Kicker reports on the absence of Schade and Atubolu. The former was called up to replace Leweling, but will still not receive a chance to earn his first cap in nearly a year. Atubolu’s playing prospects as the fourth choice keeper behind Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, Stuttgart’s Alexander Nübel, and Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen were always slim. 

Atubolu earned a late call up due to the fact that Baumann was struggling with injury. Baumann nevertheless recovered in time to feature for the full 90 minutes in Friday night’s 4-0 win over Luxembourg in the Sinsheim-based stadium of his Bundesliga club. Schade did not make Julian Nagelsmann’s matchday selection. 

Nagelsmann’s team to Belfast on Sunday accompanied by the Germany U21s, who will also be contesting qualifying fixture for the 2027 U21 European Championship at the Belfast Oval on Tuesday. Antonio Di Salvo’s DFB Juniors weren’t as successful as Nagelsmann’s crew on Friday night, dropping their qualifying match against the Greek U21s.

GGFN | Peter Weis

“One felt valued and worth something,” Streich said of his old daily routine. “And suddenly all of that was gone. No structure and purpose. It’s wasn’t unforeseeable. Luckily, I found the right person to talk to. Someone who had experience with it. The one advantage coaches who are fired regularly have is that they only stay in one place for two or three years and have a natural distance. I was totally involved at that club.“

Streich retained his trademark modesty when asked about his reputation as German football’s “philosophical conscience“. At one of his final Freiburg press conferences, Streich roundly rejected labels such as “cult” or “elder statesmen“. Streich famously insisted that “cult” status belonged to figures like Mick Jagger and the true “elder statesmen” were the German political figures he worked with at Germany’s Federal Assembly. 

“No, no,” Streich answered with a shake of the head before answering the question from the moderator about being the “conscience of German football” or a “moral authority“. “I’m no ‘conscience of German football’. A ‘moral authority’ is Mahatma Ghandi. A ‘moral authority’ is a woman in Northern Bayern or South Baden who ministers people and serves everyone.

“I was of the opinion late on that football was decaying,” Streich continued. “That it was being squeezed too hard [commercially] like a lemon until there was nothing left. I thought to myself, ‘They’re destroying this game’. Now I know better. This game. They can produce 500,000 commercialized documentaries. They can exploit every last figure. They can stick cameras everywhere. They can promote it to death.

“At the end of the day, as long as kids are out there kicking a ball, they can never destroy this game,” Streich concluded to a round of applause. 

When the moderator asked Streich himself to recall how he once fell in love with football as a child, the Weil-am-Rhein native fondly recalled the days of growing up in a small Südbaden town. After breakfasting at his parent’s butcher shop, Streich could hardly wait to head outside and hit the pitch. 

“To this very day, there’s nothing better than finishing off one’s bread and mounting one’s bike after one heads outdoors,” Streich said. “It’s a shame that I can’t kick anymore as I always loved it. That hasn’t been physically possible for some time. It was so much fun because one could forget about all of one’s problems. The game is so complex that one can’t think about anything else.

“My parents didn’t have time to come and see me,” Streich added. “But it didn’t matter, because I was free.“

The inevitable question as to whether Streich would ever coach a team again cropped up. 

“I don’t think that I’ll coach another Bundesliga team,” Streich said. “Though I won’t rule anything out. When you’ve been in a profession for so long, it’s inevitable that someone will come up with the idea: Maybe he could work for us too. There’s been some interest. Part of the truth is that my assistant coaches in Freiburg were so good that I wouldn’t have dared to go anywhere on my own without them.”

Since his retirement, Streich has been traveling, giving a few motivational lectures, and even completed an internship on bicycle repair. The latter activity constituted one of Streich’s specific goals for his newfound free time. In an interview with Kicker shortly after he announced his retirement in May 2024, Streich memorably stated that he wished to “learn how to repair a bicycle properly“.

Bicycle repair will still never supplant football as the absolute love of Streich’s life. Near the end of the interview, it was time for the legend to offer up some choice words on what he found to be “the best thing about football“. After taking only a few nanoseconds to think about it, Streich went with the ball itself. 

It was time for the rhythmic cadence of old “Streich der Woche” days!

“The ball is round and the earth is round,” Streich said. “The ball is the small world and the big world at the same time. Whenever we were on the pitch with this ball, that can be used anywhere in the world, we brought the world to our small patch of grass. Just a bunch of lads and lasses on the pitch putting together a little world.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Schade last appeared under Nagelsmann during an UEFA Nations League match against the Netherlands during the October 2024 international break. A 13-minute relief appearance would count as Schade’s lone cap of the 2024 calendar year.

Schade earned three caps for the German senior team in 2023 and continues to earn regular minutes in West London. Thus far this year, Schade has started in six of Brentford’s seven Premier League fixtures. To date, the Potsdam native has netted 11 goals in England’s top flight. 

Schade joins his former SC Freiburg teammate Noah Atubolu as one of two players Nagelsmann has called up late since the initial announcement of his October international break squad last Thursday.  Germany are set to contest two crucial World Cup qualifying fixtures in the next six days.

Schade’s rapid development in Breisgau led to his Bundesliga club sending him to the Premier League on loan in 2023 with an easily triggered purchase option that would net Freiburg mega millions. Freiburg are current attempting to replicate this via a similar loan deal involving Merlin Röhl and Everton.

GGFN | Peter Weis

With DFB No. 1 Oliver Baumann struggling with Nausea, Nagelsmann opted to nominate Atubolu on Monday. The Freiburg native – who recently broke a record for consecutive number of league penalties saved – was taking a nap after a Monday morning training session when the call came. Atubolu will join Baumann, Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen, and Stuttgart’s Alexander Nübel on the October international break squad. 

“We got home very late on Sunday night after the game in Mönchengladbach and I took a nap after the morning training session,” Atubolu explained in a statement published on Freiburg’s website. “When I woke up, I had several missed calls from national team goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg and SC goalkeeper coach Michael Müller on my phone. They said the driver would be there soon and I had to leave.

“I’m going to the national team with the expectation of soaking everything up and learning as much as I can,” Atubolu went on to say. “It’s a huge honor for me to be in the German national team squad.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Hamburg Make Mince Meat of Mainz 

Hamburg made it back-to-back home wins as they battered Mainz 05 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. HSV were on top from the first minute and found themselves 2-0 up after just nine minutes thanks to goals from Albert Sambi Lokonga and Rayan Philippe. Philippe would add to his first goal in the second half, bringing his tally for the season to three goals from six games. The forward had a failed move to Mainz in the summer and mocked the situation with his celebration by mimicking a phone call. 

HSV head coach Merlin Polzin opted for a new 3-4-3 formation, and it worked a treat against a side that was so successful last campaign. 

“We’re progressing and one can see that in our play with the ball and against the ball. We’ve more steps to take, but one senses – and this is vitally important – that the team is finding out who they are and the connections are getting better. The players need to feel it on the pitch,” explained Polzin. 

HSV move up to 9th in the Bundesliga, whilst Mainz drop to 16th. 

Bayern Breeze Past Frankfurt

Ahead of this one, it was billed as Bayern’s first big test this season. However, when Bayern went 0-1 up after 17 seconds through Luis Díaz, it was anything but a real test. 

Bayern once again dominated and showed just how powerful their forward line is this season. Vincent Kompany’s side went 0-2 before the break through a Harry Kane curled effort from 20 meters out. If you haven’t seen the goal already, I urge you to take a look. 

Diaz added to his first-half goal late into the second half to make sure that Bayern go six wins from six games in the Bundesliga. 

“I don’t think these games should be used as a yardstick to evaluate the boys right now,” Toppmöller insisted when conducting a post-match interview with Sky Germany after the match. “It’s important for us to know that we still have a little room for improvement in order to compete at this level.”

“No one has been able to keep up with Bayern at their level thus far [this year],” Toppmöller continued, adding special praise for Harry Kane’s distance effort that made it 0-2 in the 27th minute. “That was a typical Bayern goal and Harry Kane’s finish was simply world-class.”

For Frankfurt, it’s now 12 goals conceded in four games in all competitions. There’s no question that Frankfurt have an excellent team, but right now, their defensive displays will be worrying head coach Dino Toppmöller. Bayern stay top as Frankfurt drop out of the European places for the first time this season (7th).  

Dortmund Leipzig Stalemate 

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig played a rather dull 1-1 draw that was billed as “the battle of the Bayern chasers”. In fact, the final xG stats (Dortmund 0.88, Leipzig 1.05) illustrate that the final scoreline was even a little generous. 

Dortmund remain undefeated this season ahead of their showdown with Bayern after the international break. Leipzig, meanwhile, continue their undefeated run since being battered by Bayern on opening night. 

In truth, both teams will probably be satisfied with the draw as Dortmund and Leipzig stay 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 

Around The Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Heidenheim still remains bottom following a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians scored the winner just past the hour mark from time to add even more misery on Frank Schmidt’s side. Heidenheim stay bottom, whilst Stuttgart shoot up into 4th. 

Bayer Leverkusen have put their early-season woes behind them as they go 5th with a 2-0 win against Union Berlin. It’s the first time that B04 has registered back-to-back Bundesliga wins this season as new head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks to be making a positive impact on his squad. 

Borussia Mönchengladbach still remain winless going into the international break after a 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg. Despite that and amid all the administrative turmoil at Borussia Mönchengladbach, interim head coach Eugen Polanski has been given the green light to continue his audition on the sidelines.

There were also wins for FC Köln (0-1 vs TSG Hoffenheim), Werder Bremen (1-0 vs St. Pauli), and FC Augsburg (3-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

The author is pleased to report that practically all of the recent hype surrounding this club remains fully justified. The players and fans presently stand united in their belief in the journey ahead. While detractors will point out that Sunday’s 1-1 draw with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim proved about as exciting as slow-mo checkers, Schuster’s tactics have proven themselves worthy of high-speed-chess. Schuster’s team held a stable line against their richer and faster north Baden rivals. Sometimes one simply has to grind it out with a low block. It happens.

Assume that Schuster and company conserved their creative spark for a far more entertaining fixture on Thursday.

Having to do without Johan Manzambi against Hoffenheim didn’t help.

SC Freiburg UEL Squad

All 27 professionals on the SCF squad are technically registered for the competition via the “B-Squad” selection protocols. This extends the to the two players readers will not be surprised to see missing: Congenitally injured German-Ghanian attacker Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and the poor lost soul that is Maximilian Philipp. Neither Kofi-Kyereh nor Philipp have featured in any of the SCF match-day squads this season. Manzambi and young defender Bruno Ogbus were initially on the “B-list”, until the late departures of Michael Gregoritsch and Merlin Röhl allowed for their elevation.

Defenders:

Lienhart, Jung, Kübler, Beste, Ginter, Treu, Günter, Makengo, Rosenfelder, Ogbus, Schopper, Steinmann

Midfielders:

Osterhage, Eggestein, Suzuki, Höfler, Grifo, Manzambi, Tarnutzer

Forwards:

Scherhant, Höler, Dinkçi, Adamu, Irié, Matanović, Amegnaglo

Ogbus – another exciting young Swiss prospect not quite as far along as Manzambi – made three SCF first team appearances last year and registered an assist in the opening round of the Pokal. The 19-year-old has already attracted interest from EPL sides and might well become a more known name in the near future. Young French striker David Amegnaglo has scored 12 goals for SCF II in the Regionalliga Südwest.

Rouven Tarnutzer is an interesting midfield prospect who has earned four starts for the reserves thus far this season. Young defenders David Schopper and Karl Steinmann are regular fixtures for Bernard Weis’ Junioren and also played regularly last year. Record summer signing Philipp Treu – after suffering a separated shoulder in training camp – is back picking up minutes under Schuster for the first team.

SC Freiburg Remaining UEL Schedule

October and November feature’s two very winnable fixtures, even if Thursday’s encounter constitutes quite the test. Schuster’s team get set to benefit from a much lighter Bundesliga and Europa League schedule in the final two months, meaning simply picking up single points through the autumn months might end up being fully sufficient. The travel schedule also counts as a light burden for this “Border Burg”. Freiburg traditionally perform well whenever taking that quick hop across the French border. 

Thursday, October 2nd

FC Bologna (A) 18:45

Thursday, October 23rd

FC Utrecht (H) 21:00

Thursday, November 6th

OGC Nice (A) 18:45

Thursday, November 27th

Victoria Plzeň (A) 18:45

Thursday, December 11th

RB Salzburg (H) 21:00

Thursday, January 22nd

Maccabi Tel Aviv (H) 18:45

Thursday, January 29th

Lille OSC (A) 21:00

It all comes together nicely for the Badeners and their traveling cohort of fans as they cruise to the knockouts. One sincerely hopes for a better ending than the one delivered by West Ham United in the 2023/24 UEL Round-of-16. German football lovers received quite the double-whammy when, after that elimination, legendary trainer Christian Streich’s words and body language made it clear that he would be leaving us. Schuster looks poised for success in his initial European campaign. One also sincerely hopes that the affable young trainer won’t follow the “Robin Dutt” career trajectory. 

Tactics Check, SC Freiburg

It seems like eons ago that Schuster had this team set up in a totally impractical manner. Schuster’s obvious mistakes seem to stem from no real logic apart from a possible concern that the more logical formation deployed in the Pokal didn’t deliver the requisite fireworks. For whatever it’s worth, the author did agree at the time and liked his personal recommendation better. Oh well. We got this instead. Ideally, we’ve seen the last of it. 

Lineup—Freiburg (Matches 1-2)

Schuster might have been tempted to simply chalk off the stunning loss against Augsburg on opening day as his team clearly won the xG battle over Sandro Wagner’s FCA, 2.60 to 1.34. In hindsight, most of us probably could have seen that Wagner’s big 1-3 matchday one victory would prove nothing more than an aberration anyway. The three FCA goals came thick and fast in the final 15 minutes of the opening 45. Plenty of propitious bounces for Augsburg and momentary concentration lapses from Freiburg contributed to the result. SCF also saw an early goal disallowed. 

All of that notwithstanding, even the most amateur of tacticians can see what’s wrong with the graphic above. Manzambi at six? Yuito Suzuki at ten? The fact that otherwise reliable actors such as Lucas Höler and Eren Dinkçi opted not to show up early obviously didn’t help. Moreover, Manzambi’s rattling off of some promising late dribbles and Vincenzo Grifo furnishing some of his trademark set-piece artistry likely influenced Schuster’s decision to roll with the exact same XI against Köln the next week.

The 4-2-3-1 largely held its ground against the hosting cathedral city side for the opening half hour, but there were plenty of warning shots from Lukas Kwasniok’s Geißböcke as the half-hour-mark approached. Noah Atubolu bailed his team out on several occasions before Jakub Kaminski gave Köln a well-deserved lead in the 35th. Everything fell apart on that play. Köln striker Marius Bülter was given far too much space on the left. Dinkçi didn’t bother to mark Kaminski in the box at all. 

Shortly after the restart, more atrocious marking in the box enabled Bülter to head home to the 2-0 in the 47th. In full meltdown mode, Schuster’s charges allowed Bülter to all-too-easily set up Jan Thielmann’s 3-0 in the 57th. Atubolu prevented much, much worse before German Wunderkind Said El Mala added the 4-0 in the 81st-minute. Having made at least four superhuman saves between the Thielmann and El Mala tallies, Atubolu just ran out of omnipresent limbs.

A late pullback goal from Maximilian Eggestein meant nothing as the “cathedral city massacre” left Freiburg dead last in the Bundesliga heading into the September international break. Absolutely no one in the back-four – a highly experienced set of veterans – looked like top flight players again the newly promoted side. Schuster simply had to pull the plug on some of these players once the league re-convened.

Lineup—Freiburg (Match Three)

Goals in a 2-0 friendly win over FC Luzern over the September break led to Jan-Niklas Beste and Patrick Osterhage earning starts against Stuttgart. Beste displaced his friend and former Heidenheim teammate Dinkçi, who simply started the season in shockingly lousy form. Osterhage’s selection to serve in midfield (obvious, obvious, obvious) led to Manzambi moving up to the ten slot and we saw the beginnings of this (admittedly hyperbolic) “Wonder-twins” midfield project. We’ll see how long that will last. 

Captain Christian Günter also had to take a seat in favor of the younger and more agile Jordy Makengo. At least the collective defending from the back-four improved considerably. Apart from that, watching two 4-2-3-1s square off in Breisgau proved quite the hard watch. A memorable moment of magic from VfB strike Ermedin Demirovic added a small dose of sparkle to an absolute stinker. Demirovic’s 20th-minute back-heel gave Stuttgart the 0-1 lead. Freiburg couldn’t muster up a response of any sort. 

To their credit, the hosts woke up after the break. Kübler and Manzambi executed some useful incursions into the penalty area. Schuster left his original XI on the pitch until the 63rd, when he brought Derry Scherhant on for Grifo. Igor Matanovic relieved Höler in the 78th. The seeds of the magnificent story of the Stuttgart match’s finish were planted. All Germans found themselves keen to talk about Freiburg come Monday morning. At long last, the Breisgauer flexed muscle added during their highly successful summer transfer window. 

Lineup—Freiburg (80th minute)

Matanovic polished off a Lukas Kübler cross for the 1-1 in the 81st. Scherhant benefited from a fine set-up from Manzambi to net the 2-1 in the 86th. Matanovic received the chance to ice off the Schwarzwaldkuchen with a penalty conversion on the 3-1 at 90+2. A perfect “turnaround tale” written by two marquee summer transfers: Scherhant and Matanovic. These are the tales of all tales, the moments of all moments. From this point forward, one knew that Freiburg’s season was off-and-running. They took out a surging team on match-day four.

Next week against Werder Bremen, Schuster compensated for the loss of Manzambi by starting Junior Adamu atop the 4-2-3-1 whilst Höler slid back into the ten slot. Beste, Osterhage, and Makengo retained their starting places. This would be the match that produced Atubolu’s penalty save record. It also produced some of Adamu’s on-brand poor finishing until the notoriously “iffy Austrian” finally got the 2-0 over the line in the 54th. Scherhant featured again off the bench and forced an own-goal off SVW defender Karim Coulibaly on the 3-0 in the 75th. 

The center-back pairing of Matthias Ginter and Philipp Lienhart produced by far their strongest match to date. Makengo – save the handball penalty that Atubolu’s save cancelled out – actually delivered the best match the author can recall offhand. In his first meaningful shift since rejoining the Sport Club this summer, Treu looked very good off the bench. Interestingly enough, Schuster had Treu relieve Beste directly on the right wing. Treu and Kübler worked in tandem on both sides off the ball very well. 

Freiburg headed home with confidence to face Basel. 

Three personnel changes and a might tighter 4-2-3-1.

Lineup—Freiburg (UEL)

A wave of illness sweeping the SCF camp meant that neither Lienhart nor Höler could partake. Up front, that posed no problem as Manzambi’s suspension didn’t apply to the European campaign. Freiburg’s famed “Manuel Gulde replacement” Manuel Gulde took over for Lienhart alongside Ginter. Schuster put the skipper back in by opting for Günter over Makengo on the left. All of this performed serviceable enough, with Atubolu ensuring that the slight advantages the Swiss guests retained early wouldn’t result in Basel taking the lead. 

Osterhage – making his Europa League debut – calmly put away a failed clearance of a Manzambi effort in the 31st. Atubolu made a huge save at the end of the opening 45 to ensure Basel couldn’t restore parity. The second half of the famed “twin pairing”, Eggestein, snatched the 2-0 off a Grifo cross in the 56th. Eggestein could have well grabbed a brace a little later were it not for an amazing save from Basel keeper Mirko Salvi. Instead, it would be the guests with a late pullback goal. Freiburg held on for a 2-1 win. 

The formation remained fairly tight throughout, with Matanovic, Scherhant, and Makengo working on straight swaps late. Treu once again got his turn as an advanced right winger ahead of Kübler in relief of Beste. It was back to the wider 4-2-3-1 against Hoffenheim. Two personnel changes saw Dinkçi return to the starting blocks in order to take over for the still suspended Manzambi. Makengo also once again got the nod over Günter. 

Lineup—Freiburg (Match Five)

With Lienhart still stricken, Jung maintained his place in central defense. Höler recovered only enough to start on the bench. The experiment of Dinkçi working as a ten (something that didn’t actually work out all that well in Heidenheim) at least gave Dinkçi the chance to work alongside Beste again. Excitement was quickly tempered by the fact that this pairing (and indeed not much else) worked out on Sunday. Kübler was in the right place at the right time to stuff home the 1-0 in the third.

That was about all from hosts, who did have to compensate for Kübler’s loss to a concussion shortly before the first half was out. Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani equalized about ten minutes later and the match settled into a midfield stalemate. The collision between Kübler and TSG defender Bernardo (27th) severely undercut the flow of the affair. Schuster’s men managed only a paltry 0.28 xG after the early opening goal. On a tight turnaround from the UEL affair, Freiburg often looked too tired to press. 

Hoffenheim proved much more adept at breaking the lines and finished with a full-time xG of 2.54. Atubolu made a few excellent saves near the end. Treu’s turn at right back proved fairly average. Jung dipped heavily as the game progressed as his 33-year-old legs deadened. Grifo, Beste, and Grifo lacked conviction and ideas beyond the middle third. Matanovic and Scherhant were better in relief, though not by much. “UEL Sandwich” matches like this one simply happen at times. 

Thursday tip:

Freiburg 2, Bologna 2

Schuster could try a few more things later in matches, such as yanking Grifo if the Germano-Italian simply doesn’t have it on the day. That would enable Beste to switch over to his natural left-hand-side and perhaps revive some of his old muscle memory opposite Dinkçi. Scherhant can always work central behind Matanovic or even aside him as part of a later re-format. The highly touted midfield pairing, not to mention the defense as a whole, did a magnificent job in individual duels against the TSG and can likely be relied upon to keep matters close until the SCF trainer can get fresh legs on. 

With Manzambi (eligible) and Höler (recovered) returning to the XI, the author feels absolutely comfortable tipping an upset for the German club. These Schwarzwälder enter on the march and should be able to run with the four-time UEFA Cup winners. Not really shifting a basic 4-2-3-1 brings with it tremendous advantages. The actors know their roles and all have some experience working them at this point. The Italians will obviously try to hit Treu’s side early and often. This could lead to a goal or two. No matter. Atubolu prevents worse and the attackers find a way to hit back.

GGFN | Peter Weis

Historic Harry 

Harry Kane scored a brace on Friday evening as Bayern Munich comfortably brushed aside Werder Bremen to truly kick off the Oktoberfest season. While Bayern are enjoying their best start to a Bundesliga campaign since 2016, Harry Kane also wrote his name into history once again. 

The Englishman’s two goals brought his overall Bayern tally to 100 in just 104 games. He is now the quickest player to register 100 goals for a club in Europe’s top five leagues. He surpasses both Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City), who both achieved 100 goals in 105 games. With 10 Bundesliga goals already this season, Kane appears to be in the form of his life as Bayern go marching on. 

The game against Bremen also saw Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka make their 300th Bundesliga appearance, whilst youngster Tom Bischof was granted his first start for Bayern. 

Bayern are now eight wins from eight in the Bundesliga and face Eintracht Frankfurt away in matchday 6. 

The 10-Goal Game 

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt may just have hosted the most bizarre and entertaining game of the season as they played out a cracking (and at times hilarious) 4-6. 

Gladbach are yet to win this season, have sacked their head coach, and have been woeful at defending so far. When the halftime whistle blew and Frankfurt were 5-0 up, you feared that the Eagles could easily make it double-figures. Frankfurt immediately made it 0-6 within two minutes of the restart, leaving the Gladbach fans who had stayed in the ground possibly regretting that decision. 

Interim Gladbach coach Eugen Polanski looked dumbfounded as he witnessed the lack of defending. For a top-flight side, it was shambolic. 

However, what transpired almost saved Polanski’s blushes and possibly gives him the most credit at full-time. Gladbach and Frankfurt seemingly reserved roles as the home side went on to score four second-half goals whilst the away side took the role of not defending. 

“During the game I was in shock,” Polanski answered when a reporter asked him what words he found for the team at the half. “It was my job at the half to tell the team that things could be different. After that lifeless first half that doesn’t work at Bundesliga level, it got a little loud at the break.” 

“That was a desolate performance by the team,” BMG sporting director Roland Virkus told Sky Germany. “We lacked everything you need in football and were rightly 0-5 down at half-time. It must be said that the team made progress after the break, but one can’t sugarcoat a game like this. [Interim head coach] Eugen [Polanski] retains our support, but we all have to take a look at this together.“

Gladbach remain winless, and bizarrely, Frankfurt have conceded eight goals in two games.

Dortmund Dominance 

Borussia Dortmund continued their unbeaten start to the season with an impressive 0-2 win away at Mainz 05. 

With the win, BVB stay second, are looking like the early contenders to Bayern, and even set a new Bundesliga record. 

Niko Kovač’s side were in the lead at half-time for the 10th league game in a row – a new milestone in Germany’s top flight.

Daniel Svensson opened the scoring for Borussia Dortmund, netting his second Bundesliga goal for his new club after capping off a fine counter-attack after Mainz’ Paul Nebel hit Gregor Kobel’s post at the other end. Karim Adeyemi then doubled Dortmund’s lead in the 40th minute after another superb counter-attack, giving BVB a 0-2 lead.

Speaking after the game, Kovač commended his team’s performance: “The team played very disciplined and organised for 90 minutes. We scored the goals at the right time and were a bit lucky with the shot that hit the post, which led us to score our first goal right afterwards. I saw a team today that finished the game the way we should on the road. We didn’t concede anything else – or at least very little. So I’m very happy and proud of the boys that they rewarded themselves with this performance.”

Around The Grounds

Union Berlin and Hamburg played out a 0-0 draw, but the main story came from the stands. Union fans were protesting the pre-match deployment of the federal police against supporters of the Berlin club. HSV fans were also protesting the late kick-off on Sunday evening, having made the two-hour train journey to the capital. Banners expressed that the late kick-off should only be reserved for those competing in European competitions. Given the notorious Deutsche Bahn delays, the protests seem justified.

FC Heidenheim secured their first win of the season as they beat FC Augsburg 2-1. FCA drop to 16th as the pressure mounts on head coach Sandro Wagner. 

Elsewhere, there were wins for Bayer Leverkusen (1-2 vs St. Pauli), RB Leipzig (0-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg), and VfB Stuttgart (1-2 vs FC Köln). SC Freiburg and TSG Hoffenheim played out a 1-1 draw. 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

“It’s become something of a running gag in the locker room,” Eggestein – as quoted by Kicker’s Daniela Frahm – said on Friday. “We also hang out a lot in our free time. I [still] hope it doesn’t catch on as we have different types of player profiles. I try to hold the center more. Patrick tends to look for depth because he has a higher tempo than me. I try to be the anchor, the safety-first player.

“Both Patrick and I [still] decided that we wanted to be more dangerous in front of goal this season,” Eggestein continued. “And we’re naturally happy that we could implement that together straight away.“

“Well, they’re not identical,” head coach Julian Schuster added in the Kicker piece. “But one could at least be mistaken that they come from the same household. It’s positive that the two complement each other well in terms of their playing style and character, and that they have found each other over many games. The [Wednesday] finishes are precisely what we demand on the training pitch.“

“They are incredibly talented players who are very experienced and know exactly what they are doing,” Vicenzo Grifo – who assisted on both players’ goals on Wednesday – noted in the Kicker article. “You want midfielders like that. And if they are also dangerous in front of goal, then we must never let them be separated again.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

The energy gleaned from last weekend’s 0-3 away win over Werder Bremen carried over into Wednesday’s home UEL fixture. The midfield double-six tandem of Maximilian Eggestein and Patrick Osterhage performed especially well. Both players scored in the 2-1 victory over FC Basel. Off the scoresheet, the intangibles the duo brought to the game were almost immeasurable.

Time and again, Eggestein and Osterhage fired up the home crowd with robust midfield ball wins and courageous sprints forward. Osterhage – who also earned man-of-the-match honors – didn’t hesitate to put the hosts up 1-0 when a clearance landed at his feet in the 31st. Eggestein headed home what would prove the match-winner in the 56th.

Squad captain Christian Günter praised the duo specifically while speaking in the mixed zone last night. The 32-year-old eight-times-capped German international also spoke on the celebratory T-shirts donned by the Freiburg players as they faced the FanKurve last night.

Freiburg supporters printed up “Kein Weg zu weit” (“No journey too far“) tops for their slumping team over the September international break. Vincenzo Grifo received the shirts and distributed them to his teammates.

“Yeah, the twins!” Günter said to a chorus of chuckles when asked about Osterhage and Eggestein. “In all seriousness, I have to say that those two work incredibly hard for the team. They’ve absolutely earned it. Eggestein had plenty of chances last year [to score], but the ball just wouldn’t go in. That’s absolutely great that those two scored goals.”

“That’s what distinguishes us,” Günter said of the team’s new motto. “Working together as a team to go the extra mile for each other. The fans do that for us too. That’s something for us to latch onto because I think we’re very, very good as a team. Ultimately, you can learn from defeats, and that’s what we did. That saying sums up quite well why we’re playing in the Europa League this year.”

“We analyzed what we need to bring to the pitch,” Günter said of the team’s recent turnaround. “We worked on that as a team. We worked very hard on that during the international break and also the week after. It’s great that it’s producing results right away. Sometimes you have to go through some adversity first.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

After a difficult start to their 2025/26 campaign with successive defeats in the Bundesliga against Augsburg and Köln, Freiburg will come into this game full of confidence after wins against Stuttgart (3-1) and Werder Bremen (3-0) in their last two league games.

Speaking ahead of Freiburg’s clash against Basel, Schuster relished their opening Europa League game: “For me, it’s a derby. Just because of how close the two clubs are. For all the Swiss fans as well, it’s not a long journey. Everything points towards an exciting occasion and I’m really looking forward to it all.”

Schuster also commented on Freiburg’s improved form following their defeat against Köln prior to the international break, adding: “The international break came at the right time and we made sure to use it wisely and to work hard.”

SCF’s head coach also remained tight-lipped on how his side will line up, but stated that everyone is available: “It’s good that everyone is fit and well rested after the game in Bremen. The decision making process in a number of positions is more nuanced.”

One player that Basel will need to keep an eye on is Vincenzo Grifo. Freiburg’s attacking-midfielder was named in Get German Football News’ Team of the Week after scoring a goal and providing an assist against Werder Bremen at the weekend. The 32-year-old scored eight goals and created 11 in the Bundesliga last season, and has started the current campaign in strong fashion.

Noah Atubolu’s development has also been impressive. The German youth international replaced Mark Flekken as the club’s No. 1 goalkeeper in 2023 and after an excellent campaign last season, has already broken a Bundesliga record this season after saving five successive penalties. It’s only a matter of time before the 23-year-old is called up to the full German national team, and Julian Nagelsmann and his coaching staff will be sure to have a close eye on Freiburg’s stopper in European competition.

Xherdan Shaqiri: “We don’t have to hide”

Speaking to Kicker ahead of Basel’s cross-border clash with Freiburg, former Bayern Munich and Liverpool attacker discussed the Bundesliga club.

“If you grow up in the Basel region, you’ll naturally be familiar with Freiburg,” said Shaqiri. “In recent years, Freiburg has established itself in German football, and these days it can aim for more in the top division, which is a fantastic development.”

Unlike Schuster, Shaqiri believes it’s more of a friendly atmosphere between the two clubs. “I think we can call it a game between friends,” added the 33-year-old. “Basel and southern Germany are very closely connected, many Basel residents also go to Freiburg to watch games or even have season tickets for Freiburg. I’m definitely looking forward to the match.”

When asked about which team is bigger, Shaqiri remained neutral: “In my opinion, it will be a match on equal terms. Sure, Freiburg play in a much stronger league in the Bundesliga than the Super League, but we don’t have to hide.”

Basel lifted the Swiss Super League last season for the first time since 2017 but missed out on Champions League football after losing to Copenhagen, dropping them into the Europa League but they come into this game in relatively good form with four wins in six league games.

SC Freiburg vs FC Basel Predicted Line-Ups

Freiburg: Atubolu – Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart, Makengo – Eggestein, Osterhage – Beste, Manzambi, Grifo – Höler

Basel: Hitz – Tsunemoto, Barisic, Adjetey, Schmid – Metinho, Leroy – Salah, Shaqiri, Otele – Ajeti

GGFN | Daniel Pinder