Herr Mike in Deutschland

Went into Nuremberg today to get a much needed hit of football! Matt, Norman, Ashley and I went to the impressive Franken stadion to watch FC Nuremberg who are currently riding high at the top of the table. The opponents today were VFL Bochum who were at the opposite end of the table with no points at the start of play today, so it should have been an easy victory for 'Der Club' (Nuremberg's nickname).

The atmosphere was incredible, a stadium announcer got the 40,000 capacity crowd going with chants of 'Spitzenreiter, spitzenreiter FCN!' (League leaders, league leaders FCN!) and people paraded around the ground with huge flags bearing the FCN crest. The rowdy 'Nord' stand is terraced and the standing faithful created an awesome amount of noise.

The away support can not have numbered more than 200 and were stuck in a tiny enclosure in the corner of the stadium. Though they looked uncomfortable they were certainly jovial before long as Bochum took the lead with 20 minutes gone. Nuremberg dominated the first half but couldn't seem to find a killer pass to create a goal. Luckily they didn't need a pass to create an equaliser as the FCN number 8 Jan Polak hit a screaming shot from 30 yards which thundered in off the crossbar, bringing myself and the red and black sea of Bavarians to our feet. It was awesome!

The second half was a bit scrappy and the game finished 1-1 with neither team being able to string a succession of passes together. Despite only claiming a point Nuremberg stay at the top of the league as rivals Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen lost today. Though this was only the fourth game of the season there is certainly great optimism among all the Nuremberg supporters that they can remain title contenders. This creates a real buzz around the place, even after a draw. Nuremberg fans would be happy for their team to finish in the top half of the league, never mind near the very top, so the excellent start to the season has been a nice surprise.

Was really great to experience the Bundesliga, it was slower and less physical than the Premier League back home but I really enjoyed it (can you tell?) and will certainly be going back to see a few more matches.

Labels: FCN