For much of the season, relegation beckoned for Freiburg. Having soared into the Europa League last year, an exodus of key players in the off-season followed. As a result, the current campaign was always set to be a challenge.

Max Kruse took his goals to Gladbach, Cedrick Makiadi headed for Werder, Daniel Caligiuri joined Wolfsburg, while Johannes Flum and Jan Rosenthal joined Frankfurt. Youth talents combined with key signings Admir Mehmedi and Vladimir Darida were charged with filling gaps all over the pitch.

Competing on three fronts was too much for this new-look team in the early stages of the season. Freiburg fought valiantly in the Europa League, but suffered closer to home. A German Cup run to the round of 16, ending against Bayer Leverkusen, only served to add to the congested fixture list.

Yet Freiburg never stopped playing their attractive brand of attacking football - sometimes displaying some suicidal tendencies in their own half to stick to their style - and it ultimately paid off. The club was among the most in-form clubs in the entire league in the latter phases of the season.

Key player

Goalies tend to grab the headlines when things go wrong, and Oliver Baumann was no exception this season. His hat trick of howlers at home to Hamburg, when Baumann almost single-handedly gifted three goals and three points to his guests, is difficult to overlook.

Still, Baumann bounced right back in the next game, a 3-0 win against Nuremberg, with arguably his best performance of the season. All the more impressive considering that he was deputizing as captain for the injured Julian Schuster at the time.

Baumann will be missed when he heads to Hoffenheim in the off-season, but Freiburg have already brought in Swiss star Roman Bürki to try to fill the void.

Right-winger Jonathan Schmid almost beat his teammate and keeper to the award - a top Freiburg performer of the last two seasons, and one Streich would surely like to keep on his books.

Surprise star

Admir Mehmedi was always expected to provide some of the attacking spark that left along with Kruse, Caligiuri and Rosenthal. Like Freiburg, the loanee struggled at first. The first indication that he'd really found his Bundesliga feet came in the last game before the winter break, when he scored both against Hannover in a 2-1 win.

Nine of Mehmedi's 12 Bundesliga goals came in that game in December, or in the remainder of Freiburg's campaign.

Coach

Having won coach of the year in 2013 for taking Freiburg into the Europa League, Christian Streich handled the implosion adequately this time around.

At the season's darkest moments, Streich sometimes spoke of stepping down, suggesting that his animated touchline manner might not be helping his side, especially in disputes with match officials. Form quickly dispels such talk though. Streich steadied Freiburg's ship and seems as clear a choice as any in the league to continue in the dugout.

Defining moment

Not a single moment, but this has to be the run that saved Freiburg's season.

After match-day 24, when Freiburg lost 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund at home, the club sat second-last in the league with 19 points.

Streich's crew bounced right back with a win in Frankfurt, before picking up another three points at home against Werder Bremen. There followed a draw with Hamburg, the most heated of wins over relegation rivals Nuremberg, a defeat in Stuttgart and then another surprise win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. After 19 points in 24 games, Streich's side added 16 in just seven to secure safety.

By the time they drew 2-2 with Wolfsburg their survival was already certain, but this result was another reminder of how far the side had progressed, even under threat of relegation.

What's next?

Never an easy question to answer with Freiburg, but there will almost certainly be some key departures. Young German international Matthias Ginter is considered very likely to leave in the off-season, but perhaps return in a loan-back deal. Oliver Baumann's already gone, but Streich can still hope for a slightly shorter list of absentees when Freiburg reconvene for pre-season training this summer.

Grade: C

Fourteenth in the league with 36 points cannot warrant a B, despite all the adversity Freiburg overcame.

The question now is whether they'll be starting from scratch once again in September. We won't know for sure until transfer deadline day at the end of August.