Bulinews Player of the Season Awards: Gladbach's Player of the Season | OneFootball

Overall, it proved to be an underwhelming and inconsistent 2025/26 campaign for Borussia Mönchengladbach, but things could have been far worse without Haris Tabakovic’s reliability in front of goal.

Given the difficult task of stepping in after talismanic striker Tim Kleindienst suffered a long-term injury, the on-loan TSG Hoffenheim forward emerged as Gladbach’s biggest attacking threat by some distance, finishing the season with 13 goals in 32 Bundesliga appearances

The 31-year-old rounded off the campaign in style by scoring in Gladbach’s emphatic 4-0 victory over TSG Hoffenheim, but suffered a metatarsal fracture in the process.

The injury has cast doubt over Tabakovic’s participation for Bosnia & Herzegovina at the World Cup, but the striker has expressed hope of still playing a role and insists he intends to travel with the squad regardless, having contributed to their successful qualifying campaign.

A permanent move to Gladbach looks off the table despite a strong loan spell, with the 31-year-old set to return to Hoffenheim after the World Cup ahead of a likely summer exit. His 2025/26 campaign has likely put several clubs on alert.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCE:

Tabakovic scored two braces over the course of the season, with the first coming in a crushing 4-0 away win over St. Pauli back in November.

The Bosnian forward opened the scoring after Gladbach capitalised on a mistake from St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, before later doubling Die Fohlen’s advantage with a typical striker’s finish.

Tabakovic narrowly missed out on a hat-trick, but set up Shuto Machino for the third goal, before Oscar Fraulo pounced just ahead of him to make it 4-0.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

While Tabakovic received six of 10 votes, Moritz Nicolas finished as runner-up, being selected by three Bulinews writers for an impressive season in goal.

Captain Rocco Reitz, who is now controversially set to join RB Leipzig, picked up the final vote.