After a strong season, which SC Freiburg ended in 6th place and qualified for the Europa League, the expectations and the own standards at the sports club have increased. Despite the lost cup final, pride prevails among the South Badeners.
That’s how last season went
SC Freiburg played an outstanding season. For a long time, coach Christian Streich’s team was in close contact with teams like FC Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund. The training and further education club, as the sports club sees itself, surprised in the first half of the season with successful, fast-paced and surprising football, especially on the defensive. The Breisgauer wintered in third place with 29 points and, together with the record champions from Munich, had the best defense in the league with only 16 goals conceded.
With two games to go before the end of the season, Freiburg were in fourth place and had the opportunity to qualify for the Champions League for the first time on their own. However, two defeats against Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen shattered the dream of the premier class. The big goal of winning the DFB Cup, the first major title in the club’s history, was not achieved in the end either. Last season’s surprise team lost the cup final in Berlin against RB Leipzig on penalties.
Who is coming, who is going
The fact that the SC Freiburg team almost completely stayed together last season was certainly an important reason for the outstanding performance. Added to this was the strong development of central defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who had returned to Dreisam from his loan club Union Berlin.
Nico Schlotterbeck, who switched to Borussia Dortmund in the summer, is certainly the most painful departure that the sports club has to cope with. But with the commitment of national player Matthias Ginter, the people of southern Baden managed a surprise coup. Ginter, who was born in Freiburg, is not a left foot like Nico Schlotterbeck, but the 2014 world champion can certainly close the gap in Freiburg’s central defense adequately. In exchange for striker Ermedin Demirovic, Freiburg were able to sign Michael Gregoritsch from FC Augsburg. The Austrian international is strong in the air and expands Freiburg’s attacking options.
Also the newcomers Ritsu Doan (PSV Eindhoven) and Daniel-Kofi Kyreh (FC St. Pauli) drew attention to themselves in the pre-season and will continue to help the sports club throughout the season. Maybe add a central midfielder with an attacking profile.
The trainer
Christian Streich is and remains the head coach of SC Freiburg. The 57-year-old has been in charge of the pros since January 2012 and is not only the longest-serving coach in the Bundesliga, but Freiburg is also hard to imagine without. The football teacher, by the German sports journalists Voted “Coach of the Year” 2022 manages to set new accents and charms year after year. He even pushes long-time players like SC captain Christian Günter to their limits and develops them further. Freiburg’s motivator on the sidelines is looking forward to the triple load of the coming season and seems enthusiastic about the new season.
expectations for the season
So far, the declared goal of SC Freiburg has always been to stay in the class. 40 points should be achieved, other goals were never discussed a season ago. Freiburg has not lost its humility, but its self-confidence and its own standards have grown. SC Freiburg no longer has to hide from any team in the Bundesliga and can keep up with all clubs on good days.
By participating in the Europa League, the sports club has many English weeks ahead of them before the World Cup in Qatar, which begins in November. The squad has enough quality to meet this challenge. Provided the key players stay healthy. A very bitter pill is the injury of striker Lucas Höler. At the training camp in Schruns, Austria, the 28-year-old suffered a metatarsal fracture and will be out for several weeks. This is a bitter loss for the Freiburg game.
All in all, the signs are good that the sports club can surprise positively again this season. The string troop survived the first round of the DFB Cup with luck and skill in a heated game on the dreaded Betzenberg in Kaiserslautern. The international competition, which offers all players a great opportunity to show themselves internationally, provides an extra portion of motivation.
