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Football Bundesliga 20th matchday\ SC Freiburg - 1899 Hoffenheim on February 8th, 2014 in the Mage Solar Stadium in Freiburg.
© Patrick Seeger/dpa
It'll be over in two months.
Christian Streich announces the end of his era at SC.
The people of Baden are losing their biggest identification figure - and want to present their successor as soon as possible.
Freiburg - Christian Streich smiled somewhat painedly into the camera.
It was anything but easy for him to convey this message.
“It was with a very heavy heart” that he announced that he would no longer be extending his contract as head coach of SC Freiburg and would be leaving the Bundesliga club in the summer.
It had become apparent: an era is ending in Freiburg.
The club is losing its greatest identification figure and the league is losing one of its defining figures.
The sports club said a successor should be announced “promptly”.
According to Sky broadcaster, it could be Freiburg's ex-captain Julian Schuster.
He would have huge shoes to fill.
The good conscience of professional football
“This club is my life,” said Streich, expressing what he has always embodied with every fiber of his being at the sports club for almost 29 years.
The son of a butcher, who completed an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk and later studied German, sports and history to become a teacher, is down-to-earth, emotional and authentic.
It's not just some South Baden residents who would probably say: one of us.
Streich's interviews and press conferences are sometimes as legendary as his emotional outbursts on the sidelines.
For many fans, he also represents a kind of clear conscience in the increasingly commercialized football industry.
Because he often takes a clear stand on political and social issues, Streich enjoys great popularity beyond sports.
He was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg and the Julius Hirsch Award of Honor from the German Football Association (DFB), which honors people who actively fight against discrimination and promote understanding.
Time for new energy in the club
"I gave it a lot of thought.
We talked for a long time,” said the 58-year-old, commenting on the approaching farewell.
The fact that he announced it via a video distributed by the club may also have been for self-protection.
In another context he might have shed a tear.
He is grateful for the many experiences he had with the SC.
Not just in the more than twelve years that he has been head coach of the professionals.
Before that, he was a youth coach for Baden for many years - and one of the central figures in their strong youth work.
“It was always very, very important to me that I didn’t want to miss the moment when I think it’s time to go,” Streich said.
He is “extraordinarily grateful for the great support and affection that I have always received.” But “new energy” is now needed in the club and in the professional team.
Players hoped for a contract extension
“We have been in an intensive, very trusting and emotional exchange of ideas with Christian over the past few weeks - at the end of which there is a decision that we regret, but can fully respect and understand,” said SC sports director Jochen Saier.
The time to finally pay tribute to Streich has not yet come.
The “journey together” is not quite over yet
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Streich had blocked all questions about his future around the home game against Bayer Leverkusen (2:3) on Sunday.
The players also expressed reservations.
Captain Christian Günter, like midfielder Nicolas Höfler, one of Streich's long-time companions at SC, had at least a little "hope that he would continue." Streich was, after all, an "outstanding coach," said the defender.
Two Europa League round of 16 and one cup final
But ultimately it was no longer a big surprise that Streich was now drawing the line.
Working as a head coach and in public took a lot of energy out of him - perhaps especially so in the current season, when Freiburg is struggling with a lot of injury concerns.
The fact that the down-to-earth people of Baden have become increasingly closer to the national elite in recent years is also thanks to Streich.
He took over the SC professionals during the winter break of the 2011/2012 season.
Of the current Bundesliga coaches, only Frank Schmidt from 1. FC Heidenheim has been in office at his club for longer without a break.
Streich led the SC 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.
Schuster acted as successor
Eight Bundesliga games remain, then a new era begins in Freiburg.
Streich will try to lead the ninth-placed team into the European Cup again.
Former SC captain Schuster, currently a liaison between professionals and young talent, is considered a possible successor candidate.
Perhaps Thomas Stamm, currently coach of the Freiburg third division team, will also be promoted.
The gap that needs to be closed is huge.
According to Volker Finke, who coached SC from 1991 to 2007, that was already the case.
Many people also asked themselves whether such a long-term successful model would ever exist again.
A few years later, the Streich era began.
dpa