The four 'colts' of Borussia that shone at Real Madrid

In the 1970s, Borussia Möchengladbach was one of the most attractive teams to watch in Europe. Nicknamed The foals (‘Die Föhlen’), His offensive style of play, looking more for the rival goal than the defense to avoid catching them, was diametrically opposed to what his great rival at the time, Bayern Munich, offered, more practical when it came to solving their matches. Forged by Hennes Weisweiler, the German coach pulled on young players to model a team that was visually appealing.: the backbone of that team was composed of Berti Vogts (19-year-old defender), Günter Netzer (21-year-old midfielder) and forward Josef Jupp Heynckes (20 years old). That team would win five Bundesliga titles from 1969-70 to 1976-77. In between, Bayern took three consecutive leagues (1971-72 to 1973-74).

As well, four players who shone in the Golden age of the Rhenish team, they also did it dressed in white at Real Madrid. Three on the pitch and the remaining one on the white bench.

The first of all was Günter Netzer. The midfielder arrived in the summer of 1973, when the borders were reopened to foreign players. Given the impossibility of signing Cruyff, Bernabéu decided to sign this long-haired player, with remarkable physique, a good journey and great technical quality. He had shone with a great performance (with a goal) with the German team at Wembley (where the Germans won by a resounding 1-3). It was a qualifying match for the 1972 Euro Cup. That duel was seen as the rematch of the 1966 World Cup final, with Hurst's goal / no goal. Netzer, in addition, was the leader of Borussia. His signing cost 1,800,000 German marks, or what is the same, 36 million pesetas. In white he would be three seasons, until 1976, playing 100 games (85 in the League, eight in the European Cup, six in the Recopa and one in the UEFA Cup) and scoring 13 goals. He won two Leagues and two Cups (he belonged to the squad, but foreigners could not play the Cup), before going to the Swiss Grashopper, where he would put an end to his football career.

That year of 1976 another figure from Borussia Mönchengaldbach would arrive to the Madrid discipline. It was the Danish Henning Jensen, who arrived to replace Günter Netzer's departure. Madrid paid almost 50 million for his transfer, although there were rumors that he was free, since his contract with the Rhenish team was expiring, and curiously he was booked while on vacation. His physique (1.85 meters tall), his game (he used to say that he performed better in the midfielder, although in the white team they threw him towards the band) and his scoring nose (he had been the third highest scorer of the German team, behind Heynckes and Simonssen). Jensen would play 101 games dressed in white, score 18 goals (including Madrid's 300th goal in the European Cup) and win, like Netzer, two leagues.

Just one year after Jensen's arrival, Madrid signed Ulrich ‘Uli’ Stielike. He is the player who would be in the white team the longest: from 1977 to 1985: he came to replace Breitner, who was returning to Germany. In the eight seasons that he wore white, he played 308 games in seven competitions (51 goals). His honor, dedication, sacrifice, quality … made him win the affection of the white fans. His friction with Juanito and his departure, after not reaching an agreement with Mendoza, took away a certain role in Madrid at the beginning of the 80s. Like Netzer, he went to Switzerland, in his case to the ranks of Neuchatel Xamax .

It would take 12 years to have the fourth member of Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Real Madrid ranks. In his case it was on the bench where he was. It is Jupp Heynckes, former striker (with a lot of gunpowder), who was coach of the white team for a season: from 1997 to 1998. In that campaign he won a Spanish Super Cup (he defeated Barcelona in the second leg with a resounding 4-1) but, above all, his great triumph was the conquest of the Seventh European Cup. He helped heal a wound that lasted 32 years with a victory, just by the minimum to Juventus (1-0, goal by Mijatovic), just in a week in which he came to present his resignation to then-president Lorenzo Sanz. After that game, he left white discipline.

Today, Real Madrid play for the first time in Mönchengladbach (the two previous times they met they did so in Düsseldorf). A city in which during the 70's they dominated The foals, four of which also left their mark on Real Madrid …