In October 2006 Freiburg were in the relegation places in the 2. Bundesliga. Opposition inside the club and in the city turned on the free thinker they really should have been building a monument to. Unheard-of abuse rained down from the stands.\n\nStocker had to act and made perhaps the hardest decision of his career: Finke would have to go at the end of the 2006/07 season.
Even after a brilliant second half with only two defeats, Freiburg finished only fourth and just missed promotion. Finke delivered a 30-minute farewell speech on the pitch after the final game against Koblenz.\n\nHe warned SC Freiburg that this location would do well to stick to its philosophy, because if it copied others, it would have no chance. Stocker listened from the touchline with tears in his eyes — and perhaps remembered that first conversation by the Havelse team bus on September 22, 1990.