The numbers speak for themselves in view of the appearance of the red and white in fourteenth place on Sunday (13, Dreisamstadion) in fourth place: the SC Freiburg U23, who won both games against VfL last season.
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Only once out of 13 appearances – one of which was 1: 4 against U23 in April – did VfL manage to win at the Dreisamstadion: in April 1991 a milestone was reached in relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga. The eleven around Dirk Gellrich, Claus-Dieter Wollitz, Ralf Heskamp, Holger Karp and Uwe Jursch won 1-0 thanks to a goal by Fred Klaus at the Breisgauers, for which a certain Andreas Golombek also played in addition to his brothers Zeyer Andreas and Michael at the time – and Niels Schlotterbeck, the uncle of Bundesliga pros Nico and Keven Schlotterbeck, who have now matured in Freiburg.
Rapid development in Breisgau
At the time, 2,100 fans wanted to see the match, led by today’s referee Bernd Domurat, also often used at Bremer Brücke. Last season, the Freiburg reserve in 3rd division also had a higher average of 2,455 spectators. Incidentally, one better than six other third division clubs, including sporting ambitious clubs such as SV Wehen Wiesbaden.
This is also evidence of what has developed in Breisgau over the past few decades. In a club that now has a second stadium suitable for European competitions. Whose top team recently won 3-0 at Olympiakos Piraeus in the European Cup and are second in the Bundesliga. Which has maintained a likeable and down-to-earth image despite all flights of fancy – probably because success relies above all on honest and continuous work and less on massive access to millions of patrons.
Schweinsteiger is confident
“They do it very well, they have developed their teams in the Bundesliga and the Under 23 and are considered an excellent example in Germany for good sports training in the youth sector,” agrees Tobias Schweinsteiger. The new VfL coach recently had a long week of training to work with his team for the first time. “We were able to position some content and change some things – first in some intensive units, then this Friday in standard situations,” said Schweinsteiger, who ideally wants to win in Freiburg, but definitely wants to “take something with him”.
This is how they might play
Photo: NOZ / Hente
In terms of personnel, the manager can rely on his latest squad available: Emeka Oduah, Jannes Wulff and Florian Kleinhansl, who had been briefly treated for minor injuries the day before, trained again on Friday. “We have to act in a similarly structured way as we did against Essen last time, but act much better in moments of transition than against Essen,” says Schweinsteiger as a way out.
The coach classifies the opponent as a “seasoned U23”. The fact that it is difficult to predict in advance if and who from the Bundesliga squad (also called on Sunday at 7.30pm at the Hoffenheim) will arrive as a substitute does not bother the manager. “This would rather result in a difference in individual quality, which we then report to the players. Nothing will change in terms of the style of play and structure of the game, we are prepared for that,” says the coach, referring to an agile team with the player of Vincent Vermeij points in attack.
“We need resilience at certain stages of the game and we have to work hard for 90 minutes,” says Schweinsteiger. Does VfL generally rely on the card of robustness, much appreciated by third division clubs against U23 teams, to stop the flow of talent? In any case, in its history the VfL has rarely had the feel-good atmosphere that prevails around games between the good-humored and sun-kissed people in Breisgau – perhaps a key lies in breaking that.
And how are you? VfL is fighting, but Freiburg is too strong – 1: 3 from the point of view of VfL.
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