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)

Freiburg prioritizes a defensive block and quick transitions, utilizing a 5-4-1 formation. This lineup is built to sit deep and remain compact, inviting the opposition forward before hitting them on the break. The primary goal is to deny space between the lines and force the opponent to play wide where they can be contained.

MATANOVIC stays between the posts to command the area. The defensive unit works as a back five, featuring SUZUKI, EGGESTEIN, and ENGELHARDT as the central trio. SUZUKI acts as the anchor in the middle while EGGESTEIN and ENGELHARDT cover the spaces to the sides. BESTE operates as a left wing back to provide width, while GRIFO plays as a right wing back to help the defense and push higher when needed. This unit maintains a narrow defensive block to prevent central penetration.

In front of the back five, a flat midfield four manages the central zones. LIENHART and GINTER form the central pairing, with GINTER acting to shield the defense and LIENHART looking to connect the lines. On the flanks, GÜNTER and TREU work to track back and support the wing backs. This midfield group aims to compress the midfield space and win the second ball to initiate play. They must stay close together to ensure the opposition cannot play through the middle.

The attacking phase relies on a lone striker, BACKHAUS, who acts as a target man to hold up the ball. Because the team plays with narrowness in the middle, the width comes from BESTE and GRIFO pushing up the flanks. BACKHAUS must press the opposition back line to force errors or long balls. The team looks to move the ball quickly from the midfield to the striker or the wide players to catch the opposition out of position during transitions.

Freiburg gains a major advantage from their defensive compactness and the ability to force wide. By sitting deep, they make it very difficult for opponents to find gaps in the center. The formation also allows for quick wide overloads when BESTE and GRIFO step up to support the midfield. This creates space for the wingers and the striker to exploit during a counter attack.

This formation is built for defensive solidity and reacting to the game through direct play. It is best suited for facing teams that dominate possession and leave space behind their high line.