Football Season Guide

Freiburg start this season hoping to stabilise themselves in the league after coming far too close to relegation for comfort last term. Last season was a real wake-up call for the club after an excellent finish in 2016/2017 and they absolutely have to improve this season. Over the summer head coach Christian Streich has overseen a clearing out of the first team squad which has led to no less than 17 players leaving. Very few of those to have headed for the exit would be considered important first team members. Only the centre back pairing of Marc-Oliver Kempf and Caglar Soyuncu will be greatly missed. In the other direction the addition of Philipp Lienhart on a permanent deal from Real Madrid is an excellent deal as the Austrian showed a lot of potential last season. He will share responsibility at the back with Dominique Heintz from relegated Köln who has been a solid performer over the last few seasons. Midfielder Jerome Gondorf is another notable signing who has also been very consistent over the last few seasons. Freiburg’s summer signings have not been exceptionally interesting, but that is a very positive sign for the club. Last term Streich attempted to chase a repeat of their high league position by bringing in a host of players who did not really fit into the squad. This year the focus will be on trying to maximise the talent within the squad. There are certainly a number of reasons to be positive however for Streich’s side. In Nils Petersen Freiburg have the league’s second highest scorer from last season and the highest German scorer. There are also a number of younger players who are beginning to mature and consistently perform such as Janik Haberer who will be looking to improve upon his tally of 3 goals last season. Freiburg are very likely to finish in the bottom half as they still lack the quality of many sides in the division. If they are able to find some form at points during the season they do have a chance of avoiding another relegation battle.