The SC and its coach are ailing. The weeks are physically and mentally challenging for the people of Baden. Streich doesn’t want to overstate the fact that Munich has also had turbulence behind it.
Christian Streich coughed again before getting up from his chair in the press room. The SC Freiburg coach and his team are going into the duel with FC Bayern Munich on Friday (8:30 p.m. in the live ticker and audio stream on sportschau.de) – and not just because of the 58-year-old’s infection.
In the Europa League, the Baden team reached the round of 16 thanks to great morale, but in the Bundesliga they have been without a win for five games – and even suffered four defeats. There are “physical and mental limits,” said Streich. His players felt that recently. “The boys are just human beings. They really give everything and do everything,” explained the Freiburg coach.
The performance of the sports club fluctuates
In the 2-1 defeat at FC Augsburg last Sunday, many of them simply couldn’t have done it anymore in the second half. Good performances like that in the European Cup games against RC Lens or in the 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the league There have been some poor performances recently. The high stress caused by two competitions, the many personnel setbacks, and possibly also the increased expectations in the environment – all of this is causing problems for the SC.
You have to score points in the Bundesliga “so that the air doesn’t get thinner and thinner,” said Streich before the opening game of the 24th matchday against the record champions. As ninth in the table, Freiburg are still a comfortable twelve points ahead of the relegation zone.
Photo gallery
SC Freiburg and FC Bayern: epic victories and tough packs
A tough program awaits SC Freiburg
But Streich knows only too well that the coming weeks will be no less challenging. The Bayern game will be followed by international duels with West Ham United, In between there is the away game at VfL Bochum. In just over two weeks, the still unbeaten leaders Bayer Leverkusen will be guests – a tough program.
“We are glad to God that we are playing against these teams,” said Streich. “But we also know what it means.” You need “every single grain to survive in these games.” The fact that the experienced defenders Matthias Ginter and Christian Günter are now back after their injury breaks and are gaining increasing strength is just right for the coach. Also in view of the 16 goals his team has conceded in the league since the turn of the year.
Streich doesn’t rely on struggling Bayern
Streich didn’t want to overstate the fact that Bayern also had turbulent days behind them. “We assume that Bayern will be strong and then we have to be very strong to stand up to them,” he said. “Bayern are always considered to be in trouble when they have lost a game. And if they lose more than one game within three days, the world will end and there will be extreme media coverage.”
Streich made it clear that he doesn’t want to be blinded by this. The Munich team ended their negative streak last weekend with a 2-1 win against RB Leipzig. They had previously lost three competitive games in a row and then announced that coach Thomas Tuchel would be leaving the club in the summer. But now they will definitely come to Breisgau with fresh self-confidence, says Streich. Freiburg probably needs a performance at the limit again.
Broadcast on Friday, March 1, 2024, 6:40 p.m., SWR1 Baden-Württemberg
