SC’s fixture schedule is a demanding one at the moment – and since Thursday evening, it has become two matches busier. Thanks to convincing wins both at home and away against Celta Vigo, Freiburg are through to the Europa League semi-finals and can already start planning their next trip to the Iberian Peninsula.

The joy at reaching the first European semi-final in the club’s history came pouring out first in front of the travelling fans after the final whistle, and then in front of the media. Vincenzo Grifo said he was “incredibly proud”, while Johan Manzambi described himself as “very happy”.

Before SC take on Portuguese side SC Braga in the semi-finals in a fortnight’s time, the team still have three more matches to come. Heidenheim visit the Europa-Park Stadion on Sunday afternoon, before Freiburg travel to Stuttgart for the DFB-Pokal semi-finals and then to Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

“We enjoyed the moment for a little while. Despite all the happiness over what we achieved, it was also something we spoke about straight away last night – the real quality lies in producing that kind of performance again on Sunday and not resting on our laurels,” Julian Schuster said the day after the 3-1 win in Vigo, before adding: “The team have done that really well recently.”

Against both St. Pauli (2-1 win) and Mainz (1-0 win), the team from Breisgau recently showed that they can quickly shift their focus back to league action after impressive wins on the European stage. The same will be required again against bottom side Heidenheim, who have recently picked up important points in the relegation battle with a draw against Leverkusen and a win over Union Berlin.

Schuster will be able to draw from the same squad he had available ahead of the game against Celta Vigo. Apart from “the usual knocks and bruises”, none of the players picked up anything serious from their mid-week triumph, Schuster said.

Photo: SC Freiburg