Borussia Mönchengladbach: New managing director Stegemann introduced

Stefan Stegemann, 61, was a boy of eleven when Borussia Mönchengladbach won the UEFA Cup with a 5-1 win in Enschede on May 21, 1975. Stegemann from the Münsterland town of Rheine crossed the Dutch border with his big brother and witnessed the triumph in the stadium. That evening he became a foal fan for life.

Roland Virkus, 58, was ten years old when Gladbach reached the semi-finals of the European Cup on March 16, 1977 with a 1-0 win in Bruges. Virkus listened to the radio broadcast secretly in bed. Even before the late winning goal, his mother took the radio away from him. Virkus fell into a restless sleep.

Markus Aretz, 58, was seven years old when Gladbach defeated the already established champions FC Bayern 5-0 on the last Bundesliga matchday on May 18, 1974. Aretz had often been to the Bökelberg with his father and grandfather, but that Saturday he had done something and had to stay at home. While he was frustratingly hitting a ball against the wall at his grandfather’s house near the Bökelberg for two hours, he heard the goal celebrations five times from the stadium.

Stefan Stegemann moved from a sponsor to the management of Borussia

On Tuesday, Westphalian Stegemann and Mönchengladbach natives Virkus and Aretz sat on the podium in the basement of Borussia Park and spoke about the future of the traditional Borussia club. The three make up the management. Virkus has been responsible for sports since February 2022, Aretz for marketing and communications since May 2022 – and Stegemann as chairman of finances since January 1st. It comes from sponsor Sonepar.

The long-time managers Rolf Königs (President), Stephan Schippers (Finance) and Max Eberl (Sport) have left Borussia over the past three years. The new managing directors are all still quite young in office, but their love for the club has matured. And this year Borussia will also be 125 years old.

Borussia hero Rainer Bonhof, 72, who has been president since last year, was recently asked whether such an anniversary wouldn’t be a nice opportunity for Gladbach to qualify for the Champions League again and answered: “The champions League would be a goal again – but whether we will achieve that in 2025 remains to be seen.” Before the Gladbachers continue the season next Saturday evening against FC Bayern, they are only three points behind fourth-placed RB in eighth place Leipzig.

Bonhof played on the Bökelberg on May 18, 1974, when Aretz was only allowed to listen to the 5-0 win against Bayern. Bonhof also played in Enschede on May 21, 1975, when Stegemann was in the stands watching the 5-1 win. And Bonhof also played in Bruges on March 16, 1977, when Virkus narrowly missed out on the 1-0 win on the radio. For all three managing directors, their childhood hero is now their president.

Although Bonhof is not a native of Mönchengladbach, he is a Rhinelander from Emmerich. The player, on the other hand, who is currently keeping Borussia’s tender dream of the Champions League had nothing to do with Gladbach and the Lower Rhine until last summer: It is Tim Kleindienst, 29, from Brandenburg, who was born in 1995, when The Fohlenelf’s great times were over when they won the DFB Cup and thus their last title to date with players like Stefan Effenberg, Martin Dahlin and Heiko Herrlich.

With nine goals and four assists, Kleindienst is not only Gladbach’s best scorer this season – he is above all a leader and a follower. “We needed his courage and his physicality to pull the team along,” says coach Gerardo Seoane. “I have rarely seen a new player being able to shape a dressing room so quickly.”

It is thanks to players like Kleindienst, Rocco Reitz, Franck Honorat and Alassane Plea that Gladbach is now back in the top half of the table after three weak seasons. “Something is developing here again,” says the new CEO Stegemann full of confidence, who wants to continue as CFO just as “solidly, prudently and cautiously” as his predecessor Schippers, who resigned after a quarter of a century at his own request.

After corona-related losses totaling 56 million euros over three years and a decline in equity from 103 to 47 million euros, Borussia recorded a small profit of 4.3 million euros for the first time for the 2023 financial year. Stegemann cannot yet say what 2024 will be like. He has only been in office a week and is still smilingly claiming “puppy protection”.

Sports director Virkus is currently negotiating an extension of his contract with the club

While sports director Virkus is currently negotiating with President Bonhof and Supervisory Board Chairman Michael Hollmann about an extension of his contract, which expires in the summer, Stegemann is thinking about how he can “develop” Borussia. Surprising impulses are unlikely. He likes how Borussia works and feels “honored” to be able to take part there.

When Gladbach won the UEFA Cup in Enschede in 1975, it was Stegemann’s first live game with Borussia. Now that he’s their boss, he might like another Cup win, but he takes his job humbly. “To win a title, you have to build something beforehand,” he says. “Something is happening again at Borussia Mönchengladbach.”