Thuram thriving in Farke’s quiet revolution

As he drilled home to finish a devastating counterattack and give Borussia Mönchengladbach a 13th minute lead in Wolfsburg on Saturday, Marcus Thuram scored in a Bundesliga match for the third time in a row. That he's never done so before suggests a talent that has not yet been allied to consistency.

The French forward is a direct runner, strong, sharp and clever but has never quite managed to become the prolific scorer that 10 goals in his debut Bundesliga campaign in 2018-19 suggested was possible. Under Adi Hütter last season, Thuram struggled for minutes and goals, scoring just three all term and not opening his account until February, partly as a result of injury.

But the arrival of Daniel Farke as head coach has rejuvenated the 25-year-old, who — after adding Gladbach's second in Saturday's 2-2 draw — now has seven goals in 10 games. The obvious change the former Norwich City coach has made is to show Thuram he has faith in him as his central stiker, Hütter often preferred him on the left. But the player had to earn that faith, with Farke making some preseason fitness demands.

"From then on he worked very, very hard, took every extra shift in the weights room and brought himself to another fitness level," Farke said of Thuram earlier in the season.

Thuram's contract expiring soon

The change has been clear and didn't go unnoticed by his opponents. "Thuram is a world-class striker," Wolfsburg's sports director Marcel Schäfer said postmatch. "You have to keep his impact to a minimum, unfortunately we didn't manage that."

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Schäfer won't be the only sporting director keeping a close eye on the son of French World Cup winner Lilian Thuram. Gladbach, who have had plenty of upheaval in the last couple of seasons with the departure of Hütter and before him Marco Rose and influential sporting director Max Eberl (both now at RB Leipzig), as well as defensive leader Matthias Ginter, need some stability. They're reportedly keen not to let Thuram become another that got away.

In keep him, the Foals may need to build on some promising early signs of an emerging identity formed on high-tempo possession, rapid transitions and plenty of hard work. Farke's system suits Thuram, as well as bringing the best out of Germany international Jonas Hofmann, Alassane Plea and former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl, who joined on loan from Benfica and is another player showing signs of reapproaching a peak he last reached a few years ago.

While the lack of a league away win this season will grate, Farke is patient. Throughout his stint with Norwich City in England, his first professional head coaching gig after a spell running Borussia Dortmund reserves, the 45-year-old stuck firmly to his principles, even after relegation and a breaking the Premier League record for most consecutive losses (15).

Farke calm and collected

The early signs are though that Farke's ideology and style are a good fit at a Bundesliga club with a talented squad who have drifted to midtable finishes in the last two seasons.

Farke, by and large, cuts a composed, analytical figure on the touchline and that demeanor seems to be a fair reflection of his character. "I'm past the age where you celebrate victories in a big emotional way," he said after the convincing derby win over Cologne. "I'm happy when I can enjoy a cup of coffee and a piece of cake on the sofa."

A sense of perspective perhaps informs that, with his short stint in charge of Russia side Krasnodar ending in early March without a game played, when the invasion of Ukraine began.

"When the Russian cook, who hardly speaks any English, stands in front of you in tears with an interpreter to thank you for the time spent together, it's very emotional," Farke told Phrasenmäher, a football podcast broadcast in German. "Anyone who isn't moved and touched by that has no heart."

Key fixtures on the horizon

The Russian league's loss has been Gladbach's gain, and the Foals sit sixth in a congested Bundesliga table. Gladbach have, in recent times, been in the pack below Borussia Dortmund and/or RB Leipzig fighting for that fourth Champions League spot. With Bayer Leverkusen tanking this looks as good a chance as any to reclaim it.

Xabi Alonso's side, like Union and Freiburg also have European football to contend with while Farke has more time to concentrate on expanding his tactical philosophy, particularly important given the enforced break for the World Cup.

But before that break, Farke's side travel to leaders Union and host Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt, all sides with similar aims. Such a run will go some way to determining whether this quiet revolution has the potential to be meaningful. Gladbach, Thuram and Farke all need to prove they can stay the course.