FC St. Pauli

Should Carlo Boukhalfa feature in Saturday's home game against SC Freiburg (15.30 CET), it would be his 50^th senior appearance for the Boys in Brown, yet still not quite as many as he has made in the colours of our forthcoming opponents. The versatile midfielder moved to the Freiburg Football School from PTSV Jahn Freiburg at the age of 13 and rose through the youth ranks to make his first appearance for SC Freiburg's second string in July 2018. Another 53 were to follow, plus one outing in the first team, before he joined Jahn Regensburg in the summer of 2021.

After a successful campaign with Regensburg in which he scored four times in 33 second-division appearances, Boukhalfa switched to the Millerntor in 2022 and is now in his third year with the Boys in Brown. Yet the Freiburg native still has fond memories of his time at his hometown club. "I was so nervous when I went for my trial, but it went very well after that. The work they do with young players is very professional and I enjoyed a good footballing education there," said Boukhalfa.

Carlo Boukhalfa (centre) in the colours of Jahn Regensburg in the 2021/22 season.

His winning goal for Freiburg's Under-19s against Kaiserslautern in the 2018 DFB Cup final is one occasion that sticks in his memory. "There were many nice moments, but that game was obviously a highlight. The whole family there, which was so cool," he said looking back.

Boukhalfa his faces his former club for the second time on Saturday and that means a reunion with some familiar faces, including Noah Atubolu, Kiliann Sildillia, Christian Günter, Nicolas Höfler and Vincenzo Grifo. Under-21 Germany keeper Atubolu is one player he's still in touch with. "Atu is Freiburg lad like me and we've known each other since we were 14 or 15. I see him quite often when I go back home."

Freiburg head coach Julian Schuster is no stranger either. After hanging up his boots, Schuster initially coordinated the club's talent development work and thus had a hand in Boukhalfa's growth as a player. "Julian began as interim youth coach when I was between the first and second teams," said Boukhalfa of his former mentor. "He did video analyses with me and pushed me all the time. You could tell he had the passion to coach at senior level, so I'm delighted it's gone so well for him so far."

The German-Algerian was known for his versatility even back then. "The ability to play in different positions is a strength of mine," the utility player said. Against Leipzig last weekend he started on the right wing. "I feel most comfortable in central midfield, but the most important thing for me is to be out there on the pitch. I like having a go in new positions. It's always a challenge and one I'm happy to take on."

The Boys in Brown celebrated their first win of the season when they beat Freiburg 3-0 in the reverse fixture.

It remains to be seen whether he'll be handed another more attacking role on Saturday. The Boys in Brown got the better of Freiburg in the reverse fixture, which he started in central midfield, and that's the aim again at the Millerntor. Boukhalfa is expecting a tough game against his former club: "Freiburg won't be underestimating us, that's for sure, and will go flat out. They'll no doubt be looking to make amends for the reverse fixture, so we have to prepare for that and do our best to hold our own."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters