More preparation time than last time and lots of fit players—the conditions at SC Freiburg are good ahead of their next attempt to bring home more than one point from Munich.
Some say SC Freiburg could save themselves the trip to Bavaria, given their miserable points haul in Munich so far. The Sport-Club has only won once in Munich, in the DFB Cup quarterfinals in April 2023 with a score of 2-1. They have never managed to do so in the Bundesliga. In 25 games in Munich, the Sport-Club has drawn three times (most recently in the 2018/19 season), with the Breisgauers losing the remaining 22 games. “I’m going to ignore that, and the question about it,” said coach Julian Schuster with a smile at the press conference ahead of the away game. “Don’t take it personally,” he added to the journalist. Points in Munich would of course be welcome, but even a good performance at the Allianz Arena would satisfy the SC coach: “The performance and the way we played in Munich last year can also help us with the tasks ahead.” In the previous season, SC lost 2-0 (goals: Harry Kane and Thomas Müller) on the second matchday. This was followed by two wins in the league. This time, Freiburg will continue with a busy schedule after the game in Munich, with three weeks of Europa League and DFB Cup games, just like before the international break.
No friendly during the international break
However, Freiburg had several training sessions this week and last week. And they had already decided against a friendly match during their season planning, as in September and October, and only scheduled an internal test. “It was great to see the boys marching out there,” said Schuster. In addition, young players were able to take part in training again, which had been hardly or not at all possible in the previous weeks. “As nice as it is to be able to play internationally, what I really miss are training sessions and not being able to work on the details. You need repetition for that,” explained the SC coach. That’s why it suited him that only four professionals who had been playing regularly recently were away with their national teams. What’s more, they returned in high spirits after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup: Philipp Lienhart with Austria, Igor Matanovic with Croatia, Johan Manzambi with Switzerland, and goalkeeper Noah Atubolu with the German national team. “We are very proud, and that helps us too,” believes Schuster. “These are experiences that allow you to grow and mature.”
The question remains whether this will already pay off in the game in Munich. Bayern’s 2-2 draw at Union before the international break showed that there are opportunities “that you have to work for,” said Schuster. “That means defending very well, possibly at different levels.” And when you’re pushed deep into your own half, it’s important “not to let it get to your head too much, but to be incredibly accepting, while also being willing, strong, and courageous enough to create and exploit your own periods of possession when they offer you space.”
He has a full squad to choose from. Only Cyriaque Irié will not be part of the squad after his malaria infection. He is back in team training and “the developments and his values are positive,” Schuster reported, “but there are still a few things to work on and we are giving him the time.” In any case, there is no pressure to take a player who is not 100% fit, as he still has to drop some players from the squad anyway. “Some players are currently champing at the bit,” said Schuster when asked about Patrick Osterhage’s possible return to the starting lineup. The midfielder came on as a substitute in the recent home win against St. Pauli for the first time since his injury break.
Despite Bayern’s scary record, not only do all the players want to be there, but so do over 7,000 SC fans in the sold-out visitors’ section—who will be hoping that the losing streak can be broken, at least a little bit.
