One of his former players will follow in Christian Streich’s footsteps. On Friday, SC Freiburg announced Julian Schuster as their next head coach.
From the background into the spotlight: Julian Schuster. IMAGO/Steinsiek.ch
In Breisgau everything is a little smaller than at Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool FC, but the shoes that need to be filled there from the summer onwards will probably be just as enormous. It is now clear that a former Freiburg player will follow the great Christian Streich at SC, as kicker had already exclusively reported on Wednesday and the club announced on Friday: Julian Schuster.
Schuster, who has had his pro license since February, played for years as a strategist in the defensive midfield, making a total of 185 Bundesliga and 34 second division games for SC. He was also captain of the team for years, which has primarily borne Streich’s signature since 2011/12.
In 2018, shortly after the end of his career as an active player, Schuster became a coach – liaison coach at SC Freiburg between the professional department and the youth team. Even if Schuster, who will celebrate his 39th birthday in April, has no experience as a head coach yet, hardly anyone knows the talents of the Breisgau team and many club structures better than he does.
At the end of this process, we decided with great conviction to pursue a common path with Julian Schuster.
“For me, coaching at the sports club is both a matter of the heart and a challenge. I am aware of the task and approach it with full conviction, but also with humility and respect,” explained Julian Schuster. “Unity, passion and connection to the city and the region – these are the values that characterize the sports club for me. I look forward to living and developing these values together with the team, the staff and the fans. My thanks go to them Those responsible for the trust, but also Christian Streich and all the SC trainers who have accompanied me to this point for their close and intensive cooperation.”
Expertise, personality and comprehensive identification
“In the past few weeks, we have dealt intensively with several internal and external candidates to succeed Christian Streich,” said board member Jochen Saier. “At the end of this process, we decided with great conviction to pursue a common path with Julian Schuster. His specialist knowledge, his personality and his extensive identification with the philosophy and values of SC Freiburg were key criteria for us.”
Grolimund joins as another assistant coach
Patrik Grolimund will join the team as an additional assistant coach. The 43-year-old will be an instructor and deputy head of UEFA Pro License training at the DFB until the end of June. Before that, he was assistant coach of the German women’s national team. The Swiss native already knows the sports club from an internship in preparation for the 2021/22 season.
Instance Streich announced his departure at the end of the season on March 18th after a total of 29 years with the club and then around twelve and a half years as head coach of the professionals. The established Bundesliga club clarified his difficult successor early on – and, as with Streich in 2012, found an internal solution.
2024-03-22 09:05:29
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