Freiburg’s first team have had a fantastic start to the season so far. From 23 competitive matches, the Breisgauer have just lost just three of them.
In the days and weeks since Freiburg’s last Bundesliga game against Union Berlin, it would be understandable if Freiburg fans pinched themselves a couple of times while looking at the table just to ensure they weren’t in some sort of fever dream. Freiburg’s first team sit second in the Bundesliga, qualified for the round of 16 in the Europa League as group winners, and, under the captaincy of Christian Günter, still in the DFB-Pokl.
As usual, the team laid their foundations for the season at their training camp in Schruns, where they went undefeated from their five pre-season matches. Wins came against FC. St Gallen (4-3), Rayo Vallecano (3-0) and Stade Rennais (1-0), with draws against SV Elversberg (0-0) and RC Strasbourg (0-0)
Up for the Cup
The new season began just as the last one ended – with a dramatic game in the Pokal. 1. FC Kaiserslautern took Freiburg to extra time in the first round of this year’s competition, but an inch-perfect free-kick from Ritsu Doan in the 111th minute sent SC through with a 2-1 scoreline.
The second round was just as dramatic. In front of a home crowd against FC St. Pauli, Matthias Ginter came to Freiburg’s rescue late on to send the game to extra time, before Michael Gregoritsch’s strike in the 119th minute sent Freiburg through, narrowly avoiding a penalty shootout.
Memorable European nights
Freiburg’s second competition, the UEFA Europa League, saw them take four wins in their group. A 2-1 win at home against Qarabag was followed by a 3-0 away win at Olympiacos. Freiburg defeated Nantes both home and away, and drew against Olympiacos 1-1, securing the group win and avoiding the round of 32 playoff.
However, the final group game, a 1-1 draw against Qarabag, was still a special occasion – not only due to Baku being a long away day, but also due to the team, which saw seven academy products play. A young Freiburg side stood up strongly against a side with respectable international pedigree, and celebrated after the game with the travelling faithful, in the away end at the Tofiq Behramov Stadium.
Never been lower than seventh
A misfortunate 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the second matchday of the Bundesliga saw Freiburg in their “lowest” place in the table so far this season. Freiburg have since never been lower than seventh, and indeed were as high as league leaders after matchday five with their 3-2 away victory against Bayer Leverkusen.
The last home match before the winter break will especially remain in the memory of the spectators in the Europa-Park Stadion for a long while. Vincenzo Grifo and co. played their hearts out against Union Berlin, who had previously not been a favourite opponent – coming away with a 4-1 win in front of the home support.
With just 17 goals conceded, the Sport-Club has the second best defence in the league. Mark Flekken has eight clean sheets and is leading this metric by a long way. If this Freiburg side can play with the same robustness in the new year, plenty of wonderful matches are sure to await fans of the Breisgauer.
Photo: SC Freiburg
