SC Freiburg

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SC Freiburg
Full nameSport-Club Freiburg e.V.
Nickname(s)Breisgau-Brasilianer (Breisgau Brazilians)
Founded1904; 120 years ago (1904)[1]
GroundEuropa-Park Stadion
Capacity34,700
PresidentEberhard Fugmann
ManagerChristian Streich
LeagueBundesliga
2022–23Bundesliga, 5th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (German pronunciation: [ʔɛs ˈtseː ˈfʁaɪbʊɐ̯k]) or just Freiburg, is a German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bundesliga in 2016. Between 1954 and 2021, Freiburg's stadium was the Dreisamstadion. The club moved to the newly built Europa-Park Stadion in 2021. Volker Finke, who was the club's manager between 1991 and 2007, was the longest-serving manager in the history of professional football in Germany. Joachim Löw, former manager of the Germany national team, is the club's second-highest all-time leading goal scorer, with 81 goals in 252 games during his three spells at the club,[2] behind Nils Petersen.

History[edit]

Early history[edit]

The club traces its origins to a pair of clubs founded in 1904: Freiburger Fußballverein 04 was organised in March of that year; FC Schwalbe Freiburg just two months later.[citation needed] Both clubs underwent name changes, with Schwalbe becoming FC Mars in 1905, Mars becoming Union Freiburg in 1906, and FV 04 Freiburg becoming Sportverein Freiburg 04 in 1909.[citation needed] Three years later, SV and Union formed Sportclub Freiburg, at the same time incorporating the griffin head.

In 1918, after World War I, SC Freiburg entered a temporary arrangement with Freiburger FC to be able to field a full side called KSG Freiburg.[citation needed] The next year, SC Freiburg associated themselves with FT 1844 Freiburg as that club's football department, until 1928 when they left to enter into a stadium-sharing arrangement with PSV (Polizeisportverein) Freiburg 1924 that lasted until 1930 and the failure of PSV.[citation needed] SC Freiburg then started again with FT 1844 Freiburg in 1938. The club played first in the Bezirksliga Baden in 1928, then in the Gauliga Baden, from which they were relegated in 1934.

At the end of World War II, Allied occupation authorities disbanded most existing organizations in Germany, including football and sports clubs. The clubs reconstituted themselves after about a year, but were required to take on new names in an attempt to disassociate them from Nazis. SC Freiburg was therefore briefly known as VfL Freiburg. By 1950, French-occupation authorities allowed the clubs to reclaim their old identities. Finally, in 1952, SC Freiburg left FT Freiburg behind again.

Historical chart of Freiburg league performance

Through the 1930s, SC Freiburg played in the Bezirkliga (II), in the Gauliga Baden (I), winning local titles. After World War II, they resumed playing in the Amateurliga Südbaden (III).

The Finke era with ten Bundesliga seasons (1991–2007)[edit]

SC Freiburg were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga in 1978–79, which they would compete in for a decade-and-a-half before making the breakthrough to the top-flight Bundesliga in 1993–94 under the management of Volker Finke. In their first Bundesliga season, Freiburg narrowly avoided relegation. They made a third place finish in their second season at the top level, finishing third, just three points behind champions Borussia Dortmund. It was at this time that they were first nicknamed Breisgau-Brasilianer (literally Breisgau-Brazilians), due to their attractive style of play.

The club's reached the UEFA Cup in 1995 and 2001.

Freiburg's first Bundesliga relegation was in 1997 after they finished in 17th position. While they have been relegated four times since first making the Bundesliga, they have thrice won immediate promotion back to the top league. It was the first time since 1992 that Freiburg played in the 2. Bundesliga for two consecutive seasons.

Freiburg finished the 2006–07 season in fourth place in the 2. Bundesliga, missing out on the third automatic-promotion spot on goal difference to MSV Duisburg, although they won 12 of their last 16 league games. They were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the second round by VfL Wolfsburg on 24 October 2006.

On 20 May 2007, Volker Finke resigned as the club's coach after 16 years in the job. He was succeeded by Robin Dutt, who himself left the club for Bayer Leverkusen in 2011.

On 10 May 2009, Freiburg secured promotion into the Bundesliga once again, beating TuS Koblenz in an away game 5–2.

Streich era[edit]

SC Freiburg against Borussia Dortmund in 2012

In the 2011–12 season, a coaching change by appointing Christian Streich, with the club finishing 12th. Under Christian Streich, the 2012–13 Bundesliga season saw the club finish in fifth place, their best league standing since 1994–95. The fifth-place finish secured a position in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. Had Freiburg defeated Schalke 04 on the final matchday of the season, Freiburg would have advanced further in the league table against Schalke and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history. The 1–2 defeat to Schalke, however, saw Schalke secure fourth place in the league and qualify for the tournament instead.[3][4] During the 2012–13 season, Freiburg also advanced to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal for the first time in the club's history, but lost to local rivals VfB Stuttgart 1–2, and missed the chance to play Bayern Munich in the final.[5]

In the 2014–15 season, after six years in the top flight, Freiburg was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga by a single point after a final-day defeat at Hannover 96. This was despite beating Bayern Munich in the second-last game. In the following season, however, the club earned its fifth promotion to the Bundesliga, with two matches to spare. The first season back in the Bundesliga saw them end seventh. This saw Freiburg qualify for the Europa League, as German cupwinners Borussia Dortmund were already qualified for the Champions League. The side were eliminated in the third qualification round against NK Domžale from Slovenia. Freiburg stayed in the top flight, finishing 15th.

In the 2021–22 season, Freiburg finished sixth in the league to qualify to the next season's Europa League, where they reached the round of 16.[6] In the following season, they finished fifth in the league to achieve another direct qualification to the Europa League group stage, despite being in the Champions League spots most of the season; however, two consecutive losses against rivals RB Leipzig and Union Berlin had them drop down in the league table with two games remaining. In the DFB-Pokal of the same season, defeated Bayern Munich 2–1 in the quarter-finals, in an away match for the first time in their history,[7] before losing in the semi-finals at home 1–5 to RB Leipzig.[8]

Reserve team[edit]

The club's reserve team, formerly the SC Freiburg Amateure, now SC Freiburg II, has, for the most part of its history played in the lower amateur leagues. It made a three-season appearance in the tier four Verbandsliga Südbaden from 1983 to 1986, but then took until 1994 to return to this league. In 1998 the team won promotion to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg after a league championship in the Verbandsliga. Freiburg II spent the next ten seasons at this level as an upper table side before another league championship took the team to the Regionalliga Süd. After four seasons at this league the team became part of the new Regionalliga Südwest in 2012. After a seventh place in its first season in the league the team finished runner-up in 2013–14.

A South Baden Cup win in 2001 qualified it for the first round of the 2001–02 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup, where it lost to Schalke 04.

Stadium[edit]

Dreisamstadion interior in 2011

SC Freiburg formerly played its home games at the Dreisamstadion, named after the Dreisam River which flows through Freiburg. Because of sponsorship agreements, the stadium was known as the Schwarzwald-Stadion. The stadium has an approximate capacity of 24,000 spectators, and was built in 1953. Forty years later, then manager Volker Finke began an initiative to transform the Dreisamstadion into Germany's first solar powered football stadium. There are solar modules on the north, south, and main tribunes. These panels generate 250,000 kWh of energy per year.[9][10]

The new Europa-Park Stadion[11][12] designed by HPP Architekten, was completed in October 2021. Located in the west of the city in a part of the city called Brühl — immediately to the west of Freiburg Airport — it has a capacity of 34,700.[13][14][15][16][17]

Sponsorship[edit]

In April 2022, the team announced their sponsorship with car retailer Cazoo starting in July 2022. The Cazoo brand is visible on the front of the new jerseys as the team's main sponsor. In addition to the Bundesliga professionals, Cazoo appeared as shirt sponsor and advertising partner of the second team of SC Freiburg in the third division and as co-sponsor of the Freiburg Football School, and became visible at all matches of the SC junior teams. Cazoo also became a co-sponsor and sleeve sponsor of SC Freiburg's Bundesliga women.

UEFA competitions[edit]

Matches[edit]

As of 14 March 2024[18][19]
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1995–96 UEFA Cup First round Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–2 0–0 1–2
2001–02 UEFA Cup First round Slovakia Matador Púchov 2–1 0–0 2–1
Second round Switzerland St. Gallen 0–1 4–1 4–2
Third round Netherlands Feyenoord 2–2 0–1 2–3
2013–14 UEFA Europa League Group H Spain Sevilla 0–2 0–2 3rd
Portugal Estoril 1–1 0–0
Czech Republic Slovan Liberec 2–2 2–1
2017–18 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Slovenia Domžale 1–0 0–2 1–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa League Group G Azerbaijan Qarabağ 2–1 1–1 1st
Greece Olympiacos 1–1 3–0
France Nantes 2–0 4–0
Round of 16 Italy Juventus 0–2 0–1 0–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa League Group A Greece Olympiacos 5–0 3–2 2nd
England West Ham United 1–2 0–2
Serbia TSC 5–0 3–1
Knockout round play-offs France Lens 3–2 (a.e.t.) 0–0 3–2
Round of 16 England West Ham United 1–0 0–5 1–5

Overall record[edit]

As of 14 March 2024
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 34 14 9 11 49 38 +11 041.18
Total 34 14 9 11 49 38 +11 041.18

Club records in UEFA competitions[edit]

As of 14 March 2024[20]
  • Biggest win in UEFA competition:
    • 9 November 2023, Freiburg 5–0 TSC, at Freiburg
    • 30 November 2023, Freiburg 5–0 Olympiacos, at Freiburg
  • Biggest defeat in UEFA competition:
  • Club appearances in UEFA Europa League: 6
  • Player with most UEFA appearances: Matthias Ginter – 22 appearances
  • Top scorer in UEFA club competitions: Michael Gregoritsch – 8 goals

Club records[edit]

Statistics correct as of 27 May 2023.

Most appearances[edit]

  • Players marked in bold are still playing for the club.
Rank Player Position Period Appearances
1 Germany Andreas Zeyer MF 1989–1997, 1999–2004 441
2 Germany Christian Günter DF 2012– 379
3 Germany Reinhard Binder MF 1975–1984 307
4 Germany Nicolas Höfler MF 2010– 302
5 Germany Karl-Heinz Schulz DF 1982–1991 297
6 Germany Rolf Maier DF 1980–1992 295
7 Georgia (country) Alexander Iashvili FW 1997–2007 281
8 Germany Nils Petersen FW 2015–2023 277
9 Germany Joachim Löw FW 1978–1980, 1982–1984, 1985–1989 263
10 Mali Boubacar Diarra DF 1997–2007 250

Top goalscorers[edit]

  • Players marked in bold are still playing for the club.
Rank Player Position Period Goals Games
1 Germany Nils Petersen FW 2015–2023 105 277
2 Germany Joachim Löw FW 1978–1980, 1982–1984, 1985–1989 83 263
3 Italy Vincenzo Grifo MF 2015–2017, 2019– 72 226
4 Germany Wolfgang Schüler FW 1976–1978, 1979–1980 67 103
5 Georgia (country) Alexander Iashvili FW 1997–2007 63 281
6 Senegal Souleyman Sané FW 1985–1988 58 113
7 Germany Uwe Spies FW 1990–1997 53 202
8 Germany Andreas Zeyer MF 1989–1997, 1999–2004 46 441
9 Mali Soumaïla Coulibaly MF 2000–2007 43 234
10 Germany Reinhard Binder MF 1975–1984 39 307
Senegal Papiss Cissé FW 2010–2012 67

Honours[edit]

League[edit]

Cup[edit]

Youth[edit]

League
Cup

Under-21 International[edit]

  • Lev Yashin Cup

Won by reserve team.[citation needed]

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 24 January 2024.[25]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Germany GER Noah Atubolu
3 DF Austria AUT Philipp Lienhart
4 DF Germany GER Kenneth Schmidt
5 DF Germany GER Manuel Gulde
6 DF Hungary HUN Attila Szalai (on loan from TSG Hoffenheim)
7 MF Germany GER Noah Weißhaupt
8 MF Germany GER Maximilian Eggestein
9 FW Germany GER Lucas Höler
11 MF Ghana GHA Daniel-Kofi Kyereh
14 MF Germany GER Yannik Keitel
17 DF Germany GER Lukas Kübler
20 FW Austria AUT Junior Adamu
21 GK Germany GER Florian Müller
22 MF Hungary HUN Roland Sallai
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF Kosovo KOS Florent Muslija
25 DF France FRA Kiliann Sildillia
26 FW Germany GER Maximilian Philipp (on loan from VfL Wolfsburg)
27 MF Germany GER Nicolas Höfler
28 DF Germany GER Matthias Ginter
30 DF Germany GER Christian Günter (captain)
31 GK Germany GER Benjamin Uphoff
32 MF Italy ITA Vincenzo Grifo (vice-captain)
33 DF France FRA Jordy Makengo
34 MF Germany GER Merlin Röhl
37 DF Germany GER Max Rosenfelder
38 FW Austria AUT Michael Gregoritsch
42 MF Japan JPN Ritsu Dōan

Out on loan[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Germany GER Kimberly Ezekwem (at SC Paderborn until 30 June 2024)
DF Germany GER Keven Schlotterbeck (at VfL Bochum until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Belgium BEL Hugo Siquet (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2024)
DF Germany GER Robert Wagner (at Greuther Fürth until 30 June 2024)

Selected notable former players[edit]

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions[vague] to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions[vague] to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left.[relevant?] It is not complete or all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.[26]

Club staff[edit]

Position Name
Sporting Director/Head of Scouting Germany Klemens Hartenbach
Manager Germany Christian Streich
Assistant Manager Germany Lars Voßler
Germany Patrick Baier
Germany Florian Bruns
Goalkeeper coach Germany Michael Müller
Fitness coach Austria Daniel Wolf
Technical Assistant/Bus Driver Germany Stefan Spohn
Video Analyst Germany Leon Krämer
Coordinator of talent management Germany Julian Schuster
Match Analyst Germany Heiko Sander
Team coordinator Germany Torsten Bauer
Head of Soccer School Germany Martin Schweizer
Sports coordinator Germany Vincent Keller
Scout Italy Carlo Curcio
Germany Vincent Keller
Slovakia Karim Guédé
Team Doctor Germany Helge Eberbach
Germany Jochen Gruber
Germany Markus Wenning
Physiotherapist Germany Torge Schwarz
Germany Markus Behrens
Germany Florian Mack
Physiotherapist/Masseur Germany Uwe Vetter
Lead Academy Physiotherapist Germany Valentin Bohsung
Head of Media and Communications/Press Officer Germany Sascha Glunk
Kit Manager Germany Max Beckmann
Academy Manager Germany Andreas Steiert

Head coaches[edit]

Coaches of the club since 1946:[27]

Volker Finke, former coach of SCF and longest serving coach in German football history
  • Germany Andreas Munkert (1946–49)
  • Arthur Mattes (1949–50)
  • Germany Andreas Munkert (1950–53) (second time)
  • Willi Hornung (1953–55)
  • Kurt Mannschott (1956–58)
  • Germany Hans Roggow [de] (1960–63)
  • Germany Hans Faber (1963–64)
  • Germany Hans Diehl (1964–69)
  • Germany Edgar Heilbrunner (1969–72)
  • Germany Manfred Brief (1 July 1972 – 30 September 1978)
  • Germany Heinz Baas (30 Sep 1978 – 30 June 1979)
  • Germany Norbert Wagner (1 July 1979 – 24 January 1980)
  • Germany Jupp Becker (1 July 1980 – 24 January 1981)
  • Germany Horst Zick (25 Jan 1981 – 30 June 1981)
  • Germany Lutz Hangartner (1 July 1981 – 30 June 1982)
  • Germany Werner Olk (1 July 1982 – 30 June 1983)
  • Germany Fritz Fuchs (1 July 1983 – 30 June 1984)
  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Antun Rudinski (1 July 1984 – 1 January 1986)
  • Germany Jupp Becker (25 Jan 1986 – 22 March 1986) (second time)
  • Germany Horst Zick (23 March 1986 – 30 June 1986) (second time)
  • Germany Jörg Berger (1 July 1986 – 17 December 1988)
  • Germany Fritz Fuchs (1 Jan 1989 – 8 April 1989) (second time)
  • Germany Uwe Ehret (9 April 1989 – 30 June 1989)
  • Germany Lorenz-Günther Köstner (1 July 1989 – 26 August 1989)
  • Germany Uwe Ehret (27 Aug 1989 – 26 November 1989) (second time)
  • Germany Bernd Hoß (1 Dec 1989 – 30 June 1990)
  • Germany Eckhard Krautzun (1 July 1990 – 30 June 1991)
  • Germany Volker Finke (1 July 1991 – 20 May 2007)
  • Germany Robin Dutt (June 2007 –30 June 2011)
  • Germany Marcus Sorg (1 July 2011 – 29 December 2011)
  • Germany Christian Streich (29 Dec 2011 –)

Women's section[edit]

Recent seasons[edit]

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[28][29]

  • With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. In 2012, the number of Regionalligas was increased from three to five with all Regionalliga Süd clubs except the Bavarian ones entering the new Regionalliga Südwest.
Key
Promoted Relegated

Notable chairmen[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Glunk, Sascha. "Gründungsdatum mit vielen Fragezeichen" (in German). SC Freiburg e.V. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. ^ Peter Martin (2004). Sport-Club Freiburg (ed.). Hundert Jahre 90 Minuten: Die Geschichte des SC Freiburg von 1904–2004. Freiburg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Gladwell, Ben. "SCHALKE SNATCH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BERTH IN FREIBURG". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  4. ^ Gladwell, Ben. "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL FOR FREIBURG". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  5. ^ Wittmann, Gerry. "VfB Stuttgart 2 – 1 SC Freiburg: Stuttgart Salvage their Season with Pokal Win". bundesliga fanatic. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  6. ^ Zorn, Roland (16 March 2023). "Freiburg raus gegen Juventus". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
  7. ^ "Freiburg stun Bayern Munich to reach DFB Cup semi-finals". Bundesliga. 4 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Dani Olmo and RB Leipzig dazzle Freiburg to reach DFB Cup final". Bundesliga. 2 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Das badenova-Stadion". SCF website. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. ^ "badenova-Stadion" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Freiburg spielt künftig im "Europa-Park Stadion"". kicker (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Europa-Park lands Freiburg stadium naming rights in Infront-brokered deal". SportBusiness. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Das ist das neue SC-Stadion" (in German). SC Freiburg. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  14. ^ "SC Freiburg to play in the 'Europa-Park-Stadion' | SC Freiburg". www.scfreiburg.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Europa-Park Stadium Freiburg completed | HPP Architekten". www.hpp.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  16. ^ "New stadium: SC Freiburg moved to new home – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Freiburg opens Europa-Park Stadion". The Stadium Business. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  18. ^ "The UEFA Cup 1995/96 – SC Freiburg (GER)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  19. ^ "The UEFA Cup 2001/02 – SC Freiburg (GER)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  20. ^ "SC Freiburg". UEFA. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  21. ^ "Noch keine Einsatzminute – Darum spielt Söyüncü bei Leicester keine Rolle". Bild. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Matchday 18: Facts and figures". bundesliga.de. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  23. ^ "Freiburg crowned champions after victory over Heidenheim". bundesliga.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016.
  24. ^ The cup of Lev Yashin goes to Germany. RTSportNews. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  25. ^ "Kader Profis" [Professional squad]. scfreiburg.com (in German). Sport-Club Freiburg e.V. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  26. ^ "SC Freiburg.:. Spieler von A-Z" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  27. ^ "SC Freiburg.:. Trainer von A-Z" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  28. ^ "Historical German domestic league tables" (in German). Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  29. ^ "Ergebnisse – die Top-Ligen bei Fussball.de" [Results – the Top Leagues at Fussball.de] (in German). Fussball.de. Retrieved 29 December 2011.

External links[edit]