A mere 15 minutes from the border with the Netherlands you will find one of the most famous traditional clubs of Germany: Borussia Mönchengladbach. The famous Bökelbeen has been replaced by the new Borussia-Park, but in this leafy part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, there's always a touch of football nearby.
Borussia-Park is a relatively new stadium, built to live up to all the requirements of the modern times. For fans of the old stadium it was a hard pill to swallow, but it did give Gladbach the chance to double their attendance. There's place for almost 55,000 people in Borussia-Park, which doesn't look that special from the outside but is very lovely when you enter.
The most important place in the club's history was obviously Stadion am Bökelberg, demolished in 2006. When you walk on the Bökelstraße from the city centre, you'll find on the corner with the Sachsenstraße the ‘Borussia Denkmal’ in honour of the old stadium. But there's more. Enter the street 'Inde Kull' and take at the height of nr. 17 the footpath to your right. Suddenly you're in a park which suspiciously looks like a football stadium: The old Bökelberg. The structure of the north, south and west stands has been preserved. Where you once found the goal on the south side, you will now find a waving flag. The centre spot, where Allen Simonsen was handed his Ballon d'Or in 1977, is tucked away under a big white villa.
The club might have left the area for quite a while now, but its roots can be found in the Eicken district and that won't be forgotten. Within walking distance of the Bökelberg is the heart of the area, the Eickener Straße, where the memories of the glorious seventies are kept alive. On the crossing with the Schwogenstraße stands a statue in honour of Herbert Wimmer, Berti Vogts and Günter Netzer, three legendary players of that era. On the corner with the Thüringer Straße lies the 'Borussia Ball', a ball of ten tons with a diameter of 1.80m.
In the seventies, die Fohlen won trophy after trophy: five league titles, a DFB-Pokal and two UEFA Cups. Traditionally the players drive through the city on an open bus whilst tens of thousands of fans greet the team along the route. The final destination is always the balcony of the police station on the corner of the Alter Markt and the Rathausstraße. The last time the Alter Markt flooded with people was in 2008 when Gladbach was promoted to the Bundesliga.
Even when Borussia hasn't won a title, you should still visit Alter Markt where you can find Brauhaus Manamana at number The front, with a giant mural of Günter Netzer with the DFB-Pokal says it all: This is a real Borussia pub, although you can find some away fans here on match days as well. Go inside and enjoy the excessive amount of scarves and shirts whilst drinking a mug of self-brewed beer.
The already mentioned Günter Netzer is, together with Jupp Heynckes, the most famous footballer of Mönchengladbach. When you enter the Waldhausener Straße at Manamana you arrive on one of the bustling nightlife streets of the city, where a 26-year-old Netzer opened the nightclub Lovers Lane (nr. 55) in 1971. When Netzer ran the nightclub, you could bump into many celebrities on Saturday nights, from singer Udo Jürgens to Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer. When Netzer moved to Spain, the entire squad of Real Madrid even paid a visit once.
Is the city too far away for you? Not far from the Borussia-Park is Fanhaus (Gladbacher Straße 511). It's a typical German fan bar, with long tables outside, a window for 'Currywurst mit Pommes' and German heavy metal.
Tickets for Borussia Mönchengladbach can easily be bought on the club's official website.
On the A61, take the exit of the Borussia-Park and follow the signs. Tip: Leave your car at P7, the car park closest to the motorway. It's a bit further from the stadium, but after the match, it can save you hours of waiting in a traffic jam.
By public transport, you can take a shuttle bus from the train station of Mönchengladbach. If you show your match ticket, the bus will be free of charge.
Images: Shutterstock, SANTOS, BSR Agency
