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Julian Schuster, the preparations for the new season got underway with a partly new-look coaching staff. Around 5,000 fans came to the Europa-Park-Stadion for the first public training session, which is a record for SC…
Schuster: …which we’re obviously pleased about. It was a great way to start the new season, it was good for us and for the players. After all, we didn’t have any friendlies in Freiburg that the fans could watch in the first few weeks of pre-season. Being close to the fans and going through this transitional period with them is very important to us.
After training you had your first press conference. Even though nobody asked you about having big shoes to fill succeeding Christian Streich, you suddenly brought it up yourself – isn’t that unusual?
Schuster: I just thought it was very important to say thank you, especially as I hadn’t had the opportunity to do so publicly to that point. I’m unbelievably grateful to Chris and Patrick (Christian Streich and Patrick Baier). We saw each other almost every day for 16 years and went through a lot together. It wasn’t a given that they would be working with the new coaching team and actively involved in the preparations for this season even though they were in the process of leaving.
That’s not the only reason why it hasn’t been the usual handover from one head coach to the next. Do you think being a part of the coaching staff for so long had its advantages?
Schuster: Knowing how things work around here is an advantage. It might have been harder for an outsider to grasp, so it would have been more difficult to understand what it all means. On the other hand, knowing how Chris worked, how training sessions looked, how he handled the players – and, of course, how it went down with the players – benefits me. Now, we want to take this knowledge and go our own way.
What did the analysis of last season reveal in terms of getting the best out of the side?
Schuster: Firstly, some of the most important takeaways are what makes the team stand out and what they did well. More precisely, we want to ensure that we’re still unpleasant to play against off and on the ball. When we’re in possession, we want to create as many options as possible. And we still like having the ball at out feet – that’s the basic principle of the Freiburg football school. It’s not just important to have possession, however – we also need to use it strategically. Then, we need to be determined and have the desire to score goals. The boys have got to want it. As a result, we need a lot of players who are goal threats.
And when SC don’t have the ball?
Schuster: Defensively, it’s important that we’re flexible when we press. Sometimes, we’ve got to press high up the pitch and disrupt the opposition’s play, but also we need to change how high we’re pressing at other moments. We know, however, from past campaigns that we can change our basic set-up at short notice during matches. We’ve got enough players with experience playing in back-threes and back-fours and we want to continue to be flexible.
Even though there have been comings and goings, the core of the team has broadly stayed the same. Is this advantageous?
Schuster: I think it’s a massive advantage. The relationships between the players should come before the makeup of the squad. It’s good to know everyone already – the players and the coaches – and to know how to go about dealing with them.
SCF’s first game of the new Bundesliga season will be against VfB, who you left to join SC 16 years ago. It will be a day of celebrations for the fans – will it be the same for you?
Schuster: It goes without saying that I’m happy about the opposition. I’m much more excited, however, that we’re starting the season with a home game after five long years.
Photo: SC Freiburg
