Borussia glad to have Köppel back

Successful decade
In the 1970s, Mönchengladbach were FC Bayern München's biggest rivals in the Bundesliga. The most successful decade in their history brought five league championships and two UEFA Cups. Back then, striker Horst Köppel was an important member of the squad.

Narrow escape
Three decades on, Köppel the coach is fuelling fans' dreams of returning to Europe, with his team taking 13 points from the last five games to go fifth in the table. No small achievement considering they only avoided relegation by a point last term.

Long absence
Köppel was handed the reins after Holger Fach and Dick Advocaat were found wanting, even though he had been absent from the Bundesliga scene for almost 14 years. The 57-year-old was last in charge of a top-flight club in 1992 when his Fortuna Düsseldorf side were relegated.

Talent builder
The coach, a 1972 UEFA European Championship winner with West Germany as a player, then went on to coach youth and reserve teams at BV Borussia Dortmund and Mönchengladbach. Yet despite his long exile from the élite, the players have blossomed under his guidance this season.

Midfielders blossom
Midfielders Thomas Broich, Hasan El Fakiri and Peer Kluge have particularly impressed, while Köppel has also been canny in the transfer market, bringing in Marcell Jansen to replace injury-ravaged Christian Ziege and Kahê to cover for sidelined strikers Giovane Elber and Wesley Sonck.

Satisfactory start
"We can be very happy with what we have achieved so far," said the coach. "We have collected more points than we expected but please don't talk about a UEFA Cup berth yet. The campaign is very long and we have not set such goals." However, if results continue to go Köppel's way, it will be hard to stop supporters dreaming.