Freiburg striker Igor Matanovic didn’t necessarily wish to strike a hard blow against his former club St. Pauli on Sunday evening. Matanovic’s brace actually ended up leading to an extremely frustrating loss for his hometown side, who are currently fighting relegation. The Hamburg native refrained from celebrating either goal in the 1-2 away Bundesliga victory.

Igor Matanovic’s St. Pauli journey 

Matanovic journey the Kiezkicker youth academy in 2010 when he was just seven-years-of-age. Like most German footballing academy products, he worked as a ball boy in the stadium on matchdays. The now seven-times-capped Croatian international broke through to the St. Pauli first team during the 2020/21 2. Bundesliga campaign. 

Eintracht Frankfurt took notice of Matonovic’s talent and scooped him up on a €1.8m transfer in the summer of 2021. In order to further his development, however, the RheinMainAdler deemed it prudent to loan him back to the Hamburg outfit on an extended two-year-loan. Matanovic still only scored three goals for St. Pauli in two seasons. 

Matanovic’s rise

Matanovic finally broke through in the 2. Bundesliga during a 2023/24 loan stint with Karlsruher SC. He showed some top flight potential with Dino Toppmöller’s SGE last year during the 2024/25 campaign, but still only scored two goals in 25 appearances across all competitions for Frankfurt.

Eintracht still remained convinced of his abilities and hedged their bets via a buyback clause upon his Freiburg sale. Now that Matanovic has kept up the strong scoring form he began to cultivate at the beginning of the calendar year, that clause might well be exercised.

Matanovic has raised his estimated market value by €3m up to €10m over the last three months. 

Matanovic’s words for his ex-club

“It was a special game for me,” Matanovic told DAZN after the match. “I really enjoyed being able to play here for 13 years. I was here in the stands as a little boy and worked as a ball boy. I absolutely loved being able to play here today. When I came out onto the field earlier, before it all even started, the fans gave me a really warm welcome. I really appreciate that

“I’m nevertheless wearing the Freiburg crest on my chest today and have to give everything for this club,” Matanovic continued. “That’s what I did today. We [Freiburg] accomplished a lot as a team. We wanted to carry on the momentum from Thursday and didn’t fully accomplish that. My [first goal] also had a lot to do with blind luck. I was lucky the ball bounced that way.“

Freiburg’s Julian Schuster praises Matanovic

“The lad came to us from Eintracht and decided specifically for us,” SCF head coach Julian Schuster added of the 22-year-old at the post match press conference. “It took some time for him to meet our requirements understood our demands in detail. He’s meet those perfectly now. He’s made great strides with his work against the ball in the last six months.

“His quality in the tight spaces with the ball and ability to keep the ball circulating [is also worth noting],” Schuster continued. “And let’s not forget the danger he brings in front of goal. He helps us out immensely with his instinct for scoring and that’s translating to goal scoring form now.“

Schuster also sympathetic to St. Pauli

“We’re pleased to have won against a team that has delivered good performances in recent weeks,” Schuster – who joined the post-match press conference late – also noted in his opening statement. “They have quality and we’re lucky to have comeback against them.

“I also said this last year and will say it again this year,” Schuster continued. “I hope that I’ll have the privilege of playing an away match here again next year. I just find this stadium, this club, these fans, and this team wonderful and great.

“I’m convinced that St. Pauli can do it [avoid relegation],” Schuster concluded. “Alex, I wish you and your team a great deal of strength and energy. I hope that, together, you can all manage to get it done and be a part of the Bundesliga next year.“