UEFA annual coefficients
Freiburg’s 0-5 defeat means a setback for the fight for fifth place in the Champions League
Lost in England: Freiburg captain Christian Günter (r.) and his team experienced a debacle against West Ham United
© Kristy Wigglesworth / DPA
Next season there could be another starting place for the Bundesliga in the Champions League. However, the exit of SC Freiburg has a negative impact.
SC Freiburg’s exit from the Europa League also means a bitter setback for the Bundesliga’s prospects of gaining an additional starting place in the Bundesliga Champions League for the 2024/25 season. From next year there will be 36 instead of 32 participants in the premier class, two of the four new places will be awarded to the nations with the best performance in international competitions this season.
In the ranking of countries with the best Uefa annual coefficient for clubs for the 2023/24 season, Germany (16,357 points) is still in second place, which would bring a fifth starting place in the Champions League. However, pursuers England (16,250) have moved very close as the toughest competitor and still have a total of five clubs in the European competitions. Italy is in the lead with a clear lead (17.741).
After Freiburg’s exit: only three Bundesliga clubs remain internationally
Only three of the seven clubs that started in the Bundesliga are still represented. In the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund (2-0 against PSV Eindhoven) prevailed in the second leg of the round of 16 on Wednesday, and FC Bayern (3-0 against Lazio Rome) also made it into the round of the top eight the previous week. Freiburg was eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday with a clear 5-0 defeat against West Ham United, while Bayer Leverkusen (3-2 against Karabakh Agdam) managed to advance with a show of strength.
As things currently stand, RB Leipzig, fifth in the Bundesliga, would benefit from the additional Champions League place. This would increase the number of German European Cup starters to a total of eight next season.
A fifth Champions League participant would not be a novelty for Germany; this already happened in the 2022/23 season. At that time, Eintracht Frankfurt had secured an additional premier class ticket with the Europa League title.