Gladbach’s sporting director Max Eberl talks Uli Hoeness’ retirement, Michael Cuisance and more

Borussia Mönchengladbach are enjoying one hell of a season. Leading at first place with 25 points and a gap of 4 points, the Foals have emerged as a serious title contender in this season’s race thanks largely to some great sporting decisions by their sporting director Max Eberl, who oversaw the arrival of coach Marco Rose, who is proving to be an absolute asset, and striker Marcus Thuram, who has been lighting up the Bundesliga with his performances.

In a recent interview with Sport1, Eberl covered a lot of ground, including Uli Hoeness’ recent retirement as Bayern Munich’s club president, Michael Cuisance’s move to Bayern, Gladbach’s form, and Matthias Ginter’s emergence as a quality player for both club and country.

Speaking about the farewell of Uli Hoeness as club president, Eberl said that he would be in touch:

I will have a personal connection with him and I think I will maintain it, as an acquaintance. “Friend” would perhaps miss the mark. A companion, whom I have known for a very, very long time.

Eberl then recounted how he “started [his] career with Bayern in the Bambini-Team in the 80s” and then “saw how this club grew and grew — becoming a world power in football.”

Crediting Hoeness for Bayern’s success, Eberl stated he’d look up to Uli for advice:

That’s the work of Uli Hoeness, that’s why we will all miss him as a great personality and advocate of his club. And as he has announced, he will not be lost to us. He will always be in demand as an expert when there are problems in football. He is the first person who would be ready to help. I will keep him as a great guide, if I ever have a problem.

Max Eberl has well and truly captured the emotions of Bayern fans and management alike, and Uli Hoeness’ departure will surely leave a huge gap, as well as a legacy behind.

Frenchman Michael Cuisance transferred to Bayern from Gladbach in the summer, and speaking about the transfer, Eberl felt that he could’ve “developed better at Gladbach.” He said,

He had a fantastic development. Last season, he had a season that is not surprising for young players, where suddenly expectations are so high that he can not live up to his own expectation. He then had less playing time, which I think is perfectly normal in a player’s development. Despite that he had played in a sum of 50 games at 19 years old, which is extraordinary in the Bundesliga.

Cuisance, however, had “other goals in mind,” which he set to pursue, ending up at Bayern Munich. Eberl reiterated:

He had great potential. For us, though, we reached a point where we said we’d rather have a clean squad — and that is why we made the decision.

At Bayern, Cuisance has featured only twice in the Bundesliga this season, as a substitute in both appearances. His quest for more game time has not ended quite as he expected, one would think. There is great room for him to mature though, and if he delivers some good performances, there’s no saying he can’t become a regular starter for Bayern in the near future.

Eberl also had good things to add about Germany defender Matthias Ginter, who scored for die Mannschaft in their 4-0 victory over Belarus. Ginter has become a solid option in the defence for Löw, a position thin at the quality end for Germany at the moment.

[Ginter] is 25 and already has played far more than 200 Bundesliga games, Europa Cup games, international games, has already won many titles, and now has scored his first goal. You can see that his development will definitely continue.

Finally, speaking about Gladbach’s recent form and spot at the table summit, Eberl was ecstatic:

Of course it’s nice. We’ve been in first place for six weeks now and have constantly underscored it our performances. We have also stood up to the pressure that other teams have put on us an we have had to do even more. We have done it again and again with bravado. Of course there will be this or that setback, but if we manage to maintain this level, then we will probably win more games than we lose.

Mönchengladbach’s performances in the Bundesliga have been nothing short of stellar, and if they maintain their current form throughout the campaign, they could put up a great fight for the Bundesliga title, putting Bayern under a lot of pressure. This, however, could be good for Bayern, since quality competition would push the team to be at its best, preparing them for the business end of the season.

A lack of strong competition in the Bundesliga has constantly been criticized in the past, but if teams like Gladbach, Leipzig and Dortmund can keep at Bayern’s heels, or even keep Bayern at their heels, this could be just the push required to propel the squad to success on the European stage.