Marco Rose's Gladbach legacy under threat as season threatens to unravel

Marco Rose takes on his future employers on Tuesday night as Borussia Mönchengladbach host Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup. Winless in the last five, it's not just Gladbach's season at risk, but Rose's legacy, too.

Since 2015, whether they like it or not and whether it's appropriate or not, every single Borussia Dortmund coach has, on some level, been compared to Jürgen Klopp. Neither Thomas Tuchel, Peter Bosz, Peter Stöger nor Lucien Favre were Klopp, and nor is Edin Terzic.

Marco Rose isn't either, but Dortmund's new head coach from next season onward does have a lot more in common with Klopp than any of his predecessors.

Unlike the meticulous Tuchel, the inexperienced Bosz, the underqualified Stöger, the cautious Favre or the interim Terzic, Rose represents a brand of Powerfussball that Borussia Dortmund, club and supporters alike, got hooked on under Klopp, an addiction they haven't been able to shake.'

'Adrenaline' and 'fire'

"Rose, that means adrenaline, fire and a winning mentality," writes Kicker magazine, describing some of the traits that have characterized the 44-year-old's short time at his current club, Borussia Mönchengladbach.

But those qualities were in short supply at Borussia Park in February. Bundesliga defeats to Cologne, Mainz and RB Leipzig — the latter despite fortuitously leading 2-0 — have left the Foals ninth in the table and nine points adrift of the Champions League, a competition they have already effectively exited this season following a comprehensive first-leg

defeat to Manchester City.

Tuesday night's German Cup quarterfinal against Rose's future employers Borussia Dortmund has therefore taken on even greater significance, both in terms of Gladbach's season and Rose's legacy, which are both threatening to unravel.

Gladbach were never going to match runaway Premier League leaders City, and nor were they expected to. Simply qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2016 and then defying the odds to progress through a group that featured Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk was more than enough to grant Rose hero status in the green and black part of the Rhineland. "We would have built you a statue," wrote the club's largest supporters' group.

Any such plans have presumably now been scrapped. Rose's early move to Dortmund courtesy of a €5 million ($6 million) release clause afforded to him by sporting director Max Eberl may be entirely legitimate, but it's left many Gladbach supporters feeling betrayed — especially when it appears to have had such a negative effect on the team's performances.

"I'm pretty sure that none of us are thinking about the change of coach; we have important games to play at the moment and that's all we're concentrating on," insisted midfielder Jonas Hofmann after the defeat in Leipzig on Saturday. "The team has dealt with Marco Rose's decision professionally … the coach is still fully engaged, and we know he's going to give his all for the club until the end."

A month without a win suggests otherwise, but things could yet get even worse if the cur

rent run of form leads Gladbach to miss out on European competition altogether next season. That would be significant step backward for a club that has made impressive strides off the pitch in recent years in terms of infrastructure, scouting and finances.

Marco Rose will always be a small part of that, but his legacy in Mönchengladbach is in danger of being limited to a single successful season, tarnished by a damaging exit.

He may be able to salvage that by beating knocking his future employers out of the cup, a date with destiny for all involved.

'Keep your distance' — but the distance between Gladbach and the Champions League is growing

Marco Rose is in danger of damaging his Gladbach legacy