1. FC Nürnberg facts for kids
 |
||||
| Full name | 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Der Club (The Club) Die Legende (The Legend) Der Ruhmreiche (The Glorious) Der Altmeister (The Old Master) |
|||
| Short name | 1. FCN, FCN | |||
| Founded | 4 May 1900 | |||
| Ground | Max-Morlock-Stadion | |||
| Capacity | 50,000 | |||
| Board member | Joti Chatzialexiou (sport) Niels Rossow (commercial) |
|||
| Head coach | Miroslav Klose | |||
| League | 2. Bundesliga | |||
| 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga, 11th of 18 | |||
|
||||
1. FC Nürnberg (full name: 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V.) is a famous German sports club from Nuremberg, Bavaria. It's best known for its men's football team. Currently, they play in the 2. Bundesliga, which is Germany's second-highest football league.
The club was started in 1900. They quickly became successful, winning their first German championship in 1920. Before the top league, the Bundesliga, began in 1963, 1. FC Nürnberg won many regional titles and seven more German championships. They have won the Bundesliga once and the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) four times.
Since 1963, the team has played their home games at the Max-Morlock-Stadion in Nuremberg. Besides football, the club also has sections for other sports like boxing, handball, hockey, swimming, skiing, and tennis.
1. FC Nürnberg holds a record for being promoted from the second division to the Bundesliga eight times. They also hold the record for being relegated (moved down) from the top league nine times.
Contents
Club History: How "Der Club" Grew
1. FC Nürnberg was founded on May 4, 1900. Eighteen young men met at a local pub because they wanted to play football, not rugby, which was also becoming popular. By 1909, the team was playing very well.
After World War I, Nürnberg became one of the strongest football teams in Germany. From July 1918 to February 1922, they played 104 official matches without losing! Because of their skill and style, people started calling them simply "Der Club" (The Club). They became one of the most recognized teams in the country.
In 1920, Nürnberg won their first national championship by beating the defending champions, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, 2–0. This was the first of five titles they would win in eight years, and they didn't let their opponents score in any of those final wins.
The 1922 final against Hamburger SV was very unusual. The first match was stopped because it got too dark, with the score tied 2–2. The re-match also went into extra time. Nürnberg ended up with only seven players on the field because of injuries. The referee stopped the game, and the German Football Association (DFB) offered the win to Hamburger SV. However, Hamburger SV gave up the title for "good sportsmanship." So, no team was officially named champion that year.
After the Golden Age
Nürnberg's amazing winning streak started to slow down after 1927. Football was changing, becoming faster, which didn't suit their slower style of play. Even though they still had good teams, other clubs started to become more dominant. In 1934, they lost in the final to Schalke 04, which became the top team during the Nazi Germany era.
Nürnberg did win national titles right before and after World War II (in 1936 and 1948). They also won the Tschammerpokal, which was the old name for today's DFB-Pokal, in 1935 and 1939.
Entering the Modern Football Era
After World War II, the club joined the Oberliga Süd, one of the top leagues in West Germany. Nürnberg won this league six times before 1963 and became national champions again in 1948. In 1961, they won their eighth national title. They also won their second DFB-Pokal in 1962.
Because of their strong performance, 1. FC Nürnberg was chosen to be one of the 16 teams in the new professional league, the Bundesliga, which started in 1963. Der Club played well and, in 1968, they had a fantastic season, winning their first Bundesliga title. However, the very next season, they became the first reigning champions to be relegated from the Bundesliga. This happened because their coach, Max Merkel, replaced many of the older, championship-winning players with new ones, thinking the veterans were too old.
It took the club nine years to get back to the Bundesliga. They were relegated again in 1978 but quickly returned. Since then, their time in the Bundesliga has been a bit up and down, with some good seasons and some relegations. Their best finish recently was fifth place in 1988.
In the early 1980s, a strong friendship grew between the fans of Nürnberg and their former rivals, Schalke 04. Fans often travel to each other's away games, and matches between the two teams are usually very friendly.
In the mid-1990s, Nürnberg faced financial problems. Their club treasurer was even found guilty of fraud. This led to them losing six points in the 1995–96 season, which caused them to be relegated to the third division. With better management, the club slowly worked its way back to the top league.
However, in 1999, 1. FCN had a very tough moment in Bundesliga history. Going into the last game of the season, they seemed safe from relegation. But they lost their match 1–2, and other teams they were competing with won their games by big scores. This meant Nürnberg dropped to 16th place and was surprisingly relegated. They were relegated not because they had fewer points or a worse goal difference, but because they scored fewer goals than another team.
After this, 1. FCN went back and forth between the Bundesliga and the second division. In the 2005–06 season, they finished eighth, avoiding relegation easily. In May 2007, they qualified for the UEFA Cup and reached the final of the DFB-Pokal for the first time since 1982. On May 26, they won the DFB-Pokal by beating VfB Stuttgart 3–2 in extra time, winning the cup 45 years after their last victory.
In the 2007–08 season, the team struggled in the Bundesliga. Even though they did well in the UEFA Cup, their coach was replaced. The team was relegated again after finishing 16th. After another coaching change, Nürnberg finished third in the 2. Bundesliga and won a playoff to return to the Bundesliga. But they were relegated again after the 2013–14 season. They almost got promoted again in 2015–16 but lost in the play-off. They finally secured promotion in 2017–18 but were relegated right back down the next season.
In the 2019–20 season, they finished 16th and had to play a relegation play-off against Ingolstadt from the third league. Nürnberg won 3–3 on aggregate thanks to the away goals rule, with the winning goal scored in the last minute of injury time in the second leg, saving them from dropping to the third division.
Who are 1. FC Nürnberg's Rivals?
SpVgg Greuther Fürth is 1. FCN's oldest local rival. Their rivalry goes back to the very beginning of German football, when these two clubs often competed for the national championship. They have played 258 matches against each other, which is the most in German professional football.
In 1921, the German national team was made up only of players from Nürnberg and Fürth for a match against the Netherlands. The players even traveled on the same train but sat in different carriages! A story says that a former Fürth player, Hans Sutor, had to leave the team because he married a woman from Nuremberg. He later joined 1. FC Nürnberg and helped them win three national championships. Both clubs played in the Bundesliga together in 2012–13.
Games against Bayern Munich are also very important. These two clubs are the most successful in Bavaria and in Germany overall.
Reserve Team
The 1. FC Nürnberg II (also called 1. FC Nürnberg Amateure) is the club's reserve team. They play in the Regionalliga Bayern, which is the fourth tier of German football.
Club Honours: Trophies and Wins
For over 60 years, Der Club held the record for winning the most German championships. This was before Bayern Munich took over that record in 1987.
In Germany, Bundesliga champions get gold stars on their jerseys. One star is for three titles, two stars for five, and three stars for ten. However, only titles won since the Bundesliga started in 1963 are officially counted for these stars. Even though Nürnberg has won nine national titles in total, they don't have any stars because most of their wins were before 1963.
League Titles
- German Football Championship/Bundesliga
- Champions: 1920, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1936, 1948, 1961, 1967–68
- Runners-up: 1934, 1937, 1961–62
- 2. Bundesliga/2. Bundesliga Süd
- Champions: 1980, 1985, 2001, 2004
Cup Wins
- DFB-Pokal
- Winners: 1935, 1939, 1961–62, 2006–07
- Runners-up: 1940, 1981–82
European Competitions
- European Cup
- Quarter-finals: 1961–62
- European Cup Winners' Cup
- Semi-finals: 1962–63
- Intertoto Cup
- Group Winners: 1968
Regional Titles
- Süddeutsche Meisterschaft
- Champions: 1916, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1924, 1927, 1929
- Oberliga Süd
- Champions: 1947, 1948, 1951, 1957, 1961, 1962
- Regionalliga Süd (II)
- Champions: 1971
The Max-Morlock-Stadion: Home of "Der Club"
"Der Club" plays its home games at the Max-Morlock-Stadion, which is owned by the city. It has been their home since 1963 and can hold 50,000 fans.
The stadium was built in 1928. It was expanded in 1965 to hold 65,000 people and hosted the 1967 European Cup Winners' Cup Final between Bayern Munich and Rangers. It was also updated for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The stadium was known by different names over the years, including "Frankenstadion." In 2017, it was finally renamed Max-Morlock-Stadion, honoring a famous club legend, Max Morlock.
The club has been talking about building a new stadium, which would be only for football. It would be built on the same site as the current stadium and would also hold 50,000 spectators.
Team Kits
| Years | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1985–87 | Adidas | Patrizier |
| 1987–93 | Reflecta | |
| 1993–94 | Puma | Trigema |
| 1994–96 | ARO | |
| 1996–98 | Adidas | |
| 1998–00 | VIAG Interkom | |
| 2000–02 | Adecco | |
| 2002–03 | Entrium Direct Bankers AG | |
| 2003–04 | DiBa Bank | |
| 2004–08 | mister*lady | |
| 2008–12 | Areva | |
| 2012–14 | NKD | |
| 2014–16 | Wolf Möbel | |
| 2016–21 | Umbro | Nürnberger Versicherung |
| 2021– | Adidas |
Players
Current Squad
|
|
Players on Loan
|
|
Famous Former Players
In 2010, for the club's 110th anniversary, fans voted for the best players in the club's history. Here are the players who received the most votes for each position, forming the club's greatest ever team:
Andreas Köpke- Ferdinand Wenauer
- Thomas Brunner
- Andreas Wolf
- Stefan Reuter
- Hans Dorfner
Reinhold Hintermaier
Marek Mintál- Max Morlock
Saša Ćirić- Dieter Eckstein
Player Records
Here are some records for players in the Bundesliga era (since 1963):
| Rank | Name | Years | Bundesliga | 2.Liga | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Brunner |
1980–1996 | 328 | 74 | 402 |
| 2 | Raphael Schäfer |
2001–2007, 2008–2017 | 250 | 108 | 358 |
| 3 | Andreas Köpke |
1986–1994, 1999–2001 | 280 | 58 | 338 |
| 4 | Norbert Eder |
1975–1984 | 154 | 146 | 300 |
| 5 | Dieter Lieberwirth |
1975–1988 | 139 | 131 | 270 |
| 6 |  Javier Pinola |
2005–2015 | 202 | 58 | 260 |
| 7 | Peter Stocker |
1975–1983 | 118 | 131 | 249 |
| 8 | Marc Oechler |
1989–1999 | 163 | 77 | 240 |
| 9 | Horst Weyerich |
1976–1985 | 132 | 98 | 230 |
| 10 |  Marek Nikl |
1998–2007 | 141 | 87 | 228 |
| Rank | Name | Years | Bundesliga | 2.Liga | Total | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dieter Eckstein |
1984–1988, 1991–1993 | 66 (189) | 13 (37) | 79 (226) | 0.35 |
| 2 | Heinz Strehl |
1963–1970 | 76 (174) | 0 (0) | 76 (174) | 0.44 |
| 3 | Hans Walitza |
1974–1979 | 0 (9) | 71 (118) | 71 (127) | 0.56 |
| 4 | Marek Mintál |
2003–2011 | 32 (121) | 34 (59) | 66 (180) | 0.37 |
| 5 | Franz Brungs |
1965–1968, 1971–1972 | 50 (97) | 0 (0) | 50 (97) | 0.52 |
| 6 | Horst Weyerich |
1976–1985 | 21 (132) | 27 (98) | 48 (230) | 0.21 |
| 7 | Dieter Nüssing |
1968–1977 | 5 (23) | 39 (109) | 44 (132) | 0.33 |
| 8 | Saša Ćirić |
1998–1999, 2002–2004 | 25 (55) | 18 (37) | 43 (92) | 0.47 |
| 9 | Dieter Lieberwirth |
1975–1988 | 18 (139) | 21 (131) | 39 (270) | 0.14 |
| 10 | Georg Volkert |
1965–1969, 1980–1981 | 37 (136) | 0 (0) | 37 (136) | 0.27 |
Numbers in brackets indicate appearances made.
Staff and Coaches
| Head coach | Miroslav Klose |
| Assistant coach | Jens Bauer |
| Assistant coach | Frank Steinmetz |
| Goalkeeping coach | Dennis Neudahm |
| Fitness coach | Gerald Stürzenhofecker |
Coaching History (Bundesliga Era)
Many great coaches have led 1. FC Nürnberg. Some famous ones from earlier years include Izidor "Dori" Kürschner and Fred Spiksley.
Here is a list of coaches since the Bundesliga started:
|
|
Images for kids
-
First match against FC Bayern Munich 1901
-
Team from 1902
-
Historical chart of Nürnberg league performance
-
Max-Morlock-Stadion in August 2006
-
Supporters voted Andreas Köpke (pictured) as the club's greatest ever goalkeeper.
See also
In Spanish: 1. F. C. Núremberg para niños
