“Welcome home” was the bold headline on the front page of the new stadium magazine.
In addition, there was a panorama picture of the brand new stadium of the Freiburg Sports Club, which the players of the fourth place in the Bundesliga, according to the instructions of their coach Christian Streich, are now to "fill with life".
From an atmospheric point of view, the arena, which was raised for 75 million euros in the north of the city, was even as full as a tethered balloon on Saturday. The 20,000 spectators passionate to the limit, the players from Freiburg and RB Leipzig thirsty for action and wildly determined, the coaches Streich and Jesse Marsch hyperactive to aggressive in their body language - and the Berlin referee Daniel Siebert, who was the Freiburgers on this heated day Housewarming party seemed like a spoilsport after all those eventful years in the Dreisamstadion.
In the end, after Forsberg's 1: 1 goal with a penalty kick (32nd minute) and Jeong's header to compensate for the sports club (64th), everyone involved was emotionally exhausted on this early autumn afternoon, which was full of excitement and bright whistles impartial and respectful silence after the announcer announced a medical emergency that required resuscitation of a fan.
Warnings for prank and march
The players and football teachers were so absorbed in this dogged argument between the still undefeated season climber from the southern Baden region and the table, which for the first time seemed a bit aimless after years of unrestrained growth, that they didn't really notice this terrible news. As is customary in football, people were happy with each other and angry at each other - and on Saturday they didn't really notice the nuances of what was going on around them. The fact that both coaches, both Streich and Marsch, the American in Leipzig, were cautioned by Siebert because of their constant grumbling and complaining in the first half, fitted in with this sometimes almost neurotic premiere in a new stronghold of atmosphere that provides an excellent resonance space for the passion that football knows how to wake up its partisans.
Because everyone who was involved wanted to do it particularly well, the overture offered plenty of material for pure enthusiasm as well as for quarrel and annoyance. In the end, Freiburg were satisfied that they were still undefeated and were able to defend fourth place; Leipzig, on the other hand, struggled with their weaker second half three days before the difficult Champions League game at Paris St. Germain. "We make simple mistakes at the back and aren't consistent enough at the front," complained Marsch, "we have to learn to play better."
His colleague Streich, who exaggerated his loud complaints about Siebert's unbalanced game management before the break, asked the FIFA referee for forgiveness after the game. “I apologized because I was too wild. It was too much. ”Looking at the key moments Siebert assessed differently, Streich remained adamant about the matter. Lienhart's gentle kick on the edge of the box against Leipzig's Nkunku, who sank theatrically and under a bloodcurdling scream, led to the penalty. Simakan's grip on the arm and kick against the calf of the Freiburg center forward Höler, however, did not (49.). Not just an absurdity for prank, because: "If you whistle the first one - and I think you mustn't whistle the first one - then you have to whistle the second."
In the aftermath, Streich allowed himself a hidden sottise opposite the nimble Frenchman Nkunku, who is familiar with gravity and who is known to be “fast and agile.
We had a situation like this before in Leipzig.
For me, touching is not a foul. “Well!
Marsch returned the favor in the supporting role of the lawn expert in Freiburg.
“The place wasn't ideal, it was a bit soft.” So be it.
The new Freiburg football festival stage had passed its first practical test with distinction and was something like the winner of the day.
And so Streich enthused when looking at the near future: "If I imagine that another 15,000 spectators can come in the foreseeable future, it will certainly be brutally loud." That was already unmistakable on Saturday.