When FC Nuremberg won 2:0 in Sandhausen at the beginning of May, accompanied by almost 8,000 fans, three things were certain.

• First: That the promotion to the first league had actually been achieved.
• Second: That the quality of the squad would not be sufficient for the Bundesliga.
• And thirdly: That there would be almost no money for new players.

It is said that they had a little more than four million euros at their disposal. That was enough for substitute goalkeeper Christian Mathenia, Bremen-based supplementary Robert Bauer, a youngster from FC Bayern and one from HSV – and for Yuya Kubo, Matheus Pereira and Virgil Misidjan, who were brought in shortly before the end of the transfer.

Since taking office in 2015, sports director Andreas Bornemann and supervisory board boss Thomas Grethlein have repeatedly emphasised that turning away from economic reason in view of more than 20 million liabilities would jeopardise the existence of the company. The new Chief Financial Officer, Niels Rossow, also intends to continue the course of consolidation.

Robert Bauer Honours

International

Germany

• Summer Olympic Games: Silver Medal, 2016

„Keeping a negative mood at bay“

The fans have contributed to the austerity measures in recent years. Which is also due to the fact that Supervisory Board boss Grethlein and other officials were never too sorry to come to fan events to explain the situation. And in contrast to earlier times, when officials liked to use the fans to expand their own position of power, these discussions now remain internal. That’s how trust has developed. The team that will be playing the third game of the season at Werder Bremen in the afternoon also enjoys credit. Defender Enrico Valentini, whose parents maintain a trattoria in the Zerzabelshof district , the historic home of FCN, is probably the biggest club fan who does not stand in the north curve on match days.

Captain Hanno Behrens, a reflected North German who doesn’t like populist sayings, also radiates an identification with the city and the club that fans find authentic. „Which Glubb teams have inspired us the most in the last 20 years?“ asks the fanzine „Ya basta“. And gives the answer itself: In addition to the 2007 cup winners, „the hungry promotion team from last season“. It is now a matter of „keeping a negative mood away and overruling Grantler – even if the first matches are lost!

The coach has not only fans in his own ranks

So much for the mood in the north curve, where one of the country’s biggest ultra scenes is located. It is part of their self-image to have a say when they see the core of what their club means to them threatened. After massive protests that went beyond the ultra scene, FCN have put the spin-off plans on hold for the time being. But they should soon be back on the table again. Then the FCN could be faced with a real ordeal. And that’s not the only potential source of conflict.

Coach Michael Köllner, who plays an offensive football based on fast pass sequences, is one who goes on holiday to Israel instead of Mallorca and with whom one can also talk about topics other than pass sequences. But he doesn’t suffer from complexes and has replaced some long-serving employees without much reading. In the environment of the club there are also therefore many who are not good to speak of him. If the next games go badly, some of them might dare to take cover.

The Second League as a disgrace

Moreover, the nine-time German champion cannot be compared to clubs like Mainz or Freiburg in terms of his self-image. The roots that FCN enjoys between Lower Franconia and Vogtland are more comparable to those of clubs such as HSV, Frankfurt or Stuttgart. Most club fans are well aware that Mainz and Freiburg are years away from their own clubs.

But that doesn’t change the fact that they found the four years FCN had to spend in the second league in a row to be a disgrace. Accordingly, for many, the idea of reducing the risk of immediate relegation now with correspondingly high investments is obvious. It would therefore be best without doubt if the class retention also succeeds with the previous squad – of which at least Köllner is firmly convinced. The first two games prove him right. Both against Berlin (0:1) and against Mainz (1:1) the FCN was an equal opponent. Betboro is one of the online casino games that provides lots of bonus.