Head coach Christian Streich was asked about his most memorable moment at the Dreisamstadion during the pre-match press conference on Friday. “There wasn’t one single moment,” he said, “There were several hundred memorable and special moments. Looking back, the majority were very happy moments with an overarching feeling of togetherness.”

The 56-year-old won’t be alone in his recollections. The location of the current Dreisamstadion was officially inaugurated as the home of SC Freiburg in 1955. Sixty-six years and countless hard-fought matches later – including 359 in the Bundesliga – the stadium will officially host its final top-flight men’s game this weekend.

Even if it will be a bittersweet goodbye, the move to the Europa-Park Stadion is a sign of the continued growth of the club over the last years, and is a new chapter in our history. Or, as Christian Streich sums it up: “This stadium represents an incredible history. No one would ever have predicted that we would play in the Bundesliga for this many years.”

The team will also be able to look forward to welcoming a larger crowd than they have played in front of in recent games. Instead of the 10,700 fans that were permitted to attend the first two home games of the season, 14,500 fans will be allowed to attend Sunday’s match against FCA. “It would be great to have the crowd at our backs for the full 90 minutes and they support us even if things don’t go to plan. That way, the team and the fans will be linked by the same energy,” said Streich.

At the same time, Streich – the Bundesliga’s longest serving head coach – is also not overhyping the match. “It makes sense that there’s a lot of nostalgia surrounding this match. However, I’ve not spent any time discussing this with the team. We are busy preparing for Augsburg,” he said, adding that he is expecting a “complicated game” this weekend.

Augsburg will be looking to spoil the farewell for SCF, coming in to the game having celebrated their first win of the season last time out against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Streich is not blind to the quality of the upcoming opponent, saying “They defend well and close up shop at the back, and they can also play good football. They have some quick players and are strong on the counter.” Jonathan Schmid (recovering from Covid-19) and Kimberly Ezekwam (rehabilitiation), will not be able to feature this weekend.

To mark the farewell to the Dreisamstadion, Streich and his side also have the chance to break a long-standing club record. SC Freiburg have never gone unbeaten in their first six matches of a top-flight campaign. Should they manage to avoid defeat against Augsburg this weekend, then it will likely become another memory at the Dreisam that will be etched in the mind of both Streich and the fans.

Photo: Achim Keller