Freiburg Football Formation

Starting Lineup

BACKHAUS (Müller) · TREU (Kübler) · GINTER (Ogbus) · LIENHART (Rosenfelder/Jung) · GÜNTER (Makengo/Yilmaz) · EGGESTEIN (Yamamoto) · ENGELHARDT (Osterhage) · MATANOVIC (Goto) · BESTE (Irie) · GRIFO (Scherhant) · SUZUKI (Höler/Muslija)

Freiburg focuses on a compact defensive block and quick transitions using a 5-4-1. This lineup is built to sit deep and deny space in the middle, waiting for the right moment to hit in behind on the transition. The team aims to stay hard to beat by maintaining narrow lines, forcing the opposition to play wide before winning the ball back high up the pitch.

MATANOVIC guards the goal while the defense stays in a narrow defensive block. SUZUKI and ENGELHARDT act as the central pillars of the back three, where SUZUKI provides aerial strength and ENGELHARDT covers the space behind. EGGESTEIN plays as the left centre back to support the line. BESTE operates as an attacking wing back on the left to provide width, while GRIFO acts as the right wing back to help push the team forward. The back five works to squeeze the space between the lines and keep the defensive unit tight.

The midfield functions as a flat four designed to protect the center of the pitch. LIENHART and GINTER operate in the center, with GINTER acting as a shield to deny the pivot and LIENHART working to connect the defensive and attacking lines. On the flanks, GÜNTER and TREU provide width and work hard to track back when the team loses possession. This midfield unit seeks to win the second ball and immediately look to spread wide to start a counter attack.

Freiburg relies on a lone striker, BACKHAUS, to lead the line. As a pressing centre forward, BACKHAUS works to pin the last defender and disrupt the opposition build up. He must hold up the ball to allow the midfield to move up the pitch. When the team wins the ball, the wide players like BESTE and GRIFO look to overlap the winger to create crosses into the box. The attack is built on quick combinations and moving the ball through the thirds to find the feet of the striker.

One major strength of this formation is the compactness when defending, making it very difficult for opponents to play through the middle. Freiburg also benefits from the ability to create wide overloads when BESTE and GRIFO push high up the pitch. This allows the team to switch play quickly and isolate wide players in one on one situations during a break.

This 5-4-1 formation provides a sturdy defensive foundation that is perfect for absorbing pressure. It is best suited for games against dominant possession teams where Freiburg can exploit the space left behind the opposition defense.