In the 0-0 draw against Union Berlin, youngster Merlin Röhl also showed his current great value for SC Freiburg, but also where he still needs to improve. There is praise from the person next to you – and a warning.
Sometimes a little “wild”: Merlin Röhl. IMAGO/photo booth
What was striking against Union was how confident the SC professionals were on the ball in many phases against the opposing press. Starting with Noah Atubolu, who was very precise and willing to take risks in the build-up, Freiburg managed to play their way forward from the very back.
One man was often responsible for the decisive gain in space: Merlin Röhl. The U-21 national player, who was particularly impressive on the offensive as a ten or hanging leader towards the end of 2023, was required to play in the double six against the Berlin team because of Nicolas Höfler’s yellow card suspension. And boosted the offensive game again with his strong runs.
For example, before the biggest chance of the day, when Röhl passed to Roland Sallai on the left after a run through the center. After his cross in the second attempt, Vincezo Grifo’s header failed due to an outstanding reflex from Frederik Rönnow. One of six good opportunities that the SC professionals didn’t take advantage of and so negligently missed out on a win.
Röhl misses two chances
Röhl was involved twice. Shortly before the break it was difficult for him to overcome Rönnow, who was charging towards him, with his lob. In the 84th minute, however, much more was possible when Röhl shot centrally nine meters in front of the goal. Pressed by Robin Knoche, his shot flew straight into Rönnow’s arms. At the end of the day, Röhl also has room for improvement – as is naturally the case in almost all areas at this age.
Maximilian Eggestein speaks to one, against Union Röhl’s experienced partner on the double six. “With Merlin you have to be careful that you don’t take away his game. He thrives on the fact that he is, to put it positively, a bit wild. As the man next to you, you have to find a bit of a balance.”
Eggestein’s words of praise and warning
It is important to Eggestein to emphasize Röhl’s qualities in terms of dynamism with the ball and deep runs: “He brings a component that we don’t have any other way, that’s why we need him there, that’s why he should come into his own. He always succeeds with his starts actions again,” says the 27-year-old, but adds a specific warning: “Defensively and also offensively, he has to make sure that he doesn’t get too wild. It’s about the structure. Every now and then he’s on the left or right front, Others have to take his position, especially defensively. But overall he did well.”
Based on this final sentence, Röhl can continue to work on improving his game with confidence. There is no danger of standing out anyway for this intelligent young man, who embodies both self-confidence and modesty in a remarkably mature mixture.
Like Eggestein, Streich praises the eye-catching runs with “his long strides” and emphasizes that the coaching team works in detail with Röhl on the necessary positioning in relation to the ball, his teammates and opponents. “He’s learning to use his runs better and better because we also do a lot of video with him,” said the 58-year-old. We can look forward to the further development of this talented young professional.
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