Freiburg shedding underdog tag after careful growth

For decades, modesty, continuity, and youth development have been central at SC Freiburg. The strategy is clearly working.

Club President Eberhard Fugmann told DW that plenty of the credit belongs to their enigmatic frontman. 

"I can see a certain development within the last 10 years with Christian Streich being our head coach. Even with him we were relegated twice but we always came back. The last three seasons always being among the top 10, this tells me as well that we are not an underdog anymore."

The club from southwestern Germany's Black Forest are now grappling with a clash between their culture of humility and an unprecedented level of success. Everyone at the club still insists Bundesliga survival is the priority despite only one relegation since 2009. Though Freiburg has been progressing to bigger and better things, the club aren't quite ready to view themselves as a contender.

"We should never forget that we started out as so-called underdogs. When we first won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1993, everybody expected it to be a one-season event and that's it," added Fugmann.

"We wouldn't be the club we are without our history, without that tradition, without having that modesty. But today there is some sort of romantic notion to be being an underdog. We aren't the underdog anymore, no." 

A sense of caution 

The continuity at the club is embodied on the pitch by captain and one-club man Christian Günter, who joined the academy at age 13. He strikes a cautionary tone when speaking to DW about the risks of success to the club's values.

"Team spirit, solidarity, leaving your ego behind, all these sort of things… If we lose them, then we lose a bit of our identity and I believe we can't ever lose that. Should that ever happen, I say it's better to take a step back rather than lose that. You can grow, but always within reason."

Sporting Director Klemens Hartenbach also feels the recent results carry some danger: "I don't want to be the person hitting the brakes. But while it's a positive period, it's also a dangerous one. Of course, the nectar is sweeter at the top of the table and it's incredibly fun playing internationally [in European competition]. But that can't ever become a pressured expectation for us." 

Continuity the key 

So far, the changes at the club have been minimal. Hartenbach oversees transfers, together with head of sport Jochen Saier and coach Christian Streich, a trio the President refers to as "the magic triangle". In fact, Hartenbach and Streich were even roommates during their playing days.

"This magic triangle is another example of the continuity in our club," said Fugmann. "Christian Streich has been here for 25 years, Klemens Hartenbach and Christian Streich have been friends for just about the same number of years and Jochen Saier has been working for the club for the past 20 years. That's unique. And that's why any other club in Germany can't just copy the SC Freiburg model. Because it takes years and years to reach that level."

Streich is currently the Bundesliga's longest-serving coach, second to only Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid in terms of longevity in Europe's top five leagues. The ethos of continuity has its roots long before the current setup though.

Achim Stocker was club president for 37 years, starting in 1972, and oversaw the coaching tenure of Volker Finke, who was in charge for just under 16 years. Both are German records.

Still a selling club 

Hartenbach can tell the club is being viewed differently in recent seasons, especially when it comes to negotiations: "Now when I pick up the phone, whether it's a colleague or an agent they say: 'You can't tell me about getting just 40 points and avoiding relegation anymore.'" 

But Freiburg have continued to sell off some of their top homegrown talents like Nico Schlotterbeck to Dortmund for €25 million ($26.4 million) in May 2022, with Kevin Schade set to earn them the same sum from English Premier League side Brentford at the end of the season. 

In October of 2021, Freiburg moved into their brand new 34,700-capacity Europa-Park Stadion, which is likely to impact their strategy in the coming seasons.

"In the long run, we couldn't have survived in the first division, in the Bundesliga with the previous stadium," confesses Fugmann. "This stadium finally offers financial possibilities that we've never had before." 

The next step

Now that their continuity and modesty have paid dividends, Freiburg's next step could be bankrolled by the new stadium and regular European football. But for their sporting director, there is more to be gained from sticking to their current principles.

"If the coach changes every half year because a club issues aims like qualifying for Europe or the Champions League and that's how the squad is strengthened… then young guys at certain clubs have a hard time taking the next step," said Hartenbach.

"Our approach is that if a young player has the quality, we make it our mission to always integrate those youngsters gradually. That really motivates the players in the academy here." 

A small club making it big 

The days of Freiburg being a plucky underdog seem to be over. Is that something people at the club still yearn for?

"Not at all," said captain Günter.

"I experienced several years here where you had incredible pressure to get points until the final matchday, otherwise you'd be relegated. There is more positive pressure now. The fans haven't changed at all though."

The club's president agrees, seeing the shedding of the underdog tag as a badge of honor.

"I think the people working for the club can be proud of what it has reached over the years. It's an achievement not being an underdog anymore. That's part of our history which is very important."

So where does the Sport-Club rank amongst their Bundesliga rivals?

"We are not a big club, but in terms of the values we stand for we are a giant," Fugmann said. "The ethos we stand for, our values, make us a big club. But in a metaphorical way, not in terms of our sheer size."

Edited by: Matt Pearson