A lonely Christian Streich roams the lawn of the Berlin Olympic Stadium, his hands are buried in his pockets, he is looking down.
Behind him, his team is being celebrated and comforted right before the Freiburg curve, but the coach runs away from this scene, lost in thought.
SC Freiburg had lost the DFB Cup final against RB Leipzig in dramatic fashion on penalties just a few minutes earlier (2-4 on penalties). The dream of the first title in the club’s history was shattered. Brutally.
The supporters still celebrate their team. You know what this team has achieved. Just getting into the final in Berlin was a sensation for the down-to-earth football club from Breisgau.
Streich feels this unconditional love. He pauses again, turns as the fans get really loud again. What is going through his head at this moment?
He goes back to the fan wall again. When they realize this, electrifying cheers break out, followed by Christian Streich chanting. He applauds back, is on the verge of tears and moments later lies in the arms of his players.
Rarely is a loser so much the focus. Even the television direction focuses more on the Freiburg team than on the Leipzig victory party on the other side of the stadium.
Poignant scenes that should encourage the club. Streich also said that to his team after the game, as he later revealed on ARD: “I told her that she had played an incredibly great season. I congratulated them and said: Look there, the people. It’s amazing what has happened to SC Freiburg in the last 20 years.” The humility that has become a club, the perfect symbiosis of coaches, fans and players.
That’s another reason why every neutral spectator’s heart breaks when Streich walks past the trophy a little later at the award ceremony with the silver medal in his pocket. The whole stadium, including the people of Leipzig, pay him respect and recognition. But man, something died here in football.
A father from NRW lost his driver’s license. The reason is excessive speed. The special thing about the story: The 32-year-old drove his unconscious daughter to a clinic and was even escorted by the police.
At the DFB Cup final, a photographer collapses inside the stadium immediately before the award ceremony. The triumph of RB Leipzig over SC Freiburg moves into the background. Suddenly it’s quiet, then the fans cause goose bumps.
