You mentioned the environment. Have you ever experienced sit-ins in front of the bus after a defeat, which is commonplace at other clubs?
No never. Even after we were relegated in 2015, there were 100 to 200 fans at the stadium, cheering us up and encouraging us. That’s something very special. The people in Freiburg have a keen sense – especially when we give everything and put our hearts on the pitch. Then you can lose.
Isn’t football in the university town of Freiburg, which is said to have a high quality of life, taken as seriously as elsewhere?
The people of Freiburg are extremely enthusiastic about football. You don’t just have to look at the pictures from the cup final against Leipzig. It’s more about assessing the whole thing correctly – not overdoing it, getting completely personal, or even threatening players. That’s out of the question for our fans.
What are the goals for the new season?
Participation in the Europa League makes it more difficult than usual to formulate a clear goal. If we hibernate in the European competition, that would be sensational. It is still extremely difficult to name a specific place in the table because it will be tough from September until the World Cup in Qatar. There weren’t that many English weeks in a row even in 2020 after the Corona interruption and the EM 2021. It’s extremely difficult to assess how we’ll handle this burden. So it’s about collecting as many points as early as possible in the Bundesliga in order to have a cushion.
But honestly: wouldn’t you be a bit disappointed if, for example, tenth place came out like in 2020/21?
You have to wait and see how the season progresses. It is extremely difficult to predict where we will be in winter – because I have not experienced the stress on this scale myself.
Will this be the toughest season of your career?
This will definitely be the toughest season of my career. Because it wasn’t to that extent even when we played in the Europa League. Everything wasn’t so compressed and in one piece.
A role could included play the World Cup. When did national coach Hansi Flick last call and how do you see your chances of being there in Qatar?