Footballs were being kicked about again at the Europa Park-Stadion. Three friendlies are planned for the Christmas period.
While Ritsu Doan, as one of the club’s two remaining players at the World Cup, takes to the pitch in Al Wakrah for Japan’s round of 16 clash against Croatia on Monday afternoon, his Freiburg teammates restarted training 5800 kilometres away. The training ground, which lies in the shadow of the south stand, has been deserted for 22 days prior to this afternoon. So, what’s new? Lukas Kübler has dyed his hair a white-blond and more than half of the squad still remain on holiday. The coaches designed the session around the eleven players present from the first team squad and the seven players from the club’s third division squad.
Of the players who went on their international travels following the final Bundesliga match of the year against Union Berlin, only Roland Sallai and Kevin Schade have returned thus far. The pair is in high spirits having both grabbed goals whilst on international duty. Sallai scored for Hungary in their 2-1 win over Greece, whilst Schade was on target for Germany’s U21s in their 4-2 away win over Italy. All international players are expected to be back soon.
SC Freiburg will play its first December friendly, therefore, with a mix of the first team and the second team. On Friday afternoon, the squad will face FC Luzern behind closed doors. The Swiss team are currently sixth in Switzerland’s top division. There will be an opportunity to see the SC players at work on Wednesday morning this week. From 10 a.m. they will host a public training session at the Europa Park-Stadion.
There are another two friendlies planned before the next Christmas break. One game against SC Karlsruher (16.12.22) and against Young Boys (22.12.22). Both games will be free to watch with the online stream.