They play in the Bundesliga , the top flight of German football. The team joined the Bundesliga in and saw the majority of its success in the s, where, under the guidance of Hennes Weisweiler and then Udo Lattek , a young squad with a fast, aggressive playing style was formed. Based on membership, they are the fifth-largest club in Germany with over 75, members in [ 9 ] and 93, as of In November , a group of discontented members left their sports association, TC Germania Gladbach referred to as "Teutonia Gladbach" in some sources.
They chose the word Borussia Latin : " Prussia " as their association's new title, although this was not yet the club's official founding. Borussia's early years were faced with the problems typical for association football teams in the German Empire : the sport, only recently imported from the UK in the s, was not yet institutionally accepted, and as a result there were logistical shortages of football fields, goals, changing rooms, and player equipment. Borussia's players initially had to finance their own gear for what was at the time a considerable financial expenditure for working-class people.
Within this larger organization, the footballers reformed into the Fussball Club Borussia on 1 August , marking the club's official founding date. From within the congregation, Borussia was able to more effectively organize official games against various opposing teams.
As early as , Borussia crossed international borders for the first time, losing 0—2 against Helmondia Helmond in the Netherlands , before playing the Dutch team to a 1—1 draw at home.
The appeal of both association football in general and Borussia in particular caused tensions with the conservative ideology of the Youth Congregation; the practice of football players wearing shorts instead of long trousers and the reality of football practice on Sundays hindering Church attendance created tension between Borussia and the Youth Congregation Eicken, and Borussia ultimately left the congregation on 24 May They also continued to travel to the nearby Netherlands, drawing Eindhoven VV 1—1.
