Julian Schuster has only been in charge of SC Freiburg for a little over two years, but he has already experienced plenty as head coach: Bundesliga matches, a DFB-Pokal semi-final, European encounters, the Europa League final in Istanbul and qualification for the Conference League.

His third season in charge has also got off to a promising start, with SC unbeaten in eight competitive matches. Schuster is now preparing for his 100th competitive game as Freiburg head coach, a milestone that will come in a competition the club have never played in before. Following last season's successful Europa League campaign, Freiburg will enter new territory when they begin their UEFA Conference League campaign on Thursday evening at 21:00 CEST. It will be the fourth competition Schuster has led the team into.

“I wouldn't have expected to reach 100 games so quickly. But it shows just how much has happened here over the past two years. I'm still incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to coach this club,” said Schuster, before adding: “I'm happy to be sitting here today and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's challenge.”

Looking forward to a busy few weeks

Bundesliga leaders Freiburg begin their Conference League campaign, and a run of three consecutive weeks with midweek fixtures, against FK Jablonec, who currently sit fifth in the Czech Chance Liga. Like Schalke 04, Thursday's opponents have been particularly solid defensively, conceding just nine goals in 10 matches. “They're a very good defensive side. That's one of the foundations of their game. They stay compact and look to win the ball in central areas, but they also try to move it forward quickly from the back,” explained Schuster, who also pointed out that the Czech side had knocked Rangers out in the play-offs.

Freiburg still have six competitive fixtures to play in October, making the depth of their squad particularly valuable, especially if players are ruled out. Niklas Beste was able to train individually after taking a knock to his shoulder and neck against Schalke, and he has not been ruled out of Thursday's game. Nevertheless, Schuster was pleased with the options at his disposal: “We've got a big squad with plenty of quality, which gives us the option to rotate.” Maximilian Eggestein, who is just as excited about the start of the Conference League as he was about playing in the Europa League, added: “The next few weeks are going to be very intense, but we're looking forward to all the games. We've got a good squad full of lads who want to be out on the pitch. We want to get off to a good start in the competition tomorrow.”

Photo: SC Freiburg