# 2026–27 Borussia Mönchengladbach season
The 2026–27 [Borussia Mönchengladbach](https://www.edgepedia.org/borussia-monchengladbach) season is the club's campaign in the 2026/27 [Bundesliga](https://www.edgepedia.org/bundesliga), which began on 28 August 2026, one week later than the previous year because of the [FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-world-cup) 2026.[1](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/calendar-for-2026-27-season-world-cup-34676) The season has been defined by a major squad overhaul, a winless start under head coach Eugen Polanski, and his dismissal after three matchdays, followed by the appointment of Alexander Blessin.[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167) • [3](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/alexander-blessin-appointed-borussia-monchengladbach-head-coach-39320)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Competition | Bundesliga 2026/27, Matchday 1 on 28–30 August 2026, final Matchday 34 on 22 May 2027[1](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/calendar-for-2026-27-season-world-cup-34676) |
| Previous season | 12th place in 2025/26 with 38 points, the club's lowest goal tally since 2008/09[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) |
| Head coaches | Eugen Polanski (dismissed 13 September 2026 after three defeats), then Alexander Blessin (appointed 22 September 2026)[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167) • [3](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/alexander-blessin-appointed-borussia-monchengladbach-head-coach-39320) |
| Opening results | 0–3 at RB Leipzig, 3–4 at home to Elversberg, 0–5 at Freiburg[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167) |
| Squad turnover | Ten new signings, including Ko Itakura's return from Ajax and Isac Lidberg from Darmstadt; Rocco Reitz and Nico Elvedi departed[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) • [5](https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/43Lkng/isac-lidberg-bara-detaljer-fran-att-borussia-monchengladbach) |
| Captain | Tim Kleindienst, returning from a knee injury that kept him out almost all of 2025/26[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) |
## Season calendar
The DFL and DFB executive committees set the 2026/27 calendar with a delayed start because of the World Cup. The Bundesliga opened on 28–30 August 2026 and pauses for winter after Matchday 14 (18–20 December 2026), resuming on 8 January 2027. The final Matchday 34 falls on 22 May 2027, and no league matches are scheduled on the weekend of 1 May 2027 under the agreement with the Conference of Germany's Interior Ministers, with a midweek round instead on 2–4 March 2027.[1](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/calendar-for-2026-27-season-world-cup-34676) The DFB Cup first round ran from 21 to 24 August 2026, and Gladbach won their first-round tie 5–0 at Schott Mainz, in which Ko Itakura made his second club debut from the bench.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772)
## Pre-season and squad overhaul
**A rebuilt squad.** After a 2025/26 campaign in which Gladbach avoided relegation but finished 12th with only 38 points, the club carried out a personnel overhaul. Midfielder Rocco Reitz joined [RB Leipzig](https://www.edgepedia.org/rb-leipzig) and long-serving defender Nico Elvedi moved to Leeds United after 11 years at the club. In response, Gladbach signed ten players, including several standout names from the previous season's Bundesliga 2.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772)
The headline signing was Ko Itakura, the Japan international who returned from Ajax a year after leaving, having made 80 appearances over three previous years at the club. Sporting director Rouven Schröder described him as matching the profile needed after Elvedi's departure.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) The attack was reinforced by [Isac Lidberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/isac-lidberg), the Swedish striker who had been Bundesliga 2's second top scorer with 17 goals in 30 matches for [Darmstadt](https://www.edgepedia.org/darmstadt), in a transfer reported at just under 50 million Swedish kronor including bonuses.[5](https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/43Lkng/isac-lidberg-bara-detaljer-fran-att-borussia-monchengladbach) • [4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772)
Gladbach won all of their pre-season matches, beating [Wuppertal](https://www.edgepedia.org/wuppertal) 6–0, Rot-Weiss Essen 2–1, Hansa Rostock 3–1, Rottach-Egern 15–0, Hoffenheim 4–1, Velbert 8–0, and Aston Villa 2–1.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) Polanski, who had taken over during the disastrous start to 2025/26 and steadied the club to safety, used his first full pre-season to push toward more aggressive attacking football.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) He publicly set a minimum target of confirming the previous season's 12th-place finish.[6](https://www.rnd.de/sport/warum-die-bundesliga-saison-2026-2027-ein-misserfolg-fuer-borussia-moenchengladbach-wird-2PPLNEZDCZBJZNVJBCMGAOOYE4.html)
## The start of the campaign and the coaching change
The league season began with three successive defeats: 0–3 away to RB Leipzig on Matchday 1, 3–4 at home to newly promoted [Elversberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/elversberg), and 0–5 at Freiburg, which proved to be Polanski's last match in charge.[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167) On 13 September 2026 the club parted ways with Polanski and his assistant Tobias Trulsen with immediate effect. Schröder said that despite a good pre-season and positive signs, the team had not achieved the desired results, and thanked Polanski, a former Gladbach player (2004–2008) who had been appointed as Gerardo Seoane's successor a year earlier, initially on an interim basis before becoming permanent head coach that November.[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167) Across his 34 Bundesliga matches in charge, Polanski had won nine and drawn ten.[2](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167)
On 22 September 2026 the club appointed Alexander Blessin as head coach. Blessin had most recently coached a Hamburg-based Bundesliga club, helping it preserve its top-flight status before being unable to prevent relegation in 2025/26, which led to his departure.[3](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/alexander-blessin-appointed-borussia-monchengladbach-head-coach-39320)
## Key players
**Tim Kleindienst** is the central figure of the season. The striker scored 16 league goals in 2024/25 and earned a Germany call-up, but a knee injury kept him out of almost all of 2025/26, a major reason the club managed only 42 league goals, its lowest total since returning to the Bundesliga in 2008/09. He returns as club captain, a role he could not fulfill the previous term.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772) In 2025/26, loanee Haris Tabaković had led the scoring with 13 league goals, followed by center-back Kevin Diks with five, four of them penalties.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772)
The club also expects increased game time for young players such as Hugo Bolin and [Wael Mohya](https://www.edgepedia.org/wael-mohya) in midfield and on the flanks.[4](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772)
## References
1. [Calendar for the 2026/27 season: Bundesliga to start on 28 August 2026, Bundesliga](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/calendar-for-2026-27-season-world-cup-34676)
2. [Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Eugen Polanski leaves club, Bundesliga](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-coach-eugen-polanski-leaves-39167)
3. [Borussia Mönchengladbach appoint Alexander Blessin as head coach, Bundesliga](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/alexander-blessin-appointed-borussia-monchengladbach-head-coach-39320)
4. [Borussia Mönchengladbach 2026/27 season preview: Can Tim Kleindienst get the Foals firing again?, Bundesliga](https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-monchengladbach-2026-27-season-preview-kleindienst-polanski-38772)
5. [Isac Lidberg bara detaljer från att Borussia Mönchengladbach, Aftonbladet](https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/43Lkng/isac-lidberg-bara-detaljer-fran-att-borussia-monchengladbach)
6. [Warum die Bundesliga-Saison 2026/2027 ein Misserfolg für Borussia Mönchengladbach wird, RND](https://www.rnd.de/sport/warum-die-bundesliga-saison-2026-2027-ein-misserfolg-fuer-borussia-moenchengladbach-wird-2PPLNEZDCZBJZNVJBCMGAOOYE4.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons › German club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license