Mark Flekken has an eventful past in Freiburg. Before the duel with the former club, criticism of the Leverkusen goalkeeper is growing.
Actually it’s over Bayer Leverkusen before the home game against SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga not bad at all. In fifth place you are within striking distance of the Champions League. But exactly these – and the 2:7 against Paris – still resonate. The focus is on goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who is playing against his former club against Freiburg.
Fans mock Flekken against Paris
One could feel a little sorry for Flekken when he conceded seven goals against the defending champions in the premier class during the week. However, their own supporters didn’t see it that way: they applauded scornfully when the Dutchman was finally able to keep the eighth ball on his goal.
“I noticed that, but it’s a collective problem, not a goalkeeper problem,” said coach Kasper Hjulmand, calling on his entire team: “The team also has to help Mark. He’s always willing to learn, he’s our number one at the moment.”
Blaswich is waiting for the goalkeeper change
So that means: Janis Blaswich has to sit further back as number two for the time being. But according to Hjulmand, this constellation is not set in stone: “Janis also trains very well. And there is always competition, even in goal.” The coach also added that there had been “2-3 situations with Flekken in the last few games”. But he is still a great goalkeeper.
However, one gets the impression that Flekken is not yet the hoped-for upgrade in the Bayer team’s goal, in contrast to his predecessors Lukas Hradecky or Matej Kovar. Some supporters complain that his playful nature is sometimes too risky. Hjulmand sees this more as a strength: “He is the first builder and is very important for that. But the team has to participate.”
According to statistics, only average in the league
However, the statistics hardly speak for Flekken: According to “Kicker”, the 32-year-old is only in twelfth place in the league in terms of saves – with 64.5 percent of balls blocked. Of the last twelve shots on goal in the games against Mainz 05 and Paris SG, ten were in their own net. A rate that every striker wants and that every goalkeeper dreads. Hjulmand ruled out a change for the time being.
That would have been the absolute lowest point for Flekken, because now of all times he is meeting his “old love”, SC Freiburg. Between 2018 and 2023, Flekken was in the Breisgauer goal for five years, where he matured into a seasoned Bundesliga goalkeeper and Dutch national player before he moved to FC Brentford in the Premier League and then to Leverkusen for a double-digit million sum.
Bayer’s goalkeeper meets his former colleagues
Now there is a reunion with ex-colleagues; most of the SC leading players such as Matthias Ginter, Christian Günter and Vicenzo Grifo are still very familiar to the Dutchman. Because they were already in the squad for the Breisgauers, who had been unbeaten in eight games, before Flekken moved to England.
Just like Flekken’s successor as number one in Freiburg, Noah Atubolu – just behind him as the substitute goalkeeper. There is also a hopeful statistic for Bayer’s goalkeeper before the game: Freiburg’s Atubolu fended off even fewer balls than Flekken at just 62.5 percent.
Our sources:
- Bayer Leverkusen press conference
- Game Bayer Leverkusen – Paris on Amazon Prime
- Report from the Bild newspaper on Mark Flekken
- Goalkeeper statistics of the “kicker”
- Data portal transfermarkt.de
