On 1 August 1900 a group of young footballers in Mönchengladbach gave their team an official form. Borussia Mönchengladbach turns 127 on 1 August 2027. It is the club that taught Germany to play with the joy and energy of a young foal.

Thirteen young men and a walkout

Its roots go back to 17 November 1899, when thirteen young men left the Germania sports club and met in a local pub to form their own football team. A few months later, on 1 August 1900, FC Borussia 1900 was officially born.

The club was entered in the register of associations much later, on 23 March 1910. It moved through several grounds, such as Reyerhütterstraße and the Stadion am Rosengarten, before it found its first permanent home.

A name from Prussia

Borussia is the Latin name for Prussia. Mönchengladbach was part of the western territories that passed to Prussia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Other German clubs of the era chose the same name, Dortmund being the best known. To tell them apart, fans simply call this one "Gladbach".

Black, white and green

The club's colours are black, white and green. In the early years the team played in black and white, but in the 1909-10 season it made a surprising switch to blue and yellow vertical stripes.

The detour did not last, and black and white with green became Borussia's identity. The 1970s left such a deep mark that the 2008-09 shirt was designed in the style of that decade.

Weisweiler's "Foals"

In 1964 Hennes Weisweiler took charge, betting on youth and on the players' freedom. The 1964-65 team had an average age of just 21.5, the lowest in the Regionalliga, and played carefree, attacking football.

Journalist Wilhelm August Hurtmanns of the Rheinische Post wrote that the players ran like young foals. That is how the nickname "Die Fohlen" was born, and it has stayed with the club to this day.

The golden decade and the broken post

The foals grew up fast. Gladbach won five Bundesliga titles (1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977) and two UEFA Cups, in 1975 with a 5-1 win away at Twente and in 1979 against Red Star Belgrade.

The team featured Günter Netzer, Jupp Heynckes, who scored 30 goals in 1973-74, Berti Vogts and Dane Allan Simonsen, Ballon d'Or winner in 1977. Later the shirt was worn by Lothar Matthäus, Stefan Effenberg and Marco Reus.

The strangest moment came on 3 April 1971, when the left goalpost broke in the 88th minute of a match against Werder. There was no spare goal, the game was abandoned at 1-1 and Werder were awarded the win.

From the Bökelberg to Borussia-Park

In 1914 the club bought an old gravel pit, "De Kull", where the legendary Bökelberg was built, opening in 1919. The last Bundesliga match there was on 22 May 2004, a 3-1 win over 1860 Munich.

In July 2004 Borussia-Park opened, with more than 54,000 places. There the team finished 10th in the Bundesliga in 2024-25 and 12th in 2025-26, coached by Eugen Polanski.

Celebrate with us

From thirteen young men who walked out of Germania to the foals who conquered Europe, Borussia carries 127 years of footballing joy. Happy birthday to Gladbach, always with the spirit of the Fohlen!

See our Borussia Mönchengladbach jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Borussia-Park during a match against Dortmund – D-click, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.