Freiburg (dpa / lsw) – With the possible new club record of five Bundesliga victories in a row, Christian Streich acted as a warning. “That can be a motivation and a reason that you are drifting into the land of dreams,” said the SC Freiburg coach two days before the game against 1. FC Köln on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky).
Streich knows too well that his team had to wait in vain for nine games during the first half of the season. “We know how exhausting it was and how much energy we had to muster,” said the 55-year-old. “It would be easier with a win.” Against the table-15. you have the “great opportunity to fix something where it is not so easy for the others to make holes in the foundation again.”
Freiburg had never before had four Bundesliga victories in a row. Only with Volker Finke as trainer did the sports club succeed: once across the seasons in 2001 and twice in the 1994/95 season. With the 3: 1 at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the Breisgauer made it one more time.
For the game against Cologne, Streich asked his team to “approach it realistically” but also “with an irrepressible will”. He does not only expect top scorer Vincenzo Grifo to follow his words with deeds after his recent victory (“Against Cologne, we want to continue, and not a bit less.”). “Vince can be the first to take the rope and pull the car forward through the dirt, and everyone else can hang on to Vince – then the thing rolls,” the SC coach chose a visual comparison.
Grifo had set his own goal record with a converted penalty against Hoffenheim: He only scored seven goals in the Bundesliga in the 2018/19 season, one in the first half for Hoffenheim and six in the second half for Freiburg. Now the Italian international has 20 game days to set a new personal record – in addition to the club’s record.
That would also be important for Streich because the points are even more valuable against direct competitors for relegation than against top teams in the league. In addition, there are personal statistics that the coach was not aware of, but which he would like to improve: The sports club is the only current Bundesliga team against whom Cologne coach Markus Gisdol has never lost. “For me that’s motivation, you can’t leave it like that for the next ten years,” said Streich. This time with a smile. Not admonishing.
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