The new Bundesliga season is about to start, and SC Freiburg is facing a new era right from the beginning. Fabi from the SC Freiburg fan club “Freiburger Botschaft zu Stuttgart” describes the situation with the Breisgau team.
With the Red Stripe: A New Season and the Start of a New Era: After 5,843 days with Christian Streich as head coach, Julian Schuster is now the new man on the sidelines. Do you think the timing was too late, too early, or just right?
Fabi: You can definitely trust the personnel decisions in Freiburg; a lot has gone right in recent years. Streich hinted multiple times during the season about how much the job as head coach had drained him and that they were assessing each year if he had the energy to continue. It’s unfortunate that he’s stepping down, but internally, the club had good options for a successor and saw this as the right time.
At first, I expected Thomas Stamm, who did excellent work with the second team. Julian Schuster has been the liaison coach between the pros and the youth teams (U23, U19) since 2018 and gained a lot of insights into the workings of professional football. Whether that’s enough or if it’s too early, we’ll have to wait and see.
What do you expect from the new coach?
From the preparations so far, the biggest change seems to be that Schuster is implementing a much more active pressing game. Until now, SC tended to defend more compactly and stood a bit deeper. The formation has slightly changed.
Additionally, promising young players have been used, and they’ve shown good performances so far. I hope he remains bold in his decisions and continues the Freiburg way. Trust in the work and decisions of the coaching team is something we have in Freiburg 😊
How would you describe him in terms of character and football philosophy?
As a long-time player for SC, Julian Schuster was already very popular, partly because he identified strongly with the club’s philosophy and values. This identification, along with his expertise and personality, reportedly contributed to the decision to appoint him as head coach. In interviews and press conferences, he comes across as very composed and factual.
Can you briefly describe how the squad has changed for the Breisgau team?
We were able to bring in two Bundesliga-experienced players, Eren Dinkci and Patrick Osterhage, who fit perfectly into SC’s new system. Osterhage has already made it into the starting lineup, but with Dinkci, we’ll have to wait a bit as he missed part of the preparation due to an injury.
With Max Rosenfelder (CB) and Bruno Obgus (RB), two youth players made their competitive debut in the cup match. Berkay Yilmaz and Johan Manzambi have also been promoted to the first team. We haven’t had any significant departures except for players like Keven Schlotterbeck, who were already on loan last year. Noah Atubolu is also out for now due to illness. However, with Flo Müller, who has already done well with us, I’m not too worried.
After two years in European competition, SCF will only travel domestically. Are you disappointed, or are you relieved not to be in a relegation battle?
Of course, there was significant disappointment on the 34th matchday, especially because we had enough chances to secure qualification for international competitions on our own. It was something special to experience football in other countries and even more so to see our own club there. By our standards, we were quite successful.
In retrospect, I think it might be better with a new, young coach to focus on two competitions and aim for the best possible results there. Fortunately, we secured enough points early last season. The numerous injuries in the second half of the season made things difficult, and the gap to the bottom wasn’t that big.
What are the expectations for the new season? Is Europe a goal?
The club won’t set high goals, and that’s a good thing. It’s important to start the season well so we can work in peace. The goal remains to stay in the league. The earlier that goal is reached, the better, and only then will we look further up the table.
Your men’s team hasn’t played in the Dreisamstadion for three years now, but in the new Europa-Park-Stadion. Does it feel like home by now, or is there still some “homesickness”?
The successful seasons have certainly contributed to the smooth transition to the new stadium. The club has grown financially, and the number of members has increased, so the 10,000 extra seats in the Europa-Park-Stadion have definitely been worth it—the home section was always sold out. The atmosphere in the stadium is always good, and from what I’ve heard, the view in the guest section is better now as well. After all, everyone should be able to see when SC scores 😉
There are still some changes being made to the stadium in consultation with the fans.
VfB is going through a transformation after a historic season. Do you think we can establish ourselves in the upper part of the table, or is it back down again?
The Kirmespokal (Supercup) showed that VfB can continue last season’s performances. Union Berlin collapsed last year partly because they changed their style of play. I see VfB as stable enough that I don’t think they’ll fall too far down. Demirovic may be a different type of player, but I believe there’s quality both in the striker position and in the revamped central defense.
Finally, the question of all questions. Freiburg vs. Stuttgart, derby or not?
Derby!
Your prediction/feeling for the game?
Lots of goals—hopefully with a happy ending for SCF. Here’s to a good, fair match!
Thank you, and here’s to a good game!
Notice: This interview has been translated from German using ChatGPT
Picture: © THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP /AFP via Getty Images