1. FC Nuremberg

Football club infobox
clubname = Nuremberg |
| fullname = 1. FC Nürnberg | nickname = "Club" | founded = 4 May1900 | ground = Frankenstadion,
Nuremberg
capacity = 46,780
chairman = Michael A. Roth
coach = flagicon|Germany Michael Oenning
manager = flagicon|Germany Martin Bader
league = 2. Bundesliga
season = 2007/08
position = Bundesliga, 16th (Relegated)
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pattern_la2=_redshoulders|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=_blackshoulders
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF
pattern_la3=|pattern_b3=|pattern_ra3=
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1. FC Nuremberg ( _de. 1. FC Nürnberg) is a German football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria. It was founded on May 4, 1900 by a group of eighteen young men who had gathered at the local pub called the "Bürenhütte" to assemble a side committed to playing football rather than rugby, one of the other new "English" games becoming popular at the time. Today's club offers its members boxing, handball, hockey, rollerblading and ice skating, swimming, skiing, and tennis. They play in the 2nd Bundesliga after being relegated in 2008.

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History

Rise of "Der Club"

By 1909 the team was playing well enough to lay claim to the South German championship. After World War I, "Nürnberg" would gradually turn their success into dominance of the country's football. In the period from July 1918 to February 1922 the team would go unbeaten in 104 official matches. As early as 1919 they came to be referred to simply as "Der Club" in recognition of their skill and of their style on and off the field, and would go on to become one of the nation's most widely recognized and popular teams.

"Nürnberg" faced SpVgg Greuther Fürth in the first national championship held after the end of World War I and beat the defending champions 2:0. That would be the first of five titles "Der Club" would capture over the course of eight years. In each of those wins they would shutout their opponents.

The 1922 final was contested by Nürnberg and Hamburger SV but never reached a conclusion on the pitch. The match was called on account of darkness after three hours and ten minutes of play, drawn at 2:2. The re-match also went into extra time, and in an era that did not allow for substitutions, that game was called at 1:1 when "Nürnberg" was reduced to just seven players and the referee ruled they could not continue. Considerable wrangling ensued over the decision. The DFB (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) awarded the win to Hamburg, under the condition that they renounce the title in the name of "good sportsmanship" – which they grudgingly did. Ultimately, the Viktoria trophy was not officially presented that year for more or less sordid sports political reasoning.

After the Glory Years

"1. FCN"'s dominance was already being to fade when they captured their final trophy of the era in 1927 as the game began to evolve into a more quickly paced contest which did not suit their slower, more deliberate approach. While they continued to field strong sides, other clubs rose to the forefront of German football. In 1934, they lost in the final to "Schalke 04" a club that would go on to become the strongest side in the era of football under the Third Reich. "Nürnberg" would capture national titles just before and after World War II in 1936 and 1948 in the first post-war national final, and would also take the Tschammerpokal, the forerunner of today's German Cup, in 1935 and 1939.

Into the Modern Era

The post-war period began with the "Club" being integrated in the Oberliga Süd, one of the five top divisions in West-Germany at the time. Nürnberg managed to win this league six times until 1963, winning the national championship in 1948. In 1961, "1. FCN" captured their eighth national title and appeared in a losing effort in the following year's final. Some consolation was to be had in the team capturing its second German Cup in 1962. Their strong play made them an obvious choice to be amongst the sixteen teams selected to the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional football league, formed in 1963. "Der Club" played as a mid-table side through the league's early years until putting on a dominating performance in 1968 in which they sat atop the league table from the fifth week of play on to the end of the season on their way to their first Bundesliga title. They promptly went on to the ignominy of being relegated the next year as coach Max Merkel decided his veteran team was too old and so rid the club of its existing players in favour of a dozen newcomers.

It would take the club nine years to recover and return from an exile in the second tier, first the Regionalliga Süd , then the 2nd Bundesliga Süd, that included several failed efforts in the promotion rounds. "1. FCN" returned to the Bundesliga for a year in 1978, but played to a 17th place finish and were relgated again. They immediately played their way back to the top flight, but since then their Bundesliga peerformances have been stumbling ones, characterized by finishes well down the league table and occasional relegation for a season or two. Their best recent result was a fifth place finish in 1988.

The early 1980s also saw the rise of a longstanding and intense friendship between the fans of "Nürnberg" and those of former arch rival FC Schalke 04. Fans accompany each others on their respective away games, and the two season matches between the teams are generally a very laid-back and hospitable affair for all fans involved.

In the mid-90's "Nürnberg" had financial problems that led to their being penalized 6 points in the 1995-96 season while playing in the 2.Bundesliga. The club was relegated to the third division as a consequence. Improved management saw the club clawing back and return to the top flight eventually.

However, in 1999, "FCN" suffered what was arguably the worst meltdown in Bundesliga history. Going into the last game of the season, they were in 12th place, three points and five goals ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt who were sitting in 16th place and seemingly headed to relegation. "Nürnberg" was closing out the season with what looked to be an easy home game against "SC Freiburg" who were also facing relegation. "Frankfurt" was up against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, last season's champions who were in a fight for a UEFA Cup spot.

The stage was set for an improbable outcome. "Nürnberg" lost 1:2 with Frank Baumann missing a chance to score in the last minute. Every other "FCN" rival won, including "Frankfurt", who whipped "FCK" 5:1 with three late tallies - this put them ahead on goals scored and sent "FCN" crashing to 16th place and into a shock relegation. "FCN" was not relegated because they had fewer points than "Frankfurt", nor because of a lower goal differential, but on the third tie-breaker - fewer goals scored.

"1. FCN" rebounded and currently plays in the Bundesliga but still find themselves flirting with relegation from season to season. However, they have comfortably avoided relegation in the 2005-06 season finishing 8th in the Bundesliga. After several years of consolidation, Nürnberg seems back as a force to reckon with in "Bundesliga" football. Manager Martin Bader's professional and sometimes even spectacular work (the signing of former Ajax Amsterdam captain and Czech international Tomáš Galásek, for example, was greeted with enthusiasm), as well head coach Hans Meyer's tactically modern understanding of football, help "Nürnberg" to its most successful time in almost 40 years. In May 2007 the cut for the UEFA Cup was sure and after the triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB Pokal the "Club" was in the final of that tournament for the first time since 1982. On May 26 the "Club" won this final against VfB Stuttgart in overtime 3:2, winning the DFB Pokal again 45 years after the last victory. However, 2007-2008 season was disaster of her and relegated as 16th after losing 2-0 home match against FC Schalke 04 at final day.

Rivals

:See also:"Bavarian football derbys"The SpVgg Greuther Fürth is by far the "1. FCN's" biggest and longest standing local rival, going back to the early days of German football when, at times, those two clubs dominated the national championship. Both clubs will be playing together in the 2nd Bundesliga in 2008-09.

On Bavarian scale, the games against FC Bayern Munich are the biggest events of the year, the two clubs being the most successful sides in the state.

Reserve team

The "1. FC Nuremberg II" (or "1. FC Nuremberg Amateure") qualified for the Regionalliga Süd on the strength of a third place in the Oberliga Bayern (IV) in 2007-08. The team had been playing in the Oberliga since 1998, finishing runners-up three times in those years. When not playing in the Oberliga, the team used to belong to the Landesliga Bayern-Mitte.

Recent seasons

1. FC Nuremberg

The most famous coaches of the modern era would probably be

Outstanding coaches of the earlier years were Izidor "Dori" Kürschner (1921,22), Fred Spiksley (1913, 1920s), former player Alfred Schaffer (1930s), Dr. Karl Michalke (1930s), Alwin "Alv" Riemke (1940s-1950s) and former player Hans "Bumbes" Schmidt (1940s, 1950s), who notably did not win a single of his four German Championship titles as coach with Nürnberg, but three of them with the long standing main rivals FC Schalke 04. He was also four times champion as player, thereof three times with the "Club", and once with the earlier arch rival SpVgg Fürth.

Current squad

"For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2008."Fs player|no=5|nat=Germany|name=Andreas Wolf|pos=DF (c)

External links

* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/fcn.html The Abseits Guide to German Soccer]
* [http://www.fcn.de/ FC Nuremberg]