen Klopp
With his high-octane style triggering interest in his services from all corners, Rose received further endorsement from Klopp, who recently referred to him as the "most-hyped manager" when talking to Sky Austria. "I trust Marco in everything," the Liverpool boss said in a video message. "Marco can have any job and could do any job too." Though his choice of Borussias has differed to Klopp, his approach to the game and concept of club philosophy do not.
Stands for attacking football
Before Salzburg managed to produce a miracle in overturning a 4-2 first leg deficit in last season's Europa League quarterfinal tie with Lazio, Rose provided some keen insights into just how he works: "We're working in a field, in which things must be to the maximum. Maximum attitude and maximum performance. We've always got to be at the limit." As he looks to take the next step in his career, the big question is whether Gladbach are ready to go to the limit with him.
Bundesliga roundup: Matchday 28
Bayern Munich went top of the league after thrashing Borussia Dortmund while Eintracht Frankfurt left it late against Schalke. Elsewhere, Leverkusen threw it away against RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim won big on Sunday.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Koepsel
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Werder Bremen
Davy Klaasen's header 11 minutes from time extended Werder Bremen's unbeaten league run to 11 games - and denied Gladbach a much-needed win. A tight first half gave way to a more open second, with Gladbach taking the lead through an assured finish by Florian Neuhaus. But Klaasen's header ensured a draw, and means the outgoing Dieter Hecking's side have just one league win in the last eight games.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Koepsel
Augsburg 0-4 Hoffenheim
Three clinical finishes from Ishak Belfodil led Hoffenheim to a convincing victory in Augsburg, and saw the striker take home the match ball. Andrej Kramaric opened the scoring inside six minutes with a simple finish from close-range, but the second half was all about Belfodil, who struck a 21-minute hat-trick to put the game beyond the hosts, who were very poor.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Pretty
Bayern Munich 5-0 Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich leapfrogged Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table after a thumping win. Mahmoud Dahoud hit the post early on for BVB but the hosts quickly took full control and led 4-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski, Javi Martinez and Serge Gnabry. Lewandowski added a fifth in the second half - his 201st Bundesliga goal - to complete the rout.
Image: Reuters/K. Paffenbach
Bayer Leverkusen 2-4 RB Leipzig
We expected an offensive spectacle and that's exactly what we got. Kai Havertz twice put Leverkusen ahead, first from the spot and then with a sumptuous half-volley, but twice the Red Bull-backed club came back through a Marcel Sabitzer free-kick and a low Timo Werner drive (see above). Emil Forsberg put RB ahead from the spot before Cunha made the points secure with a delicious turn and chip.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Vennenbernd
Schalke 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
There was late drama in Gelsenkirchen as VAR awarded Frankfurt a 98th-minute penalty after a Daniel Caligiuri handball. Earlier, the Eagles took the lead through Ante Rebic's ninth goal of the season before Suat Serdar, who was later sent off, drew Schalke level. VAR surprisingly didn't award Frankfurt a penalty after Steven Zuber fouled Rebic, but awarded one later, which Luka Jovic converted.
Image: Reuters/L. Kuegeler
Hertha Berlin 1-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf's incredible second half of the season continued with victory in the capital, enabling them to leapfrog Hertha. After Dodi Lukebakio missed two good first-half chances, Benito Raman showed him how it's done with a well-taken brace, first on the counter-attack before the break and then on the rebound afterwards. In between, Liverpool loanee Marko Grujić had equalized for Hertha.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gora
VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 Hannover
Wolfsburg came from behind to secure victory in the Lower Saxony derby. Henrik Weydandt put Hannover ahead after half an hour but the visitors' lead lasted just 100 seconds before Renato Steffen (pictured) equalized. Genki Haraguchi missed two big chances to restore Hannover's lead and they paid the price as Steffen scored his second of the afternoon and Jerome Roussillon wrapped up the points.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Nuremberg
Stuttgart rescued a point in a low-quality encounter with relegation rivals Nuremberg. The visitors took the lead through the impressive Matheus Pereira (pictured) after Marc-Oliver Kempf had hit the bar for the hosts. But the Swabians equalized through Muhammed Kabak, VAR allowing the goal despite Anastasios Donis appearing to active and in an offside position.
Image: Imago Images/Zink
Mainz 5-0 Freiburg
Mainz were in ruthless mood as they crushed Freiburg to pick up their first win since February. Jean-Paul Boetius, pictured above, seized on Alexander Schwolow's poor clearance to grab the opener. Boetius then turned provider for Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored two in quick succession. Karim Onisiwo added a fourth after the break before Mateta completed his hat-trick and the rout.
