Sixteen times Christian Streich had lead his SC Freiburg team into a games against Borussia Dortmund and each time they had failed to win. Until yesterday, when his team finally prevailed against the club from the Ruhr. BVB are not having a season to remember and entered the match in sixth place, league form which had already cost Lucien Favre his job in December. Under interim coach Edin Terzic there hasn’t been a noticable upturn in performances.
On the other hand Freiburg have had a solid season thus far, performing well enough to ensure their Bundesliga status is assured for another year. Head coach Christian Streich is the longest serving coach in the Bundesliga, having been appointed to the job in 2012, a veritable lifetime for a head coach in German football. During his tenure they have played every season but one in the top flight and can be seen as massive over-achievers given the size of their stadium and budget.
Streich though had yet to beat BVB throughout his period in charge at the Schwarzwaldstadion. Yesterday he was finally able to get that monkey off his back as Freiburg scored twice shortly after halftime and then held on for the last 15 minutes as their opponents tried to mount a comeback. In the end the team from the Black Forest held on and recorded a win that takes them up to 8th place, only two points behind Dortmund who occupy the final qualifying place for teh Europa League. Freiburg can realistically aspire to European football next season if they continue ti show the determination that saw them collect three points yesterday.
Meanwhile it is still unclear where they will be playing next season. Their new stadium is almost ready but the ongoing uncertainty with regard to Covid and fans means they have not yet committed to relocating to the SC Stadion just yet. Nearby residents of the new development have also raised objections with regard to noise levels on Sundays and evenings, which have yet to be resolved. The plan had been to move there by the start for this season but the ageing Schwarzwaldstadion was given a temporary reprieve. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that it will still be in use next season as well.
