As the saying goes what a difference a year makes. At the 2011 winter break Freiburg were a shambles with only 13 points, disharmony in the dressing room and a chorus of fat ladies warming up the vocals to signal their end in the top division. In an unusual step for Freiburg they sacked the manager Marcus Sorg and on December 30 they appointed Christian Streich.
Finally Papiss Cissé who had been their leading goalscorer and focal point was finally sold to Newcastle in January for €12 million which was their biggest ever transfer fee. In addition to selling Cisse, there was a clearout including Japanese international Kisho Yano and former captain Heiko Butscher.
Turnaround
It wasn't an easy start for Streich as it took time for the players to understand what he wanted and demanded from them. The turning point last season was the 0-0 with Bayern Munich, this installed the self belief in the squad who were then able to continue their remarkable turnaround playing some excellent football and finished last season on 40 points which was 9 points clear of Hertha Berlin in the relegation playoff spot.
SC Freiburg
Freiburg's club philosophy of developing youth, an excellent scouting network, playing attacking and technical football gave them the name "Breisgau Brazilians" was founded under Volker Finke who was a legendary figure of the club as manager from 1991-2007. Finke's long gone but many things he built up and the essential philosophy still remains. Streich has taken what Finke built, adapted it to modern times and imposed his own personality and interpretation with outstanding results so far.
Streich has been with the club since 1995 mostly as the youth manager. He fully understands the SC Freiburg football philosophy and is putting into practice. Once he took over he changed the formation to 4-4-2, but it's not so rigid as it would be in England where tactical flexibility for the most part is a dirty concept.
When they have the ball there is plenty of movement up front, the forwards will drop back and the attacking midfielders will push forward with Makiadi being the glue. In defence they play a very intensive pressing game compressing the space the opposition have as little space as possible, so they can hit well on the counter when the opposition turn over the ball.
Streich has achieved two big coaching scalps this season. He ended Felix Magath's run at Wolfsburg, the only people that miss him are the shady agents as he was always up for a deal. The second victim was Huub Stevens of Schalke after the 3-1 defeat.
Streich takes down another coach
This season they have the second best defensive record behind Bayern, though from the goal they conceded against Schalke last week this would be hard to believe. Streich asks a lot from his players in this demanding system, since the self belief in the squad is so high they will do anything for him. This creates the pleasant problem of competition for places within the team.
As enjoyable it is to watch Freiburg play and succeeded in spite of having one of the smallest budgets in the Bundesliga. Half the enjoyment is watching Christian Streich on the sideline during the matches, lets say he puts the stereotype of robotic German to the sword. Raphael Honigstein called him the Breisgau Bielsa . As much as there are similarities there are clear differences. Bielsa doesn't have a section of the local newspaper dedicated to his weekly sayings.
Christian Streich Shuffle
Streich of the Week
Streich is a cult figure with the Freiburg fans and this isn't surprising with some of his comments. An example where it's all about the team which deflects the pressure of him is this quote. In reality there could be a whole blog dedicated to Striechisms. "The team doesn’t have to win. We only need to die sometime. But we don’t need to win.” Resurrection
The Badische Zeitungs description of Streich is perfect. He is a football philosopher, genuine, authentic and a total cult hero. The fact the comments are made in a strong Markgräflerlander dialect makes them even more unique. Here is the link to Striech of the week. The first one "Where is the mustard" and the last one about the good and the rubbish about football on TV. Streich of the Week
Europa League
Freiburg have a new set of challenges after their excellent start to the season. It will be interesting to see whether they get some new players from other clubs or they promote from the youth team. They have made the quarter finals of the Gerrman Cup and have drawn Mainz which is a winnable match for them, especially since Bayern and Dortmund have drawn each other in one of the quarter finals.
Currently they are in the Europa League spot with 26 points and would be a brilliant achievement if Freiburg were able to finish within the Europa League positions it would be richly deserved after all the work Striech and the team have done. Since Streich has taken over in 36 matches he has won 16, drawn 11 and lost 9 with a 44.44% winning percentage which is outstanding with a small tea,.
Freiburg are a template for many smaller clubs on a tight budget to follow, excellent scouting, investing in youth development and giving these players an opportunity to grow as players. It's important that they have an identity and a philosophy which they believe in irrespective of size. Streich the philsopher has done this and is keeping the dream alive.
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