SC Freiburg facts for kids

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SC Freiburg

Full name	Sport-Club Freiburg e.V.
Nickname(s)	Breisgau-Brasilianer (Breisgau Brazilians)
Founded	1904; 121 years ago (1904)
Ground	Europa-Park Stadion
Ground Capacity	34,700
President	Eberhard Fugmann
Manager	Julian Schuster
League	Bundesliga
2020–21	Bundesliga, 10th of 18
Home colours Away colours Third colours

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, behind Nils Petersen.

History

Early history

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. 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. 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. 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. 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)

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

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. 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.

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. 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, before losing in the semi-finals at home 1–5 to RB Leipzig.

Reserve team

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

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.

The new Europa-Park Stadion 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.

Sponsorship

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

Matches

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 (aet)	0–0	3–2
		Round of 16	West Ham United	1–0	0–5	1–5

Overall record

Club records in UEFA competitions

• 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:
  • 14 March 2024, West Ham United 5–0 Freiburg, at London
• 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

Statistics correct as of 6 April 2024.

• Most 1. Bundesliga goals scored: 69 – Nils Petersen 19 May 2023
• Highest transfer fee paid: €10 million for Baptiste Santamaria
• Highest transfer fee received: €21.1 million for Çağlar Söyüncü
• Youngest goalscorer: Matthias Ginter – 18 years, 2 days
• Player who has scored the most against club: Claudio Pizarro – 14 goals in 17 matches
• Biggest home win: 6–0 – against Rot-Weiß Erfurt on 24 August 1991
• Biggest 1. Bundesliga home win: 5–0 – against Hansa Rostock on 17 September 1999 and against VfL Bochum on 9 December 2000
• Biggest away win: 6–0 – against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 5 December 2021
• Biggest 1. Bundesliga away win: 6–0 – against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 5 December 2021
• Biggest home loss: 0–6 – against Bayern Munich on 16 December 2003 and against Werder Bremen on 4 December 2004 and 21 November 2009
• Biggest 1. Bundesliga home loss: 0–6 – against Bayern Munich on 16 December 2003 and against Werder Bremen on 4 December 2004 and 21 November 2009
• Biggest away loss: 0–7 – against Bayern Munich on 10 September 2011
• Biggest 1. Bundesliga away loss: 0–7 – against Bayern Munich on 10 September 2011

Most appearances

• 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

• 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

League

• 2. Bundesliga (II)
  • Winners: 1992–93, 2002–03, 2008–09, 2015–16
• Regionalliga Südwest (IV)
  • Winners: 2020–21^‡
• Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (V)
  • Winners: 2008^‡, 2017^‡
• Amateurliga Südbaden (III)
  • Winners: 1965, 1968, 1978
• Verbandsliga Südbaden (V)
  • Winners: 1998^‡

Cup

• South Baden Cup (Tiers III–VII)
  • Winners: 1975, 1978, 2001^‡
  • Runners-up: 2005^‡
• DFB-Pokal
  • Runners-up: 2021–22

Youth

League

• German Under 19 championship
  • Winners: 2008
• Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest
  • Winners: 2005–06, 2008–09

Cup

• German Under-19 Cup
  • Winners: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2018

Under-21 International

• Lev Yashin Cup
  • Winners: 2011

^‡ Won by reserve team.

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Noah Atubolu 3 DF Philipp Lienhart 4 DF Kenneth Schmidt 5 DF Manuel Gulde 6 MF Patrick Osterhage 7 MF Noah Weißhaupt 8 MF Maximilian Eggestein 9 FW Lucas Höler 11 MF Daniel-Kofi Kyereh 17 DF Lukas Kübler 18 FW Eren Dinkçi 20 FW Junior Adamu 21 GK Florian Müller 23 MF Florent Muslija

No. Position Player 24 GK Jannik Huth 25 DF Kiliann Sildillia 26 FW Maximilian Philipp 27 MF Nicolas Höfler 28 DF Matthias Ginter 30 DF Christian Günter (captain) 32 MF Vincenzo Grifo (vice-captain) 33 DF Jordy Makengo 34 MF Merlin Röhl 37 DF Max Rosenfelder 38 FW Michael Gregoritsch 42 MF Ritsu Dōan 43 DF Bruno Ogbus 44 MF Johan Manzambi

Out on loan

No. Position Player DF Robert Wagner (at FC St. Pauli until 30 June 2025)

No. Position Player DF Berkay Yılmaz (at 1. FC Nürnberg until 30 June 2025)

Selected notable former players

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

Club staff

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

Coaches of the club since 1946:

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

Women's section

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

• 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

Notable chairmen

• Achim Stocker † (1972–2009)

See also

In Spanish: SC Friburgo para niños