SC Freiburg head coach Julian Schuster and the player himself have spoken on Vincenzo Grifo’s tying of Nils Petersen’s overall club goal-scoring record. Grifo also revealed that he received congratulations from former Bundestrainer Joachim Löw as well. Grifo opened up the scoring in the six-goal thriller against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, in the process drawing level with Petersen’s record of 105 SCF goals across all competitions.
Grifo has already bested Petersen’s Freiburg Bundesliga scoring record. Squad captain Christian Günter also commemorated his breaking of the Freiburg’s all time appearance record by purchasing 5,440 liters of free drinks for the Europa Park Stadion crowd. As if those two records weren’t enough, keeper Noah Atubolu set a Bundesliga record with five consecutive penalty saves this past September.
“We’re not talking about a small thing here,” Schuster answered in direct response to a question about Grifo at the post-match press conference. “Though there have been so many of these individual [record] stories this season. I’m naturally very happy about this development and his personal milestone.
“These are individual goals, but they do help raise the collective,” Schuster continued. “I find that important. This goal was emblematic of that. The team played the ball through well. He polished it up with two great touches. It’s a positive thing and we’re very proud.
“It’s also important that the topic is behind us,” Schuster concluded. “It’s also good for him that he has this weight off his shoulders and has extra motivation for the tasks ahead.“
“I’m very proud [of this accomplishment] since I’m a midfielder,” Grifo himself said in the mixed zone. “I also met Jogi Löw [who happens to be #3 on the Freiburg all-time scoring list behind Petersen and Grifo] at the Früstücksladen [restaurant] and he congratulated me. That was a pretty big deal for me.“
Possibly as soon as Thursday. Freiburg head into Europa League action against KRC Genk after bypassing the playoffs with an excellent 2025/26 UEL group phase. Grifo has already scored twice in the Europa League this season. Schuster made reference to the coming match in his opening statement at the press conference.
“We didn’t quite provide the icing on the cake today,” Schuster noted. “We didn’t get the fourth goal, but the result [a 3-3 draw] was fair. Kasper [Hjulmand] pointed out that sometimes precision fails. That’s perhaps a small disadvantage of having the privilege to play internationally.
“In any event, we’ve gained some confidence ahead of the challenges to come,” Schuster continued. “And for both you [Hjulmand’s Leverkusen] and us, it’s time to pull together and fight for Germany. I wish you guys [Leverkusen] all the best as well.“
