Christian Streich listened spellbound and didn’t understand a single word. He’d just given an incendiary two-minute speech, now he leaned back in his chair and looked at the man sitting next to him on the dais, trying his best to match his tone. But how is that supposed to work: to translate in such a way that it does justice to Streich and his outrage, and in a language like Italian, in which you first have to be able to convey a sentence like “And then it’s fairness”?
So Streich’s neighbor raised his voice and was suddenly very upset. He suddenly got into trouble and sounded extremely decisive, it was no longer a question of whether SC Freiburg had played football or how it felt for the reserve players to have to sprint across the pitch in the empty stadium after the 90 minutes – it was now about unsportsmanlike behavior.
After the 0-1 draw in Turin, Freiburg also lost the round of 16 second leg against Juventus. They retired from the Europa League with a 2-0 loss at home, but that wasn’t what angered Streich afterwards. “I don’t want to talk about goal kicks or throw-ins now, because you can have them replayed,” began Freiburg’s coach and started a lawsuit against the time game, which had neither a point nor a comma and presented the interpreter with a great challenge. “It’s a complete mystery to me. Everything is sanctioned, everything – and that’s not sanctioned,” said Streich, who likes to argue after defeats that hurt: “A Juve player always takes the ball with him, stands in front of it or plays away. The team that is fouled is at a disadvantage. And what is it? A yellow card. And what does it get us? Nothing.”
There were quite astonishing scenes that had happened before: ten Freiburgers, who presented Juve with tasks again and again after the 0: 1 including the yellow-red card for Manuel Gulde (44th minute) – and eleven Turiners who had to resort to means that outsiders would otherwise resort to. The Italians defended in their own penalty area, jumped into every tackle and tried vehemently to break Freiburg’s rhythm. Also due to game delays.
Juventus have great trouble against these committed Freiburg
In the first half, Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny touched the ball almost as often with his chest as with his hands, letting it drain and then waiting for a Freiburg rush. And Dusan Vlahovic, who made it 1-0 with a penalty just before half-time, was just one of several Turiners who did what Streich prompted to say. “Why isn’t it done like in handball?” asked Streich, “whoever picks up the ball after committing a foul gets yellow. That’s exactly three weeks. After three weeks nobody does it anymore. And who benefits from it? Football.”
Prank, 57, raced. But when he heard the dedication with which the interpreter translated his speech into Italian, his displeasure vanished, at least for a moment. “For this translation,” said Streich, “I’ll give you a SC Freiburg jersey later.” The room cheered and applauded, then Streich turned his attention back to the analysis.
The belief with which his team continued to play forward in the second half, despite the controversial key scene just before the break – with video evidence of a penalty and dismissal in one – and a then almost hopeless situation. The passion she had opposed to Juve’s superiority. And the sincerity with which she played her game until the fifth minute of injury time and Federico Chiesa’s 2-0: all of that left an impression. “You always had the feeling that something incredible could happen if we scored a goal. I think even Juve had a bit of a doubt,” Streich said.
In fact, it only became clear in a few scenes who his team was dealing with: Adrien Rabiot, as he marched through midfield in seven-league boots in the first half and Nicolas Höfler, as if the Freiburg player was not good on foot. Vlahovic how he puts his body in the spotlight in duels and defends the ball. Or Moise Kean, how he pulls away from the Freiburg penalty area and frightens the spectators for a moment.
So now Freiburg’s trip to Europe is over, the sports club is returning to its everyday life, and Streich is already aware of how demanding that will be. Mastering a gray Bundesliga game in Mainz just three days after a glittering European Cup evening against Juventus will be a challenge. Streich knows this only too well, and that’s why a few words were enough for him to get to the point. “If we survive in Mainz on Sunday,” said the Freiburg coach, “then we’re a team you have to say: Leaky mio!”
Streich only said this sentence after the press conference. The interpreter no longer had to translate it.