Football Season Guide

Freiburg were one of the league’s overachievers last season as they took a top seven spot in the same campaign they returned to the Bundesliga, allowing them to qualify for Europe. Christian Streich’s side were therefore faced with a big challenge for this season if they had managed to progress to the group stages of the Europa League but the German side lost in the third qualifying round. That means Streich and his squad will be able to focus solely on the league and cup which is probably beneficial to a side who are still establishing themselves in the league. Freiburg achieved their success last season with some very solid home form which included 10 wins and a small core squad of just 19 regular players who the coach trusted throughout the campaign. Unfortunately for Streich, the team’s performances led to a few of his players going on the most wanted lists of bigger sides in the league and two of the most important players in the squad have left. Third highest scorer Maximilian Philipp has moved to Dortmund but Pascal Stenzel has made his loan permanent in the opposite direction. Winger Vincenzo Grifo has also left to Borussia Mönchengladbach meaning there are certainly gaps in the Freiburg attack. Those are likely to be filled by Nils Petersen who should have more of a role in the starting line-up after making 26 appearances from the bench last season. Florian Niederlechner has also signed permanently from Mainz and Tim Kleindienst has joined from second division Heidenheim. Elsewhere Streich has once again invested in some younger players including Bartosz Kapustka from former English champions Leicester City. Freiburg will once again have a small sized active squad with a strong focus on German players who will be hard working and spirited. It seems unlikely that Streich's squad will be able to reproduce their incredible run to the top seven last season but a lower mid-table position is possible for a side in their second season.