With two Bundesliga games played so far this campaign, SC Freiburg have recorded two very different kinds of defeat. Although the side clearly produced the better performance and dominated the play in the 3-1 loss to FC Augsburg, those promising signs in the unlucky loss on matchday 1 were nowhere to be seen when SC travelled to Köln the following week.

The international break therefore came at a good time for the club after the 4-1 defeat against the newly-promoted side, offering Freiburg an opportunity to work intensively on the weaknesses that had become apparent in the previous few days. As no more than five SC players were called away on international duty over the past couple of weeks, a decently full squad was available to spend the break plugging away on the training pitches.

“We’ve taken a lot of time to really assess the situation. There was a huge amount of energy in training, a lot of confidence when it came to addressing the areas that we need to improve on,” remarked SC’s head coach Julian Schuster during Thursday’s press conference, when discussing the last couple of weeks. “It was a priority for us to make good use of the time we’ve had since our last game. The match against FC Luzern was also really helpful in this respect.”

Schuster’s side came away from their friendly against the Swiss first-division side having secured a 4-2 victory. Looking ahead, SC’s focus is now on learning the right lessons from their opening two league games. “We had a period last year which felt similar to this. It’s so important to see the positives when you’re in a phase like this. For example, it’s a great opportunity to prove that we can stick together and also to bring up issues that you might keep to yourself if everything were running smoothly. Perhaps it’s not such a bad thing to have a period like this right at the start of the season,” explained Schuster.

Freiburg’s next opportunity to pick up the first Bundesliga points of the season is no less than a Baden-Württemberg derby against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday. SC will approach the much-anticipated game with their focus sharpened after the intense couple of weeks training. “Maybe this kind of rivalry can help to give us that bit more momentum on the pitch. These sorts of occasions really give some players a great deal of extra motivation. Of course, we also know what this game means to our fans,” said the 40-year-old native Swabian, winking as he declined to reveal exact details of what his pre-match motivational speech would entail. “Maybe it would be more rousing if someone born in Freiburg did the team talk. But I have been here in the city for so long now that I feel like a native myself.”

Some players aren’t only being considered for a role in team motivation on Saturday. Over the past few weeks, competition for places in the starting line-up has become even fiercer. All previously injured players are back in team training, and so the big decision for Schuster is on who to include in the strongest possible XI for the game against VfB. “I need to see energy and intensity on the pitch. The guys that make the best impressions on me in this regard have the best chance of seeing their names on the team sheet come Saturday’s match.”

Photo: Achim Keller