SC Freiburg were the surprise package last season. They impressed by finishing fifth in the Bundesliga and qualifying for the Europa League. The current campaign has not gone so well for Bayern's opponents on Saturday afternoon as they are just above the drop zone. That is “completely normal” according to Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. In an interview with club journal Bayern Magazin, the 23-year-old looks forward to the match at the Allianz Arena. fcbayern.de reports.
Oliver Baumann, Freiburg are one of two teams to nick a point off Bayern in the first half of the season. Do you think you can repeat that feat again on Saturday?
Oliver Baumann: Well, I think we need to avoid getting ahead of ourselves. We were at home then and the game went very well for us with the late equaliser as a reward. It will be much tougher to get a result at Bayern. But we'll certainly give it a go…
Do you have to take a different approach when you play Bayern Munich compared with the other teams in the Bundesliga?
There shouldn't be any difference in the way you play or in terms of commitment. We've got to produce our best performances in every game if we're to stay in the Bundesliga. We haven't talked about tactics yet. That's more a question for the coach.
Freiburg are in a relegation battle this season after finishing fifth last term. Which situation is more unusual for your club?
Competing at the top of the table is definitely an exception for us. It's completely normal for a club like Freiburg to always be fighting to stay up. And we'll have done a decent job if we succeed in avoiding the drop.
Your coach Christian Streich gets very animated during games and he likes to get up and down the touchline. Does a young and very inexperienced team need that?
That's nothing to do with the team. That's what he's like and he's always been the same. Christian Streich is a perfectionist who tries to put things right during games. He also showed that level of enthusiasm when he was U-19 coach at the Freiburg Academy.
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