Wikipedia

SC Freiburg

Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (German pronunciation: [ʔɛs ˈtseː ˈfʁaɪbʊɐ̯k]), is a German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bundesliga in 2016. Between 1954 and 2021, Freiburg's stadium was the Dreisamstadion. The club moved to the newly built Europa-Park Stadion in 2021. Volker Finke, who was the club's manager between 1991 and 2007, was the longest-serving manager in the history of professional football in Germany until 2023, when Frank Schmidt completed 16 years as coach of Heidenheim and became the longest-serving coach in the history of professional football in Germany. Joachim Löw, former manager of the Germany national team, is the club's second-highest all-time leading goal scorer, with 81 goals in 252 games during his three spells at the club,[2] behind Nils Petersen.

SC Freiburg
Full nameSport-Club Freiburg e.V.
Nickname(s)Breisgau-Brasilianer (Breisgau Brazilians)
Founded1904; 120 years ago (1904)[1]
GroundEuropa-Park Stadion
Capacity34,700
PresidentEberhard Fugmann
ManagerJulian Schuster
LeagueBundesliga
2023–24Bundesliga, 10th of 18
Websitescfreiburg.com
Current season

History

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Early history

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The club traces its origins to a pair of clubs founded in 1904: Freiburger Fußballverein 04 was organised in March of that year; FC Schwalbe Freiburg just two months later.[citation needed] Both clubs underwent name changes, with Schwalbe becoming FC Mars in 1905, Mars becoming Union Freiburg in 1906, and FV 04 Freiburg becoming Sportverein Freiburg 04 in 1909.[citation needed] Three years later, SV and Union formed Sportclub Freiburg, at the same time incorporating the griffin head.

In 1918, after World War I, SC Freiburg entered a temporary arrangement with Freiburger FC to be able to field a full side called KSG Freiburg.[citation needed] The next year, SC Freiburg associated themselves with FT 1844 Freiburg as that club's football department, until 1928 when they left to enter into a stadium-sharing arrangement with PSV (Polizeisportverein) Freiburg 1924 that lasted until 1930 and the failure of PSV.[citation needed] SC Freiburg then started again with FT 1844 Freiburg in 1938. The club played first in the Bezirksliga Baden in 1928, then in the Gauliga Baden, from which they were relegated in 1934.

At the end of World War II, Allied occupation authorities disbanded most existing organizations in Germany, including football and sports clubs. The clubs reconstituted themselves after about a year, but were required to take on new names in an attempt to disassociate them from Nazis. SC Freiburg was therefore briefly known as VfL Freiburg. By 1950, French-occupation authorities allowed the clubs to reclaim their old identities. Finally, in 1952, SC Freiburg left FT Freiburg behind again.

 
Historical chart of Freiburg league performance

Through the 1930s, SC Freiburg played in the Bezirkliga (II), in the Gauliga Baden (I), winning local titles. After World War II, they resumed playing in the Amateurliga Südbaden (III).

The Finke era with ten Bundesliga seasons (1991–2007)

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SC Freiburg were promoted to the 2. Bundesliga in 1978–79, which they would compete in for a decade-and-a-half before making the breakthrough to the top-flight Bundesliga in 1993–94 under the management of Volker Finke. In their first Bundesliga season, Freiburg narrowly avoided relegation. They made a third-place finish in their second season at the top level, finishing third, just three points behind champions Borussia Dortmund. It was at this time that they were first nicknamed Breisgau-Brasilianer (literally Breisgau-Brazilians), due to their attractive style of play.

The club's reached the UEFA Cup in 1995 and 2001.

Freiburg's first Bundesliga relegation was in 1997 after they finished in 17th position. While they have been relegated four times since first making the Bundesliga, they have thrice won immediate promotion back to the top league. It was the first time since 1992 that Freiburg played in the 2. Bundesliga for two consecutive seasons.

Freiburg finished the 2006–07 season in fourth place in the 2. Bundesliga, missing out on the third automatic-promotion spot on goal difference to MSV Duisburg, although they won 12 of their last 16 league games. They were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the second round by VfL Wolfsburg on 24 October 2006.

On 20 May 2007, Volker Finke resigned as the club's coach after 16 years in the job. He was succeeded by Robin Dutt, who himself left the club for Bayer Leverkusen in 2011.

On 10 May 2009, Freiburg secured promotion into the Bundesliga once again, beating TuS Koblenz in an away game 5–2.

Streich era

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SC Freiburg against Borussia Dortmund in 2012

In the 2011–12 season, a coaching change by appointing Christian Streich, with the club finishing 12th. Under Christian Streich, the 2012–13 Bundesliga season saw the club finish in fifth place, their best league standing since 1994–95. The fifth-place finish secured a position in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. Had Freiburg defeated Schalke 04 on the final matchday of the season, Freiburg would have advanced further in the league table against Schalke and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history. The 1–2 defeat to Schalke, however, saw Schalke secure fourth place in the league and qualify for the tournament instead.[3][4] During the 2012–13 season, Freiburg also advanced to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal for the first time in the club's history, but lost to local rivals VfB Stuttgart 1–2, and missed the chance to play Bayern Munich in the final.[5]

In the 2014–15 season, after six years in the top flight, Freiburg was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga by a single point after a final-day defeat at Hannover 96. This was despite beating Bayern Munich in the second-last game. In the following season, however, the club earned its fifth promotion to the Bundesliga, with two matches to spare. The first season back in the Bundesliga saw them end seventh. This saw Freiburg qualify for the Europa League, as German cupwinners Borussia Dortmund were already qualified for the Champions League. The side were eliminated in the third qualification round against NK Domžale from Slovenia. Freiburg stayed in the top flight, finishing 15th.

In the 2021–22 season, Freiburg finished sixth in the league to qualify to the next season's Europa League, where they reached the round of 16.[6] In the following season, they finished fifth in the league to achieve another direct qualification to the Europa League group stage, despite being in the Champions League spots most of the season; however, two consecutive losses against rivals RB Leipzig and Union Berlin had them drop down in the league table with two games remaining. In the DFB-Pokal of the same season, defeated Bayern Munich 2–1 in the quarter-finals, in an away match for the first time in their history,[7] before losing in the semi-finals at home 1–5 to RB Leipzig.[8]

Reserve team

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Main article: SC Freiburg II

The club's reserve team, formerly the SC Freiburg Amateure, now SC Freiburg II, has, for the most part of its history played in the lower amateur leagues. It made a three-season appearance in the tier four Verbandsliga Südbaden from 1983 to 1986, but then took until 1994 to return to this league. In 1998 the team won promotion to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg after a league championship in the Verbandsliga. Freiburg II spent the next ten seasons at this level as an upper table side before another league championship took the team to the Regionalliga Süd. After four seasons at this league the team became part of the new Regionalliga Südwest in 2012. After a seventh place in its first season in the league the team finished runner-up in 2013–14.

A South Baden Cup win in 2001 qualified it for the first round of the 2001–02 DFB-Pokal, the German Cup, where it lost to Schalke 04.

Stadium

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Dreisamstadion interior in 2011

SC Freiburg formerly played its home games at the Dreisamstadion, named after the Dreisam River which flows through Freiburg. Because of sponsorship agreements, the stadium was known as the Schwarzwald-Stadion. The stadium has an approximate capacity of 24,000 spectators, and was built in 1953. Forty years later, then manager Volker Finke began an initiative to transform the Dreisamstadion into Germany's first solar powered football stadium. There are solar modules on the north, south, and main tribunes. These panels generate 250,000 kWh of energy per year.[9][10]

The new Europa-Park Stadion[11][12] designed by HPP Architekten, was completed in October 2021. Located in the west of the city in a part of the city called Brühl — immediately to the west of Freiburg Airport — it has a capacity of 34,700.[13][14][15][16][17]

Sponsorship

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In April 2022, the team announced their sponsorship with car retailer Cazoo starting in July 2022. The Cazoo brand is visible on the front of the new jerseys as the team's main sponsor. In addition to the Bundesliga professionals, Cazoo appeared as shirt sponsor and advertising partner of the second team of SC Freiburg in the third division and as co-sponsor of the Freiburg Football School, and became visible at all matches of the SC junior teams. Cazoo also became a co-sponsor and sleeve sponsor of SC Freiburg's Bundesliga women.

UEFA competitions

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Matches

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As of 14 March 2024[18][19]
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1995–96 UEFA Cup First round   Slavia Prague 1–2 0–0 1–2
2001–02 UEFA Cup First round   Matador Púchov 2–1 0–0 2–1
Second round   St. Gallen 0–1 4–1 4–2
Third round   Feyenoord 2–2 0–1 2–3
2013–14 UEFA Europa League Group H   Sevilla 0–2 0–2 3rd
  Estoril 1–1 0–0
  Slovan Liberec 2–2 2–1
2017–18 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round   Domžale 1–0 0–2 1–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa League Group G   Qarabağ 2–1 1–1 1st
  Olympiacos 1–1 3–0
  Nantes 2–0 4–0
Round of 16   Juventus 0–2 0–1 0–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa League Group A   Olympiacos 5–0 3–2 2nd
  West Ham United 1–2 0–2
  TSC 5–0 3–1
Knockout round play-offs   Lens 3–2 (a.e.t.) 0–0 3–2
Round of 16   West Ham United 1–0 0–5 1–5

Overall record

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As of 14 March 2024
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 34 14 9 11 49 38 +11 041.18
Total 34 14 9 11 49 38 +11 041.18

Club records in UEFA competitions

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As of 14 March 2024[20]
  • Biggest win in UEFA competition:
    • 9 November 2023, Freiburg 5–0 TSC, at Freiburg
    • 30 November 2023, Freiburg 5–0 Olympiacos, at Freiburg
  • Biggest defeat in UEFA competition:
  • Club appearances in UEFA Europa League: 6
  • Player with most UEFA appearances: Matthias Ginter – 22 appearances
  • Top scorer in UEFA club competitions: Michael Gregoritsch – 8 goals

Club records

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Statistics correct as of 6 April 2024.

Most appearances

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  • Players marked in bold are still playing for the club.
Rank Player Position Period Appearances
1   Andreas Zeyer MF 1989–1997, 1999–2004 441
2   Christian Günter DF 2012– 392
3   Nicolas Höfler MF 2010– 337
4   Reinhard Binder MF 1975–1984 307
5   Karl-Heinz Schulz DF 1982–1991 297
6   Rolf Maier DF 1980–1992 295
7   Alexander Iashvili FW 1997–2007 281
8   Nils Petersen FW 2015–2023 277
9   Vincenzo Grifo MF 2015–2017, 2019– 264
10   Joachim Löw FW 1978–1980, 1982–1984, 1985–1989 263

Top goalscorers

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  • Players marked in bold are still playing for the club.
Rank Player Position Period Goals Games
1   Nils Petersen FW 2015–2023 105 277
2   Vincenzo Grifo MF 2015–2017, 2019– 84 264
3   Joachim Löw FW 1978–1980, 1982–1984, 1985–1989 83 263
4   Wolfgang Schüler FW 1976–1978, 1979–1980 67 103
5   Alexander Iashvili FW 1997–2007 63 281
6   Souleyman Sané FW 1985–1988 58 113
7   Uwe Spies FW 1990–1997 53 202
8   Andreas Zeyer MF 1989–1997, 1999–2004 46 441
9   Soumaïla Coulibaly MF 2000–2007 43 234
10   Reinhard Binder MF 1975–1984 39 307
  Papiss Cissé FW 2010–2012 67

Honours

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League

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Cup

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Youth

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League
Cup

Under-21 International

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  • Lev Yashin Cup

‡ Won by reserve team.[citation needed]

Players

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For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2022.

Current squad

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As of 27 August 2024.[25]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   GER Noah Atubolu
3 DF   AUT Philipp Lienhart
4 DF   GER Kenneth Schmidt
5 DF   GER Manuel Gulde
6 MF   GER Patrick Osterhage
7 MF   GER Noah Weißhaupt
8 MF   GER Maximilian Eggestein
9 FW   GER Lucas Höler
11 MF   GHA Daniel-Kofi Kyereh
17 DF   GER Lukas Kübler
18 FW   GER Eren Dinkçi
20 FW   AUT Junior Adamu
21 GK   GER Florian Müller
23 MF   KOS Florent Muslija
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 GK   GER Jannik Huth
25 DF   FRA Kiliann Sildillia
26 FW   GER Maximilian Philipp
27 MF   GER Nicolas Höfler
28 DF   GER Matthias Ginter
30 DF   GER Christian Günter (captain)
32 MF   ITA Vincenzo Grifo (vice-captain)
33 DF   FRA Jordy Makengo
34 MF   GER Merlin Röhl
37 DF   GER Max Rosenfelder
38 FW   AUT Michael Gregoritsch
42 MF   JPN Ritsu Dōan
43 DF   SUI Bruno Ogbus
44 MF   SUI Johan Manzambi

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF   GER Robert Wagner (at FC St. Pauli until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF   TUR Berkay Yılmaz (at 1. FC Nürnberg until 30 June 2025)

Selected notable former players

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For a more complete list, see List of SC Freiburg players.

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions[vague] to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions[vague] to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left.[relevant?] It is not complete or all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.[26]

Club staff

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Position Name
Sporting Director/Head of Scouting   Klemens Hartenbach
Manager   Julian Schuster
Assistant Manager   Lars Voßler
  Patrik Grolimund
  Florian Bruns
Goalkeeper coach   Michael Müller
Fitness coach   Daniel Wolf
  Maximilian Kessler

Head coaches

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Coaches of the club since 1946:[27]

 
Volker Finke, former coach of SCF and longest serving coach in German football history

Women's section

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Main article: SC Freiburg (women)

Recent seasons

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Main article: List of SC Freiburg seasons
 

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[28][29]

  • With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. In 2012, the number of Regionalligas was increased from three to five with all Regionalliga Süd clubs except the Bavarian ones entering the new Regionalliga Südwest.
Key
↑ Promoted ↓ Relegated

Notable chairmen

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References

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  1. ^ Glunk, Sascha. "Gründungsdatum mit vielen Fragezeichen" (in German). SC Freiburg e.V. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. ^ Peter Martin (2004). Sport-Club Freiburg (ed.). Hundert Jahre 90 Minuten: Die Geschichte des SC Freiburg von 1904–2004. Freiburg.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Gladwell, Ben. "SCHALKE SNATCH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BERTH IN FREIBURG". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  4. ^ Gladwell, Ben. "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL FOR FREIBURG". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  5. ^ Wittmann, Gerry. "VfB Stuttgart 2 – 1 SC Freiburg: Stuttgart Salvage their Season with Pokal Win". bundesliga fanatic. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  6. ^ Zorn, Roland (16 March 2023). "Freiburg raus gegen Juventus". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
  7. ^ "Freiburg stun Bayern Munich to reach DFB Cup semi-finals". Bundesliga. 4 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Dani Olmo and RB Leipzig dazzle Freiburg to reach DFB Cup final". Bundesliga. 2 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Das badenova-Stadion". SCF website. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. ^ "badenova-Stadion" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Freiburg spielt künftig im "Europa-Park Stadion"". kicker (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Europa-Park lands Freiburg stadium naming rights in Infront-brokered deal". SportBusiness. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Das ist das neue SC-Stadion" (in German). SC Freiburg. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  14. ^ "SC Freiburg to play in the 'Europa-Park-Stadion' | SC Freiburg". www.scfreiburg.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Europa-Park Stadium Freiburg completed | HPP Architekten". www.hpp.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  16. ^ "New stadium: SC Freiburg moved to new home – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Freiburg opens Europa-Park Stadion". The Stadium Business. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  18. ^ "The UEFA Cup 1995/96 – SC Freiburg (GER)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  19. ^ "The UEFA Cup 2001/02 – SC Freiburg (GER)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  20. ^ "SC Freiburg". UEFA. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  21. ^ "Noch keine Einsatzminute – Darum spielt Söyüncü bei Leicester keine Rolle". Bild. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Matchday 18: Facts and figures". bundesliga.de. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  23. ^ "Freiburg crowned champions after victory over Heidenheim". bundesliga.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016.
  24. ^ The cup of Lev Yashin goes to Germany. RTSportNews. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  25. ^ "Kader Profis" [Professional squad]. scfreiburg.com (in German). Sport-Club Freiburg e.V. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  26. ^ "SC Freiburg.:. Spieler von A-Z" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  27. ^ "SC Freiburg.:. Trainer von A–Z" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  28. ^ "Historical German domestic league tables" (in German). Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  29. ^ "Ergebnisse – die Top-Ligen bei Fussball.de" [Results – the Top Leagues at Fussball.de] (in German). Fussball.de. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
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