EURO EXPRESS | Facts and trivia: a closer look at Borussia Mönchengladbach

MILAN – Inter’s Champions League campaign is set to begin at 21:00 CEST on Wednesday: Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are currently eleventh in the Bundesliga, will be the visitors to San Siro. Let’s get to know our upcoming opponents better through five pieces of trivia and a video.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS Officially, Inter and Borussia Mönchengladbach have met on four occasions, although, in reality, there have been five matches between the sides: in their very first encounter, Boninsegna was struck on the head by a can in Germany, leading to a replay being required. When it comes to the four official matches, there has been one win apiece (a 4-2 Nerazzurri victory and a 3-2 German win at San Siro after extra-time) and two draws (0-0 and 1-1).

BORUSSIA MÖNCHENGLADBACH’S TENTH TRIP TO ITALY The German side have played on Italian turf nine times and have suffered just three defeats, with these coming against Inter, Milan and Lazio. They have drawn twice (against Juventus and Roma) and emerged victorious on three occasions, managing to overcome Inter, Torino and Fiorentina.

INTER’S FOURTH GERMAN OPPONENT IN THE PAST 19 MONTHS Inter are set to meet German opposition once again. In the 2018/19 Europa League, the Nerazzurri faced Eintracht Frankfurt over two legs. Last season, meanwhile, saw Antonio Conte’s men come up against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League group stage and play Bayer Leverkusen in a straight knockout tie in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

MARCO ROSE’S DIRECT STYLE OF FOOTBALL Borussia Mönchengladbach’s coach is 44-year-old Marco Rose, who has been in charge of the German club since 2019 after previously being in the Salzburg dugout. A former player for Mainz, where he was able to learn from Jürgen Klopp, he has developed an idea of football that sees his team play in a fast and direct manner. He usually deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation, but Gladbach can mix it up and have been known to play with a three-man defence from time to time.

A FAMILIAR FACE: VALENTINO LAZARO In August, Valentino Lazaro joined Gladbach from Inter on loan. The Austrian previously played three times under Rose at Salzburg prior to his switch to Hertha Berlin.