Freiburg - the Streich effect

One of the lesser discussed clubs, at least from what I've seen, is SC Freiburg from the Black Forest region of Germany. Their coach, Christian Streich, has been at the club for his entire coaching career (since 1995) and has led the first team since 2011. I'll admit that I don't regularly watch them, so I had the idea to watch them in depth in games against teams they'd expect to be around in the table to see what they're like. You know, as opposed to watching them play Bayern or Dortmund, the big boys, and trying to draw conclusions from that. I find that to be a massive issue in football, reporting and discourse, the fact that there are only a few teams people seem to care about. If you're not a super club, you're given condescending praise and people have these narratives that are rarely true, but nobody cares so it's just that way. That was a roundabout way of leading into these two games I'll be examining, wins against Augsburg and Hertha.

Before actually going into the game, I think it's a good idea to list the lineup. Luckily for me, it was the same for Freiburg in both fixtures. Flekken in goal, a back three of Gulde Lienhart Schlotterbeck, Kubler and Gunter wing backs with Eggestein and Hofler in midfield, and a front three of Jeong Holer Grifo. I've watched a decent amount of a few of these, but rather than giving my takes already, I'll watch each game and give my thoughts accordingly.

Augsburg H (3-0):

-Header 2' Hofler header from Gunter

-Augsburg also playing a back 5, bit of a mid block with low pressure

-In contrast, it's a clear line of 3 and then 4 for Freiburg, even in defense as they press

-More a 3-1-4-2 in that the wing backs bomb on, one guy (Hofler) sits in front of defense

-wingback to wingback goal, Gunter shot Kubler puts in the rebound

-this is me being lazy, but the game's over after the third goal at 33 minutes (Grifo pen), so I'll probably stop there

-Numerical advantage at the back, when ball turns over Augsburg only have 2 guys going forward, while back three is compact for Freiburg

-simple two pass buildup for second goal, poor defending

-penalty from switch of play during extended period of possession

Piss poor from Augsburg, to be honest. Destroyed both on scoreboard and statistically (3.71 xG to 0.30). Double the shots, 3x chances created. 61-39 possession. Only one Augsburg shot from inside the box.

Hertha A (1-2):

I have an extra comment to add before the actual game. Unlike Augsburg, I've watched enough Hertha to know their issues. Plus, I looked at the stats for this game so I kinda know what happened. Basically, it's a tactical issue and a mentality deficiency. Even within the league there's an example of what I'm describing from this season; FC Cologne. Put simply, they went from Europa, to an injury crisis and poor form that led to relegation, to promotion and then near relegation (saved by playoff). Management said enough of that and hired a real coach in Baumgart, and now they're thriving. It's also funny that I'm examining a game of theirs when they played Freiburg, given how long Streich has been there.

Oh, another comment on Hertha. Possession and chance creation were more even this game, and Hertha even had a higher xG than Freiburg. I'll see what actually happened with the chances and give my verdict.

-On paper, it looks like Hertha go 3-4-3, but it's really 3-5-2 with Serdar deeper and Jovetic up front with Selke. I already notice (2 minutes in) that if the wing backs get high and Serdar goes forward, the midfield will be open as Boateng doesn't move well. They also aren't really pressing, which comes back to the mentality.

-First shot on goal 10', header from Kubler, ball fed in by Gunter after a nice through ball

-Lienhart goal 17', from a corner, what a shock. Nudges Selke out the way, puts it past GK

-Piatek comes on, flicks header wide at 51'

-Serious lull in the action from about 55 to 70 minutes (1 shot on target to 2)

-Piatek equalizes, Serdar to Mittlestaedt, low cross finished by Pole. Culpable would be the guys in midfield not tackling, as Serdar takes 4 guys out before passing

-Jeong and Boyata back to back chances, tough pass from Grifo for first, corner for second, not the easiest header

-triple sub; Petersen Sallai Demirovic on for front three

-Petersen goal, once again from a corner, flicked by Hoefler, deflects off Boyata, overhead kick as he's being held by Tousart\

-Serdar, Schlotterbeck (ANOTHER corner) and Mittlestaedt with relatively low % shots. Ends 1-2

Much better game to watch, compared to the first. Honestly, I don't have that much to say about it. Freiburg had more of the ball, especially in the first half. Second half was pretty even, with both sides having a few decent chances. In terms of tactics, it's what I was saying before. In a back three, you have options, and it's about making it work with the players you have. What Streich has done with his team is Holer says up front, Grifo roams, usually on the left, Jeong does some linking up but generally stays higher. Hofler is the one in the hole, Eggestein plays as an 8 essentially on the right, the wing backs get really high up the pitch to create width, and the 3 CB's stay connected at the back. I'd call it a 3-1-4-2, as I was saying before. Reminds me somewhat of what Tuchel has Chelsea doing, but obviously with lesser players. I love the wingbacks getting forward. That's what made Atalanta successful in the past; Gosens and Hateboer in particular getting into the box and assisting each other.

In terms of adjustments this season, and I'll throw in a little about transfers, the incoming was Eggestein from Bremen. They sold Santamaria to Rennes for 12.6m and got Maxi for 4.5m, which is a ridiculously low fee. Schlotterbeck is the other new guy, though he was on loan at Union, so it's not like they signed him. He's been immense. Even before the back three, he was holding it down with Lienhart in wins against Dortmund and Stuttgart and a draw with Cologne. Only 21 years old. Contract runs out in 2023, so the club will need to get on that if they want to keep him.

What intrigues me most about this club is the fact that they stay in the league every year and even push for Europe at times. I guess it's gotten to the point that numerous teams simply aren't "Bundesliga" teams, so it's relatively easy to stay up. As in, Schalke are gone, as are Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, and some other classic teams, so you have "tinpot" sides that really shouldn't be there. Looking at Bielefeld, Bochum and Fuerth here. Augsburg and Hertha have been really bad for a while. Cologne should've gone down last season, and Mainz were as bad as Schalke for half of that campaign.

All in all, I don't think there's necessarily a "Streich effect" in terms of tactics. I've seen the principles he's set out at other clubs, so it's not like he's doing anything crazy. They press, can possess the ball or go direct, get numbers forward, stretch the field with wingbacks, and stay compact with 3 CB's. In games like Dortmund where they're overmatched, they'll sit back and counter. Pretty modern team I'd say. Trust in youth and passionate fans to boot. It's about Streich embodying the club and finding players who will run through a brick wall for him. Grifo, for instance, has only really thrived at the club. He's got a coach who believes in him and gets the best out of him, which isn't the case at "bigger" clubs. Freiburg at this point have a midtable squad, and they'll likely finish midtable like they usually do. The area seems cool, and if I ever make it out to Germany I'll be sure to check it out. I'll also be following the team going forward whilst I have ESPN+. Three of the next four league games are against current Champions League sides, which should be fun.