News : Bundesliga – Suddenly pressing machines – sports

Usually it is the newcomers who have to acclimatize. At Borussia Mönchengladbach, things are different this summer, where new signing Stefan Lainer has a head start. Everyone else has to acclimatize - at least tactically. The 26-year-old Austrian has moved from RB Salzburg to Mönchengladbach and is now the only one who has played under the new coach Marco Rose. For two years Lainer under Rose in Salzburg has given the right-back in a 4-4-2 system with midfield diamond and double point - a system that Lainer has long since internalized, while everyone else in the Gladbach squad the position and Recurring game play this variant.

The Borussia of the Lower Rhine is currently in the Bundesliga the team that undergoes the greatest tactical metamorphosis within three years. In the previous season, they played under coach Dieter Hecking a flat 4-4-2, ie with back four, double six, two outside strikers and two flexible strikers. Last season, Hecking then categorically switched to a 4-3-3 with back four, solo six, two attacking midfielders, two outside strikers and a central striker. Now, under Rose, the formation is changed again: the only constant is the four-back, before a solo six, in front of the semi-positions two midfielders, before a central-attacking midfielder and before two strikers. The outside strikers fall away, their position takes over in the attack mode, the full-back, one of them will be Lainer.

But it is not even this new formation that makes the Gladbacher football of the future so striking, but it is the running-intensive pressing and the quick goal conclusion after ball conquest. "Our style of play will be offensive, we do not want to hide, but actively play football," says Lainer. If you want to know how Gladbach will play in the future, you only have to look at recent Salzburg games. Rose will try to transfer this football almost one on one to Gladbach. Under Hecking, the Borussia style seemed a bit cumbersome at times. "Maybe one or the other player turns out to be a pressing machine," said Rose in his first press conference as Gladbach coach. It sounded a little bit mocking.

Herrmann, Traoré, Plea and Embolo are competing in the new system for two central places by storm

Because in the new Gladbacher system there is no longer a classic outside forward, the Thorgan Hazard sold to Borussia Dortmund does not have to be replaced. On the other hand, Patrick Herrmann and Ibrahima Traoré will have to compete with Alassane Plea and Breel Embolo, who came from Schalke 04, for the two central positions in the lead. With Marcus Thuram from the French second division Guingamp is even likely to add a fifth striker.

In the first test match, in an 8-0 (8-0) victory against 1. FC Mönchengladbach, it was really only about practicing the new tactical behavior. "The guys did a great job translating the things we discussed," Rose said afterwards, "we had a lot of good ball wins, a very decent counter-press and scored some nice goals." These three things may not have been hard on a country side, but point out what matters to coach Rose. The ideas of the trainer should have met a new signing with particular precision: Stefan Lainer.

When Borussia played two 45-minute friendly matches at a tournament in Heimstetten against TSV 1860 München (1-0) and FC Augsburg (0-1) on Saturday, Rose had to correct a bit more often and louder. Lainer did not play this time.