Football Season Guide

Nurnberg are one of the most exciting teams to watch in Germany since they almost never have boring seasons. After winning the title in the 60s they were immediately relegated and having won the cup in the last decade, they then dropped to the Second Division once more. After achieving promotion, they survived only in the play-offs in 2010 but last season they shocked everyone by almost reaching Europe. They fell just short but though proud of their sixth place will now be determined to at least maintain that level of performance. However, the warning signs are there that problems could lie ahead. Excellent scorer Schieber has returned to Stuttgart while the wonderfully creative Gundogan has joined champions Dortmund. This area is also weakened by the departure of Ekici, who could not be retained after a loan spell, while even the defence is missing a key component as former captain Wolf has travelled north to join Werder Bremen. On the signings front, Esswein has plenty of potential but whether or not he can deliver consistently on making the step up from the Third Division remains to be seen. The other signings are generally youngsters who weren´t considered good enough at other clubs so if the manager has made poor decisions here, the squad will be found to be very short, very soon. Schaefer at least is an experienced and strong `keeper but though Nurnberg ascended quickly last term, an equally rapid descent now would not shock anyone. They will hope they are too good for the relegation battle but a poor start here could see things go seriously wrong for the Club.