Coach Christian Streich will not extend his expiring contract with SC Freiburg and will leave the Bundesliga club in the summer. The club announced this on Monday. After more than twelve years, an era ends for the people of Baden. A successor is still unknown.
“I thought about it for a long time. We talked for a long time,” said Streich, 58, who was previously the SC’s youth coach for many years, in a video message distributed by the club. “It’s always been very, very important to me that I didn’t want to miss the moment when I think it’s time to go.” “New energy” is now needed in the club and in the professional team. “This club is my life and I am extremely grateful for the great support and affection that I have always received.”
Streich took over the role as SC head coach during the winter break of the 2011/2012 season. At the end of the current season, he will step down as the second-longest-serving coach among the current Bundesliga coaches, with a term of almost twelve and a half years without interruption at a club. Only Frank Schmidt from 1. FC Heidenheim will be in office for a few more years, but is only playing his debut season in the Bundesliga with FCH.
Streich led the down-to-earth Freiburg team to the round of 16 of the Europa League twice and to the final of the DFB Cup two years ago, but was also relegated once with them in 2015. However, the club stuck with him at the time and was immediately promoted again.
Pranks also enjoy great popularity beyond sports. He has also taken a clear stance on political and social issues in recent years. In mid-January, he called on the Germans to take a “very clear stance” against right-wing extremism. “If you don’t stand up now, you haven’t understood anything. (….) It’s five minutes to twelve. (….) Everyone in this country is called upon to stand up and, in their family circle, at work or elsewhere, to position ourselves very clearly,” said the South Baden native at the time.
With Streich, the league is losing one of the few guys left. It wasn’t just his dialect and his often very emotional nature that made him stand out on the sidelines. Many fans saw him as a kind of clear conscience for the increasingly commercialized football industry.
Long-time youth coach Streich only extended his contract with SC by one year in recent seasons. That was also a rather unusual procedure. There will now be no continuation in Freiburg. Instead, the club has to start looking for a successor. He will have big shoes to fill.
