Place 4 and only one point behind leaders Bayern Munich. What are they doing at SC Freiburg? Nothing new – and that’s precisely why they are so successful. A text about unprecedented consistency.
It’s rare that Christian Streich, who tends to be pessimistic, usually relativising and verbally braking, is completely satisfied. Thursday last week was such a day. Streich told an anecdote. It was about right defender Lukas Kübler, who due to injuries is always swinging between the hospital, the starting eleven and the bench. “Kübi has fortunately gained more stability and improved his footballing skills in recent years. And he has been with us for years. “
Streich’s packaged but accurate self-praise
Streich reported standing with current starting defenders Kübler (with SC since 2015), Manuel Gulde (2016) and Philipp Lienhart (2017) and asking his players how long they had actually been playing for SC, saying he couldn’t remember such things. Looking at the stately year numbers, he said: “That is quite striking. Players at SC Freiburg, even if they don’t always play from the start or are sometimes injured, almost all make totally positive developments. And why? Because they have peace and quiet here, are in a very good social environment and are given time. “
Streich is referring above all to the good interaction between the professionals, but of course he has also packed a lot of self-praise into his statements. After all, he and his coaching team are responsible for the work on the training pitch and in the many individual and group video sessions. The good thing is that the praise that the SC otherwise often receives from the outside is fully justified. The narrative behind Freiburg’s recurring, astonishing results is not new – and that is precisely why it often makes them successful: all bosses in professional football proclaim continuity, but at SC it has been lived out for years in an unparalleled manner.
Standards: Still strong, but no longer so dependent on them
This is how Kübler, Gulde, Lienhart and Co. were able to travel to Berlin on Saturday and win 2-1 against a Hertha ensemble alimented with many investor millions despite a footballing “average performance” (Streich) – thanks to collectively effective footwork and two standard goals. “We practise these almost every week and analyse videos on them,” says Lucas Höler. Corners, free kicks and co. have been among the qualities of Streich’s eleven for years, but they are no longer as dependent on them as they used to be. Of the eleven goals they have scored so far, six have been scored after mostly attractive combinations out of play.
15 SC pros in Berlin: 4.2 professional years under Streich on average
Höler, for example, scored one of them in the 3-0 farewell party against Augsburg at the Dreisamstadion a week ago. The 27-year-old has been employed by Breisgau since January 2018 and, with his astonishing development from a technically limited worker to the current starting striker, is also a perfect symbol of the Freiburg school. The 15 professionals used in Berlin – not counting the current season – have a total of 63 professional years under Streich, i.e. an average of 4.2. Still, there is room for talent. For example, Kevin Schade (19) and Noah Weißhaupt (20), who were promoted in the summer, have already made appearances.
QUESTION: Where does Freiburg end up?
“We can build on a high foundation,” says Sporting Director Jochen Saier: “The coaching team is always working on the details. That also makes it easier for Maximilian Eggestein to settle in.” The ex-Bremer is the only external summer addition, arriving as a one-to-one replacement for Baptiste Santamaria, who returned to his native France at short notice, having arrived in 2020 as a record-breaking purchase for ten million euros, but has now brought in 14 million from Stade Rennes. Eggestein can cost up to seven million with bonuses.
New stadium: milestone and potential for more
These figures show that the SC “is no longer the little Gallic village”, as Fredi Bobic noted. Freiburg have built up a substance that, with a squad budget in the region of 40 million, now sets them far apart economically from their current league rivals Fürth, Bochum or Bielefeld. And time and again, they have been able to compete on an equal footing with, or even distance themselves from, even larger clubs such as Hertha, Frankfurt and Hoffenheim. The imminent move to the 10,700-seat Europa Park Stadium is a milestone in the club’s history, and SC is financing the move for a total of around 80 million euros itself. Although the change of home also entails risks, it is first and foremost the opportunity to make further progress.
Saier: “Our defensive stability is the basis “
“The team has grown, gained in maturity and calmness in possession,” explains Saier, who is responsible for the good transfer policy together with sport director Klemens Hartenbach. “But our defensive stability through collectively good defending is the basis.” Five goals conceded are the best. Two players make a big contribution to this, and they stand for another quality indicator. Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken, nominated for the first time, and central defender Nico Schlotterbeck, called up for the second time by Hansi Flick, are two of six Freiburg senior internationals who have currently received an invitation to play for an association (Demirovic/Bosnia, Jeong/South Korea, Sallai/Hungary, the stricken Lienhart/Austria cancelled). Vincenzo Grifo is also on call-up for European champions Italy, five U internationals (DFB U-21: Keitel and Schade, DFB U-20: Atubolu and Weißhaupt, U 21 Switzerland: Burkart) are added to the squad.
Constant competition for a single-digit place realistic
After finishing 8th in the 2019/20 season and 10th a year later, SC’s outstanding, defeat-free start to the season with 15 points after seven games certainly doesn’t come as a complete surprise. The temporary top-4 membership will be difficult to maintain, but it is a fat intra-year bonus payment to the self-confidence account for excellent sporting work and clever club management. Even though Freiburg’s officials are adamant about their traditional goal of staying in the league this season, consistently competing for a single-digit place in the table is now realistic.
“This start gives a good feeling, but we can take it in our stride and have to stick with ourselves,” says Saier. And Streich wouldn’t be Streich if he didn’t have a reminder ready after the win in Berlin: “Things are going well right now, and I’m preparing myself for when things don’t go so well again. Then they need me. When it’s going well, they don’t need me like that.” He will have been in office for 10 years at the end of December.
This top topic comes from the current kicker Monday edition (here in the e-magazine). In it you will find, among other things, exclusive interviews with Hansi Flick and Stefan Kuntz, a portrait of the new U-21 head coach Antonio Di Salvo, focuses on Cologne and Hertha BSC as well as a report on the violence in and around France’s stadiums.
