Philipp, once again, welcome back to SC. How does it feel to be at the club again?

Treu: Thank you. I have already experienced a lot of great things here and still know a lot of people at the club, both within the squad and the backroom staff. A lot has stayed the same.

As you say, it definitely won’t have taken you long to settle in. Prior to your move to St. Pauli, you played for SC’s U23 side but also trained with the first team a lot and also know the dressing room at the Europa-Park Stadion too for example.

Treu: The time went quickly, also because of how successful the last two years have been. It does definitely feel a bit like coming home. It’s a cool feeling to see things like my old school again.

You signed for FC St. Pauli in 2023 and won the 2. Bundesliga title with them in your first year there. How would you sum up your spell with the Kiezkicker?

Treu: Celebrating a league title with thousands of people on the Reeperbahn in a city like Hamburg is something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Staying up in my second season was the icing on the cake for me because St. Pauli had previously gone back down quickly after promotion to the Bundesliga. Things went really well for me personally too.

You played twice against SC last season. St. Pauli won 3-0 away in Freiburg but you then scored the own goal that secured SC all three points in the reverse fixture as FCSP lost 1-0. Your feelings after those two games couldn’t have been more different, could they?

Treu: The win in Freiburg was extremely important – we had just one point on the board going into that match. Our first win of the season coming at the Europa-Park Stadion against my old teammates was obviously really special and it gave us a real boost as a team.

…and what about the game in Hamburg?

Treu: It looked like the reverse fixture was going to end in a draw until Günni fired in a cross and I just threw myself in the way. I was obviously gutted that it then flew into the back of the net.

How did you feel when you heard that SC wanted to resign you?

Treu: I never lost contact with the club, whether it was with Felix Roth, Johannes Flum or Julian Schuster. We were always talking about things. Schusti also shadowed Fabian Hürzeler at one point. I was obviously really pleased when he rang me up. SC have developed so much as a club in recent years.

What targets have you set yourself? 

Treu: A lot of our focus at St. Pauli was on defending. Here at Freiburg, we’ll have more of the ball and more attacks. I want to improve that side of my game, give my best, impress the coach and obviously play football too. We’re in three competitions this season and I can’t wait to get going.

Photo: SC Freiburg