Maximilian Eggestein explains what makes 'the perfect Freiburg player'

SC Freiburg midfielder Maximilian Eggestein has spoken at length on his role within Julian Schuster's side, the importance of sacrificing individual ambitions for the collective and his plans to remain in football after his playing career comes to an end. The 29-year-old covered a wide range of subjects in an extensive Kicker interview that appeared in the magazine's Monday print edition.

Germany's latest squad, Johan Manzambi's departure, Freiburg's evolving style of play and even Eggestein's relative lack of pace all came up. The national-team discussion proved particularly interesting given Freiburg's recent success.

Philipp Treu, Max Rosenfelder, Yannik Engelhardt and Derry Scherhant all received their first senior Germany call-ups as part of Jürgen Klopp's 44-man squad. Eggestein - despite remaining one of Freiburg's most indispensable outfield players - wasn't especially bothered about missing out.

"The disappointment isn't really that great," Eggestein explained. "It's relatively clear which direction Klopp wants to go in and it's completely understandable.

That's why I've said repeatedly over the last few years that the subject never really occupied me." Eggestein never earned a senior cap despite twice sitting on Joachim Löw's bench in 2019. His younger Freiburg teammates are now taking a different route.

Scherhant's journey from struggling for minutes in Berlin to starting consecutive senior internationals provides perhaps the most striking example. Eggestein, meanwhile, remains considerably more interested in what is happening in Breisgau.

Perhaps most interestingly, he offered something approaching a definition of what it means to be a Freiburg player. Sporting director Jochen Saier recently described the former Werder Bremen midfielder as a "perfect Freiburg player." Eggestein - now in his fifth season in Breisgau - appears to understand precisely what Saier meant.

Maximilian Eggestein on what makes the 'perfect Freiburg player' "A player should make us better," Eggestein explained. "He should bring sporting qualities that we either don't yet have or that have just left the club."