SC Freiburg needs to figure it out soon as a daunting schedule awaits
SC Freiburg coach Christian Streich is one of the bright minds on the sidelines of the Bundesliga, but the 53-year-old's creativity will be put to the test given Breisgau-Brasilianer's upcoming slate of games.
Freiburg has already started the Ruckrunde with consecutive losses to formidable teams in Eintract Frankfurt and Hoffenheim, but Streich's men have a murderer's row of sorts on the horizon. Already with just two wins in its last 10 games, Freiburg will have a daunting schedule to face. After traveling to VfB Stuttgart and hosting Wolfsburg, Breisgau-Brasilianer will travel to a very hungry Schalke side before hosting a confused -- but talented -- FC Augsburg squad. From there, however, Freiburg is going to have to really buckle down.
Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Bayern Munich all wait in succession. With road games at Leverkusen and M'Gladbach, things just won't be easy for Freiburg as the team could see itself plummeting down the table if it does not manage to at least work four or five points from that set of fixtures.
Streich's side is not brimming with talent, but he has always seemed to manage to get a top effort from whatever group he has. Freiburg's offense has largely been powered by 30-year-old striker Nils Petersen, who has six goals and no assists in 17 games across all competitions, and 22-year-old forward Luca Waldschmidt, who has tallied five goals and three assists in 20 games across all competitions.
While that output is solid, it has not been enough to make Breisgau-Brasilianer a viable threat to most teams in the Bundesliga.
As a unit, the defensive corps in front of 26-year-old goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow has been a major issue for Streich. Freiburg has let up two goals or more in seven of the last 10 games and has struggled to maintain any type of structure to supply stability in front of Schwolow, who has had his own struggles at times.
While it may seem that the wheels are flying off, not all has been horrific for Freiburg. Individually, defenders Lukas Kubler and Dominique Heintz have shown flashes of solid play, while midfielder Janik Haberer has also shown some promise at varying times.
Even with a few bright areas, Streich will need to find a way to coax this squad to face the oncoming rush with courage. Sitting at 13th place in the table, Freiburg could find itself battling to avoid relegation unless it can find a way to survive this stretch.
Frankly Streich deserves better. As a coach, he's imaginative, brave, and demands maximum effort from his troops even if they are often lacking in talent and depth compared to their opponents.
While this upcoming slate should not -- and will not -- define Streich as a coach, it would be nice to see Freiburg show some of the fight that will required to capture a few wins in the upcoming games. While it is curious to think about what Streich could do with a roster on the level of Bayern Munich or even Eintracht Frankfurt, the Freiburg manager will continue to try and do what he has always done: Extract the best out of the men he has and make life tough on his opponents.
Regardless of how Freiburg emerges from this the next eight weeks, Streich's resolve and forward thinking will still be valuable in either trying to save Freiburg's season or helping them progress further up the table.
