MAN Truck & Bus
15 Jun 2023
An exclusive MAN Lion’s Coach takes the Borussia Mönchengladbach team to its Bundesliga matches. For a special experience in the team bus, some fans were also allowed on board.
“I have only one task after the game: to bring the boys home safely. Winning or losing doesn’t matter to me at that moment.” Mönchengladbach driver Marcus Breuer is emphatically pragmatic, but can hardly hide his pride. As the driver of a Bundesliga football team, he gets a front-row view of all the ups and downs from behind his steering wheel. He won’t say anything about it, though, because it stays in the Fohlen family. He only lets slip one piece of information: that the football stars on board are always very tidy.
The 14-metre-long MAN Lion’s Coach in the unmistakable design of the Bundesliga club is the workplace of Marcus, who has been behind the wheel for Mönchengladbach for 30 years. When he started, the teams still went almost everywhere by bus. That’s a bit different today, Marcus says, as if it’s more than 400 kilometres away, they fly. Nevertheless, he already has almost a million kilometres under his belt as a bus driver – and still looks forward to every working day behind the wheel. “The cockpit is like in an aeroplane,” says Marcus. “I’ve been driving an MAN for eleven years now and some models from other manufacturers before that. My favourite has to be the Lion’s Coach.”
Indescribable feeling: The young fans feel like they are in business class.
One person’s place of work is another’s place of longing. The team bus of your favourite team is out of reach for fans. For most, at least – because eight of them are just climbing the stairs to greet Marcus. Once around the corner, and their gaze falls inside, their eyes grow wide. Man, how great is it to be in here now?
Alex – 18 years old and a Mönchengladbach fan since he could walk – is thrilled. “This is really an indescribable feeling to think about: I’m sitting in the seat where Lars Stindl usually sits. Normally a star like that sits here. Madness!” A few rows further back, Jürgen drops into one of the 30 exclusive passenger seats. Adjustable footrests and backrests ensure comfort on the journey to and from the airport. 24 of them also have electrically adjustable tables and leg rests. “It’s like being in business class on a plane,” Jürgen enthuses. “If I fell into this seat broken after a match, I would fall asleep after ten minutes. It’s totally relaxing when you can put your feet up!" The black leather seats look really classy. They are ergonomically shaped, set off in white, and in the generous footwell they are complemented by adjustable leg rests, which are big enough that you can also comfortably sit on them. Jürgen stretches out with pleasure.
“If I could have my car personalised like that, I would definitely do it,” remarks his new seat neighbour Markus, the first chairman of the Jenhahner Sternejäger fan club. “With the Mönchengladbach diamond on the seats and the green lights up there on the luggage shelves, it just looks great.” The fans take a close look at everything, especially the kitchen with its fully automatic coffee machine, stainless steel sink and refrigerator. They then try to make themselves a coffee at the coffee machine in the kitchenette, but unfortunately, it is switched off at the moment. No matter, the bus rolls off. Erik and Alex, two students, fantasise about how good it would be to travel in here. If only they had the bus for a weekend with their mates! Destination: the Dutch seaside. That’s it!
Bus driver Marcus calmly chauffeurs the fans through the streets, stopping at a bus stop. The fans can hardly believe their eyes when the doors open. Is that Chris Kramer, Florian Neuhaus and Tobias Sippel? The Mönchengladbach stars get on, hand out high fives and sit down in the middle of the excited crowd. On the bus with their favourite football team – a world-class moment for the fans.
And then the players chat about team bus life, such as their favourite position on the bus. “Take off your shoes, of course, and then lie down. I then have my iPad in front of me, get something to drink, and then the journey begins,” says Tobias Sippel, leaning backwards ostentatiously. “Everyone has a fixed seat and a fixed seatmate. On the way, we watch films together or the other Bundesliga teams’ matches,” adds Florian Neuhaus. “So I really like the bus trips.” No wonder: the ambient lighting and extensive multimedia equipment, including a sound system and two 19-inch monitors, ensure a feel-good atmosphere during the journey.
Chris Kramer chimes in: “When we have longer bus rides, we often play cards. Then Flo and I go to the back, sit on the footrest and the four of us play Wizard.” Florian Neuhaus laughs: “Yes, if you go to the game a day before, then everything is relaxed here. But when you’re here on the bus an hour and a half before kick-off, you can already feel the tension.”
Completely relaxed: Christoph Kramer (left) and Florian Neuhaus like to chill while driving
A fan asks what the bus means for the players. Tobias Sippel thinks a comfortable bus is extremely important: “It takes us to the games and brings back home safely. You need a good comfort zone so that you arrive well rested.” Chris Kramer agrees: “For me, it’s very important that you don’t get back pain on the bus. That’s what is really good about our current bus, as you have a good about of space to lie down. In the past, when we were youth players, we always travelled in an old VW Bulli camper van – but then our backs were a bit more mobile. It worked then, too.” Everyone laughs.
At the end, players and fans leave the bus together. They line up once more for a group photo. In the background: the black and white Lion’s Coach. Bus driver Marcus already has the vacuum cleaner in his hand. It is important to him that his workplace always looks top-notch. “There is a lot of attention everywhere when we arrive with the bus. Not only for us, of course, but also for the other Bundesliga teams.” Mönchengladbach’s Lion’s Coach is more than just a bus: for fans, players and bus drivers, it is a place of longing, a place of retreat and the most beautiful workplace in the world.
The MAN Lion's Coach not only inspires the Borussia Mönchengladbach players, but also expert juries. In 2020 the international "Coach of the Year" title went to the MAN Lion’s Coach, and in 2022 the NEOPLAN Cityliner won the same prize. The MAN Lion’s City E completed the triple: it was recently named "Bus of the Year 2023". In 2021 the award had to be cancelled due to Corona. This means that MAN has won Europe's most prestigious bus awards three times in a row - never before for a brand!
Text: Julia Fiedler
Photos: MAN
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