Mönchengladbach - After a thrilling 2013/14 campaign resulted in them ending so close to, yet so far from, UEFA Champions League qualification, Lucien Favre's Borussia Mönchengladbach have made some smart signings in the close season and now have their eyes set on going one step further and qualifying for Europe's elite club competition this term.

Key Player

After Max Kruse netted twelve goals and created the same number for the Foals in his debut season, he starts this campaign as their key man. His deceptive pace and excellent first touch, as well as his more obvious physicality, make Kruse the perfect front man for the quicker creative players lining up behind him. After missing out on a place in Germany's FIFA World Cup squad, he'll be out to showcase his abilities once again and force his way into die Nationalmannschaft for good.

One to watch

The signing of Fabian Johnson demonstrates perfectly why Gladbach are a club on the rise. Favre identified the former TSG 1899 Hoffenheim star as the man to fill the revolving door of a position which was right back for the Foals last season. He has made a wise move in signing the USA star: Johnson's relentless energy will ensure he fits seamlessly into Gladbach's high-pressure game, while his eye for goal has seen him find the net six times in 103 Bundesliga appearances.

Coach

Swiss tactician Lucien Favre has worked miracles since taking over at Borussia Park in February 2011. He rescued the team from relegation that season, before masterminding UEFA Champions League qualification - to the suprise of almost everyone - in 2011/12. The Foals failed to make it into the group stages, but enjoyed a fine UEFA Europa League run - a competition in which they will also compete this year. Favre has succeeded in turning Gladbach into the regular European qualification contenders that their history befits.

Target

Gladbach's target this campaign should be no less than Champions League qualification, but achieving that aim won't be easy. The arrivals of Johnson, Yann Sommer, Andre Hahn, Ibrahima Traore and Thorgan Hazard will provide the strength in depth that the Foals lacked last season. Meanwhile, Raffael's creativity and experience will be as important as ever in driving a push for the top four.

Last season

Unbeaten at home for the entirety of the first half of the 2013/14 season, the fortress Borussia Park helped to spearhead the club's ascent up the table. Indeed, between October and January, Gladbach enjoyed an unbeaten Bundesliga run of eight games. Their away record was more inconsistent, though, and despite a fantastic 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund at Signal-Iduna Park in March, their form tailed off in the second half of the season to put and end to dreams of a top four finish.

How they might line up

The excellent Swiss keeper Sommer will be a direct replacement for Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks, while fellow newcomers Johnson and Traore will start the season in the full-back slots. Germany midfielder Christoph Kramer will continue his loan move alongside Granit Xhaka in holding midfield, but despite the departure of Juan Arango, the attacking midfield is more congested: Raffael and Patrick Herrmann will compete for their starting berths with Hahn and Hazard.

Great start, I will be reading this for sure

Ducksworthh: Thanks mate, hope you enjoy!

Lucien Fevre has terminated the contracts of every staff member at the club. This means that the back room team that Fevre has worked with for the last 3 seasons have all been fired ahead of the upcoming one. Furthermore, he has also terminated the contracts of all youth team members.

Only one player out of the Under 18 and B team squad have been seen as good enough to stay, with 18 year old Mahmoud Dahoud being that man. This drops the future of Gladbach's famous youth system into the mire, as the club where Marco Reus (Borrusia Dortmund) and Dante (Bayern Munich) learnt their trade.

Gladbach, however, have immediately replaced their staff with new ones. Director of football Max Eberl has moved into a scouting capacity, while Matthias Sammer and Wolfgang Dremmler join from Bayern in a Director of Football and Chief Scout capacity. Elsewhere Mauro Tassotti has joined as assistant from Milan, and Gladbach can now boast the best physic team on the planet, with 14 physics across the three teams.

Great start! Your writing is top notch and this story has a lot of promise!

Brilliant start. Hopefully the rejuvenation of the club can send you into the top 3

fzemdegs: Thanks a lot mate, means a lot from you .

Ducksworthh: Thanks a lot mate. The coaches before were awful .

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Borrusia Monchengladbach have announced the signing of Stefan Strandberg. The Norway international, formerly of Valerenga, joins from Rosenborg. The price of the deal is said to be around £150k, that will eventually rise to £220k. The 23 year old, capped in a friendly match before this summer's World Cup, became an important part of the Rosenborg squad, making 36 appearances in two years, scoring four goals.

While Strandberg plays mainly as a centre back, he can also fill in higher up the match. He can sit in front of the defence in the defensive midfield position, or control the game more at centre midfielder. Known particularly for his ability in the air and strength on the ball, Strandberg will be seen as a welcome addition to a weak and ageing defence at Gladbach, with only Alvaro Dominguez, club captain Filip Daems and Martin Stranzl capable of playing centre-back.

Meanwhile, manager Lucien Favre has continued to rebuild the club, with the announcement of Bernhard Peters taking over as Under 18 manager. Peters, who was formerly in charge of the Hoffenheim youth setup, and more recently the Hamburg Director of Football, will team up with Phil Cannon from Blackburn, who will take over as Gladbach II manager.

Favre has also declared his interest in Colombian centre back Eder Alvarez Balanta. Balanta, 21, just missed out on a place in the Colombian World Cup squad, and he has been in excellent form for River Plate in Argentina. However, the price tag may provide a stumbling block, as River are reportedly demanding £16M, while Gladbach are not willing to pay more than £10M.

Do you think you'll qualify for Champions League this season?

basham97: Hopefully I can qualify, that is my main aim though.

Gotta say, a very good start to this story! Good luck!

Josh_MU: Cheers mate, glad you like it.

Borrusia Monchengladbach have continued there goings on in the transfer market, as they complete the signing of Colombian international Eder Alvarez Balanta. The centre back joins for £12M from River Plate. Despite being small for his position, Balanta can boast pace and good technical ability, which will add another dimension to the Gladbach back four. It also takes the number of players in the squad to 21, after last season's problem of not having enough depth.

Heading out of the exit door are Oscar Wendt and Roel Brouwers. Wendt joins Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim for £1.5M, after the Swedish international was no longer seen as good enough for Favre's plans. After being one of his first signings at the club, Wendt suffered some injuries, and only made 50 league appearances over 3 full seasons.

Roel Brouwers will also be leaving the club, after he agreed a deal with Venlo in his home country of the Netherlands. The deal is said to be around £110k for the 32 year old, who made 144 league appearances over 7 years at Gladbach. After Brouwers was signed during Gladbach's short stint in the Bundesliga 2, he established himself as a solid centre back in the top division. However, the tall Dutchman began to age and has now lost most of his pace.

Meanwhile, Gladbach look set to announce deals for Portugal wonderkid William Carvalho and Germany Under 21 Keeper Timo Horn. This would help Gladbach rebuild towards the future, and hopefully both players will become big stars for the club.

Awesome signing there mate. He'll be World class in the future

ARSENAL_ruleZ: Cheers mate, has always been very good in saves for me.