SC Freiburg already secured group victory in the Europa League before the last game at Karabakh Agdam. However, coach Streich does not want to give away the game in Azerbaijan.
Freiburg (dpa / lsw) - Coach Christian Streich from SC Freiburg formulated his objective unequivocally and clearly. He and his players owe it to the approximately 600-strong travel entourage to "give everything" in the last group game of the Europa League at Karabakh Agdam on Thursday (6.45 p.m. / RTL). The sports club travels to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, without any pressure, because the group victory can no longer be taken away from the third party in the Bundesliga.
"We have created a special constellation," said the coach one day before the game. "We've secured first place before our last game. But there's something at stake for the other teams, so we'll go out there and give it our all."
The Azerbaijani champions have progression in their own hands as Group G runners-up. The only competitor in the fight for entry into the next round is FC Nantes. The French cup winner will play in the parallel game at Olympiacos Piraeus, but must hope for support from the sports club.
This will start the journey without Manuel Gulde, Jonathan Schmid and Merlin Röhl. This means that the Freiburg squad has hardly changed. Compared to the previous tasks, there should very well be changes in the starting eleven. "It's not that important who plays. It's how the individual players bring their strengths to the team as individuals," said Streich.
Midfielder Yannik Keitel admitted that it was a balancing act between physical and mental freshness these days. "Physically we're pretty fit thanks to the preparation. It's important that we're also mentally fit. We want to win." Streich added: "What helps us is a sense of achievement and we have that. If you lose, it's more difficult."
Freiburg have only lost twice this season, against top Bundesliga teams Borussia Dortmund (1:3) and FC Bayern Munich (0:5). Otherwise, the Breisgauer show mature performances week after week and in Baku the group phase should be completed without defeat. "The Europa League is a huge event," said Keitel. "I've never been to Azerbaijan. We want to win the game 100 percent. It will be a special journey."
Also because it is going to a country where fighting has been going on for decades. Streich usually takes a clear stance on socio-political issues. Probably also because of the full game plan, he deviated from his line a bit. "I know about the conflict with Armenia. There's a reason why Karabakh is playing in Baku. But this time I didn't go into detail about it," said Streich about the ex-Soviet republics that are at war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Streich simply has little time these days to deal with these tensions. In Baku, SC is already playing its 20th competitive game this season. After the Karabakh game, three more matches in the Bundesliga are on the agenda until the World Cup break in mid-November. Only then do Streich and some of his players have some peace to finally blow through. Until then, the people of Freiburg want to continue riding the wave of success.
