The 79th final in the DFB Cup is on Saturday. Sport-Club Freiburg and RB Leipzig duel for the title in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. bundesliga.de takes a look at Freiburg’s key players in this gripping duel.
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While Sport-Club Freiburg made it into the final of the DFB Cup for the first time, RB Leipzig is in the final in the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the third time in the past four years. Both clubs have excellent individual players.
These five are likely to play an important role for the people of Breisgau in the 79th final of the competition:
Mark Flekken
Mark Flekken, who missed the first two games in the second half of the season due to a corona infection, saved 74 percent of the balls this season – top of the league. In addition, the Dutchman has achieved ten clean sheets in 2021/22 – that is also the top value in the Bundesliga. The reward for Flekken’s strong performance: Louis van Gaal called him up for the first time in the Dutch national team in October 2021. He made his debut against Denmark in March 2022. Flekken is strong in one-on-ones, but is also well trained in football (two-footed).
The 28-year-old goalkeeper lost none of his three games against Leipzig (all in the Bundesliga: one win, two draws) and conceded just one goal in each of those three games. In addition, Flekken, who was on the pitch in four out of five possible cup games, only conceded three goals – never more than one per game.
Strong in one-on-one: Mark Flekken – Reinaldo Coddou H./Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty
Nico Schlotterbeck
He is THE shooting star of Freiburg, but will leave the club after the cup final: Nico Schlotterbeck, he is moving to Borussia Dortmund. The loss weighs heavily not only on the purely sporting side, the central defender is also something like the emotional leader of Freiburg. The 22-year-old has been on the ball most often at SC this season (72 times per 90 minutes). That’s no surprise, after all he has a good build-up game and plays good vertical and diagonal passes behind the defence.
Schlotterbeck is a real weapon at set pieces. He often lurks at the far post for free-kicks, either to finish himself or to cross. Of all defenders in the league, he fired the most shots on goal (38). In a thrashing victory in Mönchengladbach at the beginning of December, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for SC – and that broke the knot: at the end of the season there were four goals. Even from the game, the defender appears again and again at the opponent’s sixteen. In Leipzig, Schlotterbeck made it 1-0 with an advance.
With 65 percent of duels won, Schlotterbeck was the strongest duel from Freiburg. His 73 percent header wins was the third-best in the league, but his 62 percent wins in ground tackles are also impressive. In addition, only Union’s Robin Knoche and Stuttgart’s Konstantinos Mavropanos have intercepted more passes than Schlotterbeck in this Bundesliga season. The 2018 A-Youth Cup winners are in favor of the Leipzig team: the national player has only lost one of six duels with the Saxons, winning two and drawing three.
The DFB Cup final is expected to be Nico Schlotterbeck’s last game for SC – Alexander Scheuber/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
Christian Gunter
Like Schlotterbeck, the Freiburg captain has been on the field every minute of the current cup season. In addition, Christian Günter has been in the starting XI in all Bundesliga games since March 2019 (113) – currently the longest such streak. This season he was the only outfield player in the Bundesliga not to miss a minute. He even played through the last 69 Bundesliga games across the seasons.
Günter made 65 passes to a shot this season – level with Grifo at the SC (sixth place in the league). Nine of those resulted in goals, making him Freiburg’s most successful assist (eighth in the league). The left-back is responsible for set pieces alongside Vincenzo Grifo. This season, six of his dead balls have resulted in goals (four corners, two free-kicks).
The 29-year-old German national player with the strong drive forward is extremely fast: his top value this season is 34.3 km/h. Last season he was even “shot” at 35 km/h. On the defensive, however, Günter has to step up a bit: This season he only won 42 percent of his duels in the Bundesliga.
Vincenzo Grifo
Vincenzo Grifo, one of captain Günter’s three deputies, was Freiburg’s top scorer this Bundesliga season with nine goals, beating his personal record from the previous season (he was Freiburg’s top scorer then too). Eight of his nine goals this season came at home (he only scored away on Matchday 29 in Frankfurt), seven of them from set pieces (five penalties, two direct free-kicks).
The Italian international prepared a further seven goals this season (at SC only Günter more) – with 16 points he was Freiburg’s top scorer. 18 Grifo standards led to goals this season (four of them in the resounding victory in Mönchengladbach) – the lone top in the Bundesliga. Grifo narrowly missed the all-time season record since the start of data collection in 1992 (19 set pieces with a goal succession in 2014/15 by then Bremen player Zlatko Junuzovic).
Reducing the 29-year-old to the standards would not do him justice. He is always looking for dribbling and puts his teammates in the limelight with passes. The SC number 32 masters the deadly pass and also repeatedly moves into the penalty area himself: he has a strong finish, has had the most shots on goal of all Freiburg this season (68, including 40 from outside the sixteen). Grifo is usually used offensively on the left at the SC, this position suits him well, as he can finish with his strong right foot if he pulls inwards. With four cup goals, the German-Italian is the top scorer in Breisgau in the competition. The SC needs a great day from its playmaker on Saturday.
Fire hazard with standards: Vincenzo Grifo – Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
Lucas Höler
Lucas Höler has only missed one Bundesliga game since the start of the 2019/20 season due to a yellow card suspension (in April 2021), but has always been used – despite his intensive style of play, he has never been injured. The 27-year-old has scored seven times this season, almost twice as many as last season (four). He also provided two assists and scored a penalty in the home game against Fürth to make it 3-1.
Höler played 856 tackles this season, the second most in the league (after Karim Onisiwo). But he is not only fond of duels, he is also strong in duels: 51 percent of duels won is a top value for a striker. Höler also manages to cleverly pull fouls again and again by putting his body between the ball and the opponent, often with crossing paths. He’s someone who goes where it hurts.
Lucas Höler provided five assists this cup season, making him the most successful preparer in the current competition. He himself is still without a cup goal in the SC dress and has only scored once for Sandhausen in this competition. In the second round in Osnabrück, Höler was the first player to take penalties and was denied by VfL keeper Philipp Kühn.
Wears out in many duels: Lucas Höler – Alexander Scheuber/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
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