“There were a couple of hundred special moments here,” said Christian Streich before the game. Today’s match against FC Augsburg was another one to add to that list. It was the 360th and final Bundesliga game at the Dreisamstadion. The ground was sold out and the atmosphere was electric, whilst the players put in a great performance to match the occasion. It was also a special evening for captain Christian Günter, who played his 300th game for the club. “It couldn’t have gone any better,” he said after the final whistle.

Mark Flekken began in goal, with Streich naming Philipp Lienhart, Nico Schlotterbeck and Manuel Gulde in the back three. Maximilian Eggestein partnered Nicolas Höfler in central midfield next to Günter and Lukas Kübler out wide. The front three consisted of Vincenzo Grifo, Lucas Höler and Wooyeong Jeong. Freiburg, with their 3-4-3 formation, started brightly and applied the pressure on the visitors. Grifo won the first corner three minutes in, from which Höfler’s header was saved by FCA goalkeeper Rafał Gikiewicz. Four minutes later, Streich’s boys went in front. Günter got into plenty of space down the left, and then hit a powerful drive towards goal. Gikiewicz parried it, but only to the feet of Kübler at the far post, and he slotted into an empty net for 1-0.

Some good football from SC

Freiburg’s defenders were rarely called upon in the opening 15 minutes, and when they were, Schlotterbeck & Co. had Augsburg’s attacks under control, often playing it out nicely from the back too – to Streich’s delight. Chances at the other end continue to come as well. Höfler missed the target (15’), then Grifo’s effort shortly afterwards just went over the bar (18’).

The visitors’ best moment to date was then a run down the left, and a dangerous ball into the six-yard box. That was well cleared by Schlotterbeck though. Instead of conceding an equaliser, Freiburg doubled their lead. Eggestein played a ball to Höler, who brilliantly let the ball run past the defender and then dinked it over Gikiewicz for 2-0 (24’). Things went from bad to worse for the away team with 33 minutes played. Günter’s cross into the box was handled by Raphael Framberger and the referee pointed to the spot. Vincenzo Grifo stepped up and buried it for a third goal (33’). Höfler then came close to a fourth, only being kept out by a strong save by the FCA ‘keeper.

Footballing party

The second (and last) half at the Dreisamstadion was a lot less eventful, although Freiburg continued to control the game and played some nice stuff for their fans to watch. It took until 54 minutes for the next opportunity; Eggestein had a shot blocked. Streich’s team were somewhat more defensive after the break, allowing the crowd to celebrate a real footballing party. Mexican waves were commonplace in the ground, and the fans didn’t stop singing throughout.

After 64 minutes, the 1000th Bundesliga goal at the Dreisamstadion could and very nearly did arrive. Jeong was free in a central position in the box, however his shot just whistled past the far post (64’). A minute later, Pedersen blocked Grifo’s shot on the line to deny SC a fourth. With Augsburg struggling to create anything at all, Freiburg were left to continue to search for the goals instead. Günter flashed one past the far post, and then substitute Nils Petersen couldn’t was unable to get the final goal at the Dreisamstadion with seven minutes left on the watch. Overall, Streich was pleased with the 90 minutes: “It was a good performance and we were always in control”.

The fact that the 1000th Bundesliga goal never came was irrelevant in the end. SC completely dominated proceedings and saw the win out expertly. After the game, “You’ll never walk alone” rung out, and Christian Streich even joined the fans in the north stand for some special celebrations. “I’m really pleased that we played so well in our final game here for the fans and that they can go home happy,” summed up the boss.

Photo: Achim Keller