A season that threatened to unravel finally ended on a comfortable note for SC Freiburg, who managed to finish 15th in the league table. One of the surprise teams last season, Freiburg struggled to repeat their efforts this time around and spent much of the campaign in the relegation zone. A new look Freiburg side struggled to hit the ground running and had to wait until November for their first win. By that time Freiburg were entrenched firmly in the relegation zone with just five points from their first 10 games while exits from the Europa League and DFB Cup quickly followed for Christian Streich's side. Victories over Hannover 96 and Bayer Leverkusen at either side of the winter break helped Freiburg remain in touch with safety but it was not until March that they finally hit form and 10 points from four games saw them finally climb out of the relegation zone before back to back home wins over Eintracht Braunschweig and Borussia Monchengladbach in April secured their survival. Freiburg's rise up the table coincided with the return to fitness of Vladimir Darida, with the midfielder recovering from a lengthy injury lay-off to chip in with three goals and six assists for Freiburg. However it was Admir Mehmedi's return to form in the final two months of the season that was key to Freiburg's survival, with the striker scoring five goals in the final eight games to help his side move to safety. Freiburg are gearing up for yet another busy summer with Mehmedi returning to Dynamo Kyiv following the end of his loan spell while Francis Coquelin and Vaclav Pilar have also returned to their respective clubs. Mike Hanke and Hendrick Zuck are expected to leave the club while Oliver Baumann has been signed up by Hoffenheim. Matthias Ginter has been attracting interest from a number of big clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, while Tottenham Hotspur and Stuttgart are reportedly tracking Jonathan Schmid. Freiburg have signed Swiss side Grasshoppers keeper Roman Burki to replace the departing Baumann while Streich needs to make a couple of additions, especially in the attack, if they are to push for a place closer to the top half next season.
