Champions League? Freiburg remains verbally on the balancing act
After three consecutive wins, SC Freiburg delivered their best performance of the season in a 2-2 draw against Leverkusen, defending their fourth-place finish in the Champions League. However, Julian Schuster and Co. are sticking to their previously successful defensive tactics.
Emotional on the sidelines, reserved in front of the microphones: Freiburg coach Julian Schuster IMAGO/Steinsiek.ch
Maximilian Eggestein also found Leverkusen's last-minute 2-2 equalizer , which denied SC Freiburg a big point in their Champions League battle on Sunday, "bitter." Nevertheless, the midfielder, who played strongly against the Werkself, aptly stated: "Nevertheless, the performance can definitely give us confidence. So, that was really good. We haven't played like that often against a top team this season. That was progress."
A clear improvement, which, while not rewarded with maximum points, nevertheless secured fourth place for the time being, with at least a one-point lead over Dortmund. "We're still in a good position," says Eggestein, but prefers to warn about the next opponent rather than sounding bold. On Saturday, they travel to the second-to-last team, which has recently revived. "We're playing in Kiel. That will be difficult enough, considering how Kiel played in Augsburg (3-1 win, ed.)."
We don't need to start talking about the Champions League now."
With all due respect to Kiel, the ambition, built on years of hard work, must still be to beat the Storks. And when you're in a Champions League spot with two games to go, the logical goal is to stay there until the final scores.
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This is also the case at Sport-Club, but no one wants to publicly acknowledge it. "We don't need to start talking about the Champions League, but we all played at international level, and it was simply a great time. We enjoyed that, and we're not going to fight it now," Eggestein says, remaining true to his strategy of keeping a low profile: "Two more points against Leverkusen would certainly have done us good. We're still in a good position, and we'll see."
Just as he does on the pitch, Julian Schuster also sets the tactics off it. These are primarily characterized by defensive control, which SC also demonstrated for large parts of their duel with Bayer. "We will try to replicate exactly that performance," the coach succinctly outlines his approach ahead of the final matches in Kiel and against Frankfurt.
"So far I haven't found any reasons to behave differently"He doesn't want to let the fight for Freiburg's first Champions League spot, with all its accompanying complications, get to him. "I'm happy to listen if anyone has any tips on how looking at the table can help me in the coming days and weeks. I haven't found any reasons yet to behave differently than we have so far." The performance against Leverkusen confirms this strategy.
"We want the maximum," is how far Schuster, who was very emotionally coaching against Bayer on the sidelines, is leaning out of the window. It's a real verbal balancing act that most of the SC protagonists are currently performing.
Is it superstition? A reluctance to name what's already crystal clear? Or is it the fear of coming away empty-handed in the European Cup, like last season, despite the four-point lead over seventh place? Or are they the bitter experiences of 2022 and 2023, when they missed the chance to move up to fourth place in the season finale?
Let's be honest: In a situation like this, the Champions League will certainly be a real topic of discussion, at least internally, won't it? Just like on the final matchday of 2012/13, when, in Christian Streich's first positive breakout year with captain Schuster, SC lost the direct duel for fourth place with Schalke 1-2 at home.
Yes, it concerns us. We are all human.
Julian Schuster on the CL question
"Yes, it concerns us. We're all human," Schuster admits when asked again, but still doesn't want to deviate from his strategy: "It's our job to ignore it." So far, this tactic has been successful. Whether it actually leads to a major, historic success for the club remains to be seen in the final season's accounts.
Schuster witnessed a positive development midweek: Lucas Höler, who performed well against Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg, is back training with the team. The hard-working and combative attacker missed the Leverkusen game due to muscular problems. His strengths are likely to be in demand, especially against Kiel.
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