Bundesliga News

“Lucas has been with us now for over five years and has developed really well,” said sporting director Jochen Saier. “Lucas is an important player in our squad due to his excellent attitude, presence and hard work on and off the pitch. We’re delighted that he’s staying at the club.”

Altach parted ways with head coach Miroslav Klose in mid-week, with Klaus Schmidt replacing him at the helm. The side are currently fighting to avoid relegation from the Austrian Bundesliga via the relegation play offs.

“Benni is a solid presence within our trio of goalkeepers and is an important figure in our team, both on a sporting and personal level,” said sporting director Klemens Hartenbach. “It’s a good feeling for us to know that Benni, along with his character and reliability, will continue to be part of our team.”

SC Freiburg’s newly confirmed fixtures:

The players left at the club will play Austrian side SCR Altach on Thursday at 14:00 CET behind closed doors. Altach, currently coached by Miroslav Klose, are bottom of the Bundesliga, but did earn a point against league leaders RB Salzburg at the weekend.

There was just one change to the team that had given the Italian record champions a run for their money on Thursday, with Vincenzo Grifo coming into the starting line-up in place of Lucas Höler.

Mainz strong at home in the second half of the season

On this special evening, SCF were tasked with keeping their patience. The Bianconeri sat deep and did not offer much in the way of active attacking intent. The away side only ventured into Freiburg’s penalty area once in the opening stages, as Juan Cuadrado appealed for a penalty under pressure from Christian Günter (19’). Dutch referee Serdar Gözübüyük was unmoved, however.

There is also a lot of respect from SC’s opponents. Immediately after the game, Juventus‘ head coach Massimiliano Allegri, said, “We won against a strong opponent. The game in Germany will not be easy.” Midfielder Manuel Locatelli added to this: “We will need a mature performance in Freiburg to get through to the next round.”

Patrick Baier has been part of the coaching team since 2009 and is the longest-serving assistant coach in the Bundesliga.