By John Bagratuni, dpa
Berlin (dpa) – Unless they falter against all odds at bottom side Greuther Fuerth next weekend, Freiburg will take the Bundesliga’s only unbeaten season record into a November 6 date with champions and leaders Bayern Munich.
And having already beaten Borussia Dortmund the southern Germans will also not be afraid of mighty Bayern.
A 2-0 victory Saturday at Wolfsburg sees Freiburg remain three points behind Bayern and two behind second-placed Dortmund with five wins and four draws.
“We still haven’t lost, that is of course extremely great and makes us all extremely pleased. Let’s see how long it continues,” said Lucas Hoeler who scored the second goal on Saturday.
Freiburg like to cultivate their image as a small club and underdog from the foothills of the Black Forest whose main aim is the fight against relegation.
They were promoted for the first time in 1993 under legendary coach Volker Finke and a third-place finish in 1995 is their best Bundesliga finish to date.
Responsible spending, new sponsors and a new 35,000-seat stadium are helping them to new heights now, plus their charismatic long-time coach Christian Streich who has been at the helm for a decade.
“We have developed step by step over the past years. This can also be seen in the fact that no longer have to let four or five of our best players depart,” the club’s financial chief Oliver Leki recently told Kicker magazine.
“We are making ourselves economically stronger once again with the new stadium in order to invest into the sporting area. We are going into the next years with a lot of ambition.”
Philipp Lienhart, who scored the opening goal Saturday, struck a similar note.
“The team knows each other for a while now. We had only a few departures in summer. Everyone knows what he has to contribute to be successful.”
The Streich factor plays a major role as the coach is hugely respected, also for speaking out on political issues, the coronavirus, human rights and other matters such as harshly criticising the takeover of Newcastle by Saudi Arabia-led investors.
“He understands football, is very intelligent and outstanding as a human being,” forward Vincenzo Grifo told the RND publishing house.
“He gives us faith. And you also feel this faith when you are on the subs’ bench. He knows how to deal with each player. And it is also perfectly alright if he yells at me.”
Even long-time Munich president Uli Hoeness has admitted he is a fan of Streich who is only Freiburg’s fourth coach in 30 years.
“I love him. And I even thought for a while whether he could be someone for us,” Hoeness told Antenne Bayern radio recently, adding he would even be happy to see Streich win the Bundesliga title.
“They have such a fantastic person as a coach that I would not begrudge him anything.”
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