After a personally bitter first half of the season, Manuel Gulde showed mostly stable appearances in the Freiburg central defense for weeks, but is now probably out again. The coach compliments the back-up.
Manuel Gulde had to be replaced injured in the 0-1 draw against Bayern.
IMAGO/sport photo pack
Winning the ball after a careful effort against Serge Gnabry initiated another promising attack, at the end of which captain Christian Günter chased the ball over the goal from a tight angle. However, Gulde was already sitting on the ground, after a short treatment he had to be escorted off the pitch with a thick bandage on his right thigh after a good 30 minutes on Saturday in the league duel with Bayern (0:1).
Praise from coach Streich
Christian Streich suspected at least “a small torn muscle fiber” on Saturday, much to his regret. “He did a great job, it was a real shame that he had to leave because he was so good at it. Manuel plays well against such a good team because he’s quick to act,” the SC coach praised his central defender , who had replaced regular Philipp Lienhart since his injury-related substitution during the round of 16 first leg in the Europa League at Juventus Turin on March 9th.
In the six appearances since then, Gulde has shown stable performances – with the exception of the second leg against Juve (kicker score 4.5), which was particularly unfortunate for him with yellow-red – and was particularly convincing both times against Bayern. “I’m really happy that he played so well because he really sat on the bench for weeks,” Streich continues with the compliments for his number 5: “Manuel Gulde is also an expression of this team.”
Gulde’s attitude as a role model
Despite his reserve role, he always trained well and was always clear in conversations with Streich. “He said to me: I do everything in every training session. Then I said to him: You’re doing great in training, although you haven’t played for weeks. Then he said: If I couldn’t take it anymore, I’ll come to them”, reports Streich about the conversations and ennobles his defender: “That’s a world-class attitude and a role model for the young players, some of whom don’t kick. Manuel Gulde has made a great development overall.”
Lienhart is ready
Now other professionals are required again, said Streich. Above all, Lienhart, who recovered just in time, also struggled with his right thigh. And guilder? For the defender, who has been employed at SC since 2016, after a personally bitter first half of the year, the current season already appears in a much more positive light, despite the new injury.
In the last few weeks, Gulde has also proven his sporting reliability in this season, which has been outstandingly successful for Freiburg overall, celebrating his hoped-for European Cup debut and, above all, playing his part in the historic cup victory at Bayern. Now the focus is on the recovery process and at the end of the season with a remaining year of contract there will be a process of consideration, as the 32-year-old announced shortly before Christmas in an interview with kicker. The past few weeks should have increased the desire to stay.
