SC Freiburg vs Mainz preview - Streich bemoans importance of money

Posted Friday, April 17, 2015 by PA

Freiburg coach Christian Streich is not only concerned about his own side's future ahead of their clash with Mainz this weekend - he is also worried about the direction the whole game is taking.

The Baden-Wurttemberg side manage to get by on one of the smallest budgets in the German game, and they are on course for another season in the top flight with two points separating them from the bottom three.

They may not have much chance of competing with Germany's biggest clubs in future, however, with the game heading in a direction he does not particularly approve of.

Hoffenheim's promotion to the top flight in 2008 was just the beginning with Leipzig set to follow with the backing of a major investor, and Streich wonders whether the game really stands to benefit from the increased importance of money.

"It's about protecting the game from total commercialisation," he told Kicker magazine. "It's about ensuring that the money doesn't - figuratively speaking - get spread across the field of play, rendering the game that all the people love no longer recognisable.

"A club does not belong to one person, a club belongs to the people and the members who identify with it."

Freiburg, together with their next opponents Mainz, are two examples of how good planning and management can compete with wealth, especially since they are two of the poorest sides in the division, yet still have a seat at the top table of the German game.

That could still change this summer, though, with both sides packed within a group of nine, including heavyweights Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart and Hamburg, fighting to avoid relegation.

"In a relegation battle like this, there can be no such thing as favourites," said Mainz coach Martin Schmidt, whose side have just two points more than their hosts.

"It's more about the mentality. If we manage to keep our focus, then I think we'll stay up."

Gonzalo Jara could be in line for a return for Mainz, although Niko Bungert is not likely to be fit.