SC Freiburg wants to reach the DFB Cup final for the second time after 2022. Before the semi-final at VfB Stuttgart, Vincenzo Grifo talks about dreams and memories in an interview.
Who is going to Berlin – defending champions VfB Stuttgart or SC Freiburg? This question will be answered on Thursday evening from 8:45 p.m. when the Swabians host the Breisgauer in the southwest duel for the semi-finals of the DFB Cup (live on Erste and in the audio stream on sportschau.de).
In terms of sport, fans can look forward to a duel at eye level. In the Bundesliga, Freiburg won 3-1 in the first leg and VfB prevailed 1-0 in the second leg. While the Stuttgart team may be a bit better staffed, the sports club is something of the team of the hour alongside FC Bayern. In addition to the cup, coach Julian Schuster’s team is also in the semi-finals of the Europa League (against SC Braga) and therefore still has two chances of winning the title.
SC Freiburg “confident without being arrogant”
But what makes SC Freiburg so strong at the moment? “We have the momentum on our side. We appear with a broad chest. We are very self-confident without being arrogant,” said Vincenzo Grifo in the Sportschau interview. “That shows the character of this team. We just have this for granted at the moment.”
You have to “earn” and “force” the momentum, said the offensive player. The people of Breisgau have done this brilliantly in the last few weeks. The sports club has won six of its last seven competitive games – sometimes in an impressive manner, such as the 3-0 win in the Europa League against Celta Vigo. In the 2-3 draw against FC Bayern, the Breisgauer team had their sights set on victory until injury time. Finally, the cobbler team sat down 2-1 against 1. FC Heidenheim.
SC Freiburg wants to “go all out” against VfB Stuttgart
With VfB Stuttgart, however, a high hurdle now awaits Freiburg. “A great and good team, you have to admit that to be honest. They are incredibly well staffed and have great individual players with Undav, Demi (Demirovic), Leweling, Führich – all national players who deserve to be there. It will be a difficult task for us,” said Grifo.
But we are so close to the goal, we want to give it our all as long as our legs can carry us.
Vincenzo Grifo
The goal is clear: SC Freiburg should go to the capital for the final on May 23rd in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Grifo is aware that this also applies to the Swabians: “They will think the same way, that they have a great chance of getting to the final, but we won’t give them anything for free.” One thing is clear: the cup statistics of the two clubs speak clearly for VfB: of the five previous duels in the competition, the Swabians won four.
Grifo wants to repeat “Highlight”.
If they reach the final, the sports club would have the chance to win the cup for the second time since 2022. Four years ago, the Breisgauers were close to defeating the favorites RB Leipzig in the final under coach Christian Streich, but then failed dramatically in the penalty shootout. Christian Günter and Ermedin Demirovic were the unlucky ones who missed their penalties. While Günter is still playing for the sports club, there will be a reunion with Demirovic on Thursday, who now scores his goals for VfB.
For the people of Freiburg it is important to take one step at a time. “I’ve seen it (the cup) before, we walked past it. That hurt,” said Grifo. “I don’t want to talk about the final yet because we haven’t achieved anything close yet. But it was one of the highlight games of my career.”
Grifo “in good spirits about achieving something great”
A highlight that Grifo would only like to repeat: “That whole day and the day before with the fans and everyone in Berlin: I would like to give that again to my family, to myself, to this club and to all the boys who are down there.” And then best of all with the crowning of the first title for SC Freiburg. “This club simply deserved this from the start,” said Grifo. “How much work goes into it, how much humility, how much greed.”
The nine-time Italian international doesn’t make any big announcements. After the successful last few weeks, healthy self-confidence is always appropriate in Breisgau. “You can and should believe in yourself. You can also have dreams,” said Grifo. “I’m confident that we can achieve something great.”
