Frustration, disappointment and exhaustion were the overriding emotions in the SCF camp following the disheartening defeat to VfB Stuttgart in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal. Even the Stuttgart players were later stunned that Lucas Höler’s goal was disallowed, and the opposition could relate to Freiburg’s annoyance accordingly. Then followed Stuttgart’s winning goal in the very last minute of extra time which made the loss sting that bit more. Not to mention the fact that the game went to extra time in an already congested fixture schedule.

However, there was still a glimmer of confidence in the Freiburg ranks. Maximilian Eggestein, goalscorer for SC in Stuttgart, talked about a “bitterly disappointing evening” after the final whistle, but also looked to the future. “We’ve still got another semi-final,” said the 29-year-old.

Special occasion for BVB

Before the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday, with SCF facing off against SC Braga in Portugal, Freiburg have an away match against Borussia Dortmund on the agenda. Freiburg will be guests of honour at the Signal Iduna Park on Sunday, as BVB play in their 1000th Bundesliga home match. The hosts are aiming to cap off the special occasion by sealing Champions League qualification for the eleventh campaign in a row with a victory.

Holding onto seventh place

Dortmund have been able to pursue this end with plenty of breaks, because their entire focus has been on the Bundesliga since the end of February, when they were knocked out of the Champions League by Atalanta BC. For SC, on the other hand, the intensity has remained constant up until the end of the season, as the club contends with its fourth week of back-to-back fixtures in a row.

The fact that the DFB-Pokal semi-final went to extra time meant that all the SCF players had to expend even more energy than usual. “We have the quality to shake it off,” determined Julian Schuster, once again hoping that his team recovers quickly. “Of course, it could be the case that we wait and see with a few players, and that we’ll end up rotating more than we have in previous weeks,” noted Schuster.

Now, Freiburg are competing in one fewer competition, but there remain possibilities to achieve things in both the Bundesliga and the Europa League for SCF. Given that FC Bayern and VfB Stuttgart are in the final of the DFB-Pokal, finishing seventh in the Bundesliga would guarantee qualification for the Conference League. Following the win against Heidenheim last weekend and Eintracht Frankfurt’s loss against RB Leipzig, SC Freiburg occupy this spot in the table with four games to go before the end of the season.

The gap between SCF and the Eagles is still only one point, however, and it’s been a while since Freiburg experienced a successful away day in Dortmund. The last time SC won at the Signal Iduna Park was 25 years ago, in October 2001. Schuster is still encouraged by “the games against St. Pauli, Mainz and Heidenheim following double match weeks, even though the level of quality in this case certainly represents a different challenge.”

Photo: SC Freiburg