The premier dynamo of German football, 1.FC Nürnberg possessed the record amount of titles in Germany until a small club from Bavaria overtook them in 1987. Der Club's early success earned them the pleasure of being one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963. Following a relatively nutritious spell in the late 1980s, Die Legende’s flitted between the top stages of German football but have only recently re-established themselves as a Bundesliga force.
Conversely, this campaign has proved tough for Der Club and has already changed their manager. Michael Wiesinger was relieved of his duties by chairman Martin Bader who told the club’s official website, “It was a difficult decision, but it was the right thing to do in the interest of the club”. However, since this decision, Dutchman Gertjan Verbeek has been in charge but they have still not recorded a Bundesliga victory all season. This is now beginning to become a bad habit as far as 1.FC Nürnberg is concerned and it is almost a known fact that they do not want to go into the Christmas break without a win to their name.
Nevertheless, in yesterday’s game against Hannover 96 it appeared that 1.FC Nürnberg would confirm their first victory of the season. This was due to them being 3-0 ahead before half time with goals coming from Adam Hlousek, Josip Drmic and Per Nilsson. 1.FC Nürnberg were simply controlling the game at the HDI Arena. This being said 1.FC Nürnberg conceded a goal on the hour to Leonardo Bittencourt after a superb solo run and set up by Szabolcs Huszti. The match went on and it materialised that 1.Nürnberg would see out the battle as Mame Diouf slotted home, yet the Senegalese striker was standing a yard offside but the linesman never waved his flag.
1.FC Nürnberg’s nerves were evident at this stage as they became very shaky at the back and with them being so close to their first victory of the season, it was understandable. This unsteadiness was there for all to witness as Hannover 96 had a costless kick around thirty yards out and as the ball was played in Der Club just never dealt with the threat. It has to be said that Mame Diouf got lucky as Raphael Schäfer saved his first shot but the ball fell back to his path and Diouf never failed with a second bite of the cherry. The game ended 3-3, which will be a huge blow to 1.FC Nürnberg and their confidence.
Der Ruhmreiche goalkeeper Raphael Schäfer told the official club website his frustration, “The referee decided the game. I can’t find the words. You just can’t make a mistake like that. The referee’s poor decision brought Hannover back into the game”. This is obviously understandable due to 1.FC Nürnberg performing superbly in the first half and chairman Martin Bader also voiced his irritation, “We led 3-0 at the break and did everything you need to do in an away game. We don’t need to discuss the offside decision for Hannover’s second goal. If you can’t see that, then I’m sorry. You get the feeling that that decision has denied a team of its reward. I simply can’t understand it. You can’t blame the team at all. Anything other than a win is unjust”.
1.FC Nürnberg currently sits in seventeenth place with ten points after ten draws and six defeats. They have conceded thirty-three and only scored seventeen goals all season in the Bundesliga, which is an obvious problem. They have FC Schalke 04 next at home, which is the last game before the Christmas break and 1.FC Nürnberg will indubitably want a win, which will certainly be on all of the Nürnberg’s fans Christmas list.