Herr Mike in Deutschland

The biggest game of the season for FC Nuremberg is their derby clash with fierce rivals Bayern Munich.
It's Bayern vs Frankonia, European giants vs minnows and the tension is immense.
My boss Andy managed to get tickets through a mate of his so I went with some of the guys from work. When we arrived at the ground a policeman mate of Andy's told us they'd already had some trouble with the travelling Bayern fans and that the 'Muncheners' were in aggressive mood.

This was a huge game, particularly for Munich not just as they have slipped down the table of late but as it was the first game back in charge for Ottmar Hitzfeld who surprisingly replaced Felix Magath as coach this week. Hitzfeld is a hero in Munich, having previously steered the club to the Champions league trophy in the 1990s.

There was not a single spare seat and the 47,000 capacity stadium sizzled as the game got underway. And from the offset FCN were straight in and never looked back. With 13 minutes gone Ivan Saenko latched on to a through ball and took it around the formidable figure of Bayern 'keeper Oliver Kahn. Though driven wide, Saenko managed to squeeze the ball inside the post to make it 1-0 and the Nuremberg faithful raised the roof.

Nuremberg deservedly went in at half time in the lead with Bayern offering very little and never looking like scoring a goal. As the second half got underway the FCN fans were understandably in good voice but all knew that with a team of international stars Bayern Munich were far from out of the contest. But still 'der Club' bossed the game with Bayern hardly having a sniff. A rare chance came for the away team when Raphael Schaefer made a good safe from an Owen Hargreaves free-kick. It was the England international's first appearance in the Bayern first team after breaking his leg in September and he was one of the few players not to disgrace himself for Munich, running himself into the ground as he did for England in the world cup.

But it was always going to be a Nuremberg win when the second goal came after 71 minutes, and what a goal it was. The ball was played wide to Vratislav Gresko who dashed down the left flank before curling in a peach of a cross which was met by the diving header of Markus Schroth. Special scenes followed as the FCN finally knew their first derby win in eight years was within reach. I'm still sore from the bear hugs I got from strangers. It was amazing.

The icing on the cake came when Robert Vittek made a mockery of the Bayern defence and slotted home to make for an incredible scoreline. FCN fans wait years for moments like this and I'm made up I was there to witness it. It really hit home what this meant to the Frankonian fans as I saw tears of joy flowing from the faces of big German men. Only a game?...I think not.

Labels: FCN