Key Figures
Volker Finke reinvented SC Freiburg in its modern
Volker Finke reinvented SC Freiburg in its modern form.
form. Without the coach from Nienburg an der Weser, who came south in 1991 after disputes with the board at TSV Havelse and rejection by Hannover 96, the club’s history would almost certainly have been very different. With enormous diligence, people skills and a keen eye for talent, Finke — who even had his own beach chair in the Schwarzwaldstadion with assistant Achim Sarstedt — led the club to the Bundesliga in 1993. The peak came in 1995, when he took his team to third place and into Europe.
He repeated the UEFA Cup feat in 2001. He stayed in charge for 16 years, a record in German professional football, and oversaw 564 league and cup matches. At the 2014 World Cup he coached Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions.
Achim Stocker, born in 1935 and dead in
Achim Stocker, born in 1935 and dead in 2009, was the president who watched Teletext.
2009, was the president who watched Teletext. No one shaped the office in Freiburg more. A civil servant and tax director with a huge passion for football, he took over the top post in 1972 and once even mortgaged his own house to help the club out of financial trouble.
Stocker and the left-leaning football teacher Finke formed one of German football’s great unlikely success partnerships. Finke helped out in the office; Stocker was allowed to attend Sunday video analysis. As the years passed, however, the heart patient found trips to the stadium too exhausting and began following the matches at home on Teletext, where only the goals appeared.
He died on November 1, 2009, on a Bundesliga Saturday.
Joachim Löw, the world champion coach from Freiburg,
Joachim Löw, the world champion coach from Freiburg, is still the former player most frequently shown in the stands there.
is still the former player most frequently shown in the stands there. As a striker from Schönau in the Black Forest, he served SC in two spells and today is one of the club’s honorary captains. He scored 63 goals in 181 second-division matches, the most in club history at that level.
His best season as a player was 1983/84, with 17 goals in 31 games. The Bundesliga took notice, but a broken shin suffered while with Stuttgart prevented a great playing career. As a coach he had much more luck: after a sensational Bundesliga debut with Stuttgart’s magic triangle in 1996/97 and a DFB-Pokal win, and after up-and-down spells in Switzerland, Austria, Turkey and Karlsruhe, Jürgen Klinsmann brought him into the Germany set-up in 2004. The rest is history: World Cup bronze in 2006 and 2010, Euro runners-up in 2008, world champions in 2014, and World Coach of the Year in 2014. World careers can begin by the Dreisam too.
Christian Streich took the Freiburg cult to a
Christian Streich took the Freiburg cult to a new level.
new level. In the winter of 2011/12 the club were on the floor. For the first time in the club’s Bundesliga history a coach, Marcus Sorg, was dismissed.
Freiburg were bottom, five points from safety. The club turned to the right man: the long-time youth coach, who cycled to training and whose press conferences became internet hits. He is sometimes cranky, sometimes profound, nearly always pointed, and he delivered one cult line after another.
He dragged Freiburg out of the cellar and to 12th with 27 points in the second half of the season. One year later he led them to fifth place and the Europa League. Now the face of SC Freiburg was known far beyond Baden.
Jens Todt was Freiburg’s first Germany international. The
Jens Todt was Freiburg’s first Germany international.
quiet defensive all-rounder arrived from relegated Havelse with Volker Finke in 1991. On October 12, 1994, at the height of the club’s euphoria in 1994/95, Berti Vogts called him up against Hungary. He became the first German international in SC history, won three caps, and also managed a rare feat in DFB history: Vogts added him to the Euro 1996 squad as an injury replacement, so Todt became a European champion without playing.
SCF — Financial Stability Score
Freiburg ist das Anti-BVB: Kein Glamour, keine Mega-Transfers, kein CL-Anspruch — dafür die stabilste Bilanz der gesamten Liga. EK-Quote 80,3%, PK-Quote 38,8%, praktisch schuldenfrei. Das Streich/Schuster-Modell beweist: Man kann im Profifußball finanziell gesund wirtschaften. Die Kehrseite: Die sportliche Decke ist strukturell begrenzt. Freiburg wird nie Meister — aber auch nie in finanzielle Not geraten.
Key Figures — Update 2020–2026
Christian Streich: his farewell in the summer of 2024 was not only a Freiburg event, but a national one.
Christian Streich: his farewell in the summer of
Christian Streich: his farewell in the summer of 2024 was not only a Freiburg event, but a national one.
2024 was not only a Freiburg event, but a national one. Twelve years as head coach, the longest-serving coach in the Bundesliga, a catcher of people, philosopher, political commentator on the touchline. His farewell press conference went viral.
Players cried, journalists applauded, even opposing fans paid tribute. Streich not only lifted SC Freiburg to an unprecedented sporting level; he gave the club a posture.
Jochen Saier remained the calm hand in the
Jochen Saier remained the calm hand in the background as board member for sport.
background as board member for sport. Vincenzo Grifo developed into a free-kick specialist and Italy international. Matthias Ginter returned from Gladbach to Freiburg on a free transfer in 2022.