Bundesliga Season Preview: SC Freiburg

After a four-year absence SC Freiburg are back in the Bundesliga.  The team that won a lot of admirers during it’s first spell in the Bundesliga now want to prove that they can survive in the big time.  They arrive as second division champions, but will surely be battling against relegation from the first game.     

Strengths And Weaknesses  

Other Bundesliga clubs will be in a position to collect points due to individual brilliance, but at Freiburg it will be a whole-team effort than secures those much valued points.  If you look at Freiburg’s team man-for-man with most other Bundesliga clubs, then on paper it is hard to see where they are going to get the necessary points to survive. 

However they do have players who have been there before such as Banovic, Bechmann and Idrissou.  The short-term absence of centre-back Omer Toprak will be a blow as he was certainly a key-player last season.  If he is not replaced then the back-line will struggle. 

Ins And Outs  

Freiburg have only limited resources and cannot go a splash the cash in order to guarantee survival.  Sporting director Dirk Dufner has tried to make up for the loss of Daniel Schwaab to Leverkusen with the signing of Du-Ri-Cha from TuS Koblenz.  Midfield alternatives have arrived in the form of Croatian Mensur Muddza (NK Zagreb) and Felix Bastians (Young Boys Bern).  In attack Stefan Reisinger (Greuther Furth) and Cedrick Makiadi (Wolfsburg) will offer options to Tommy Bechmann and Idrissou up front.   

IN: Mensur Mujdza (NK Zagreb), Stefan Reisinger (Greuther Furth), Manuel Salz (Stuttgarter Kickers), Cedric Makiadi (Wolfsburg), Du-Ri Cha (TuS Koblenz), Felix Bastians (Young Boys Bern)

OUT:  Daniel Schwaab (Bayer Leverkusen), Vitali Rodionov (BATE Borisov), Kevin Schlitte (Hansa Rostock), Manuel Konrad (SpVgg Unterhaching). Ali Gunes (Kasimpasa)

The Star  

Berti Vogts famously said: "the team is the star", and that certainly applies to SC Freiburg.  Goalkeeper Simon Pouplin could be the vital man this season.  The 24-year-old Frenchman will be a lot busier than he was last season, but he could be worth his wages if he can keep the ball out of his net.   

Key Players  

The Czech defender Pavel Krmas will have the task of organising the defence infront of keeper Pouplin.  His partner Omer Toprak however will be missing for the start of the season which is a severe blow to the best defence from last season’s second division.  In midfield Yacine Abdessadki will provide the creativity, while in attack there is no clear first-choice with form in training deciding who will lead the line. 

The Trainer  

A lot has happened to Robin Dutt in the last ten years since he was the trainer of TSF Ditzingen reserves.  He is now a Bundesliga trainer following a championship winning season last year.  He has climbed the ladder with quiet, methodical work, but is set for surely his toughest season yet.  He had a very tough job following in the footsteps of the popular Volker Finke, but his quality has proved the doubters wrong. 

Prediction  

Few people at the Breisgau club are under any illusions that this is going to be a long, hard season with survival the only target.  The other promoted sides either have more money or a better squad, so Freiburg are going to have to show lots of fight and competitiveness if they are to survive the harsh realities of the Bundesliga.  It is hard however to predict three teams that will finish below them and I fear an instant return to the second division is on the cards. 

Position: 18th  

Mathew Burt, Goal.com