Football Season Guide

Last season Freiburg struggled to reach the heights of previous campaigns with injury problems in defence not helping their cause. The announcement that long-term coach Christian Streich was stepping down in March did little to spur them on, they won just two more games after, eventually finishing tenth. Former Freiburg player Julian Schuster will lead the side into a new era but has a big job on his hands to follow the success of Streich. Schuster is inexperienced at just 39, but has built up his knowledge through the youth system. He has also worked closely with his predecessor both as a player and a coach. There hasn’t been a great deal of movement in the transfer window either way. Other than squad players and youngsters, Freiburg have so far managed to keep hold of their first-team regulars and that is certainly a positive going into the new season. The two new additions that stand out are box-to-box midfielder Patrick Osterhage and versatile forward Eren Dinkci, both impressed at former clubs Bochum and Heidenheim respectively last season, and will enhance the quality in those areas of the pitch. There may need to be some more additions before the window shuts if Freiburg are to improve on last season, the squad could still do with a bit of freshening up as key players Gunter, Hofler and Grifo are all now in their thirties.