Nurnberg

Rise of "Der Club"

1. FC Nürnberg was founded on 4 May 1900 by a group of 18 young men who had gathered at local pub Burenhütte to assemble a side committed to playing football rather than rugby, one of the other new "English" games becoming popular at the time. By 1909, the team was playing well enough to lay claim to^[] the South German championship. After World War I, Nürnberg would gradually turn their success into the dominance of the country's football.^[] In the period from July 1918 to February 1922, the team would go unbeaten in 104 official matches. As early as 1919, they came to be referred to^[] simply as "Der Club" in recognition of their skill and of their style on and off the field^[] and would go on to become one of the nation's most widely recognized and popular^[] teams.

Nürnberg faced SpVgg Fürth in the first national championship held after the end of World War I, beating the defending champions 2–0. That would be the first of five titles Der Club would capture^[] over the course of eight years. In each of those wins, they would shutout their opponents.

The 1922 final was contested by Nürnberg and Hamburger SV but never reached a conclusion on the pitch. The match was called on account of darkness after three hours and ten minutes of play, drawn at 2–2. The re-match also went into extra time, and in an era that did not allow for substitutions, that game was called at 1–1 when Nürnberg was reduced to just seven players and the referee ruled incorrectly the club could not continue. Considerable wrangling ensued^[] over the decision. The German Football Association (DFB) awarded the win to Hamburger SV under the condition that they renounce the title in the name of "good sportsmanship" – which the side grudgingly^[] did. Ultimately, the Viktoria trophy was not officially presented that year.

After the glory years

1. FCN's dominance was already beginning to fade when they captured their final trophy of the era in 1927 as the game began to evolve into a more quickly paced contest which did not suit their slower, more deliberate approach.^[] While they continued to field strong sides,^[] other clubs rose to the forefront^[] of German football. In 1934, they lost in the final to Schalke 04, a club that would go on to become the strongest side in the era of football in Nazi Germany. Nürnberg won national titles just before and after World War II in 1936 and 1948 in the first post-war national final, and would also take the Tschammerpokal, the forerunner of today's DFB-Pokal, in 1935 and 1939.

Into the modern era

The post-war period began with the club being integrated into the Oberliga Süd, one of the five top divisions in West-Germany at the time. Nürnberg managed to^[] win this league six times until 1963, winning the national championship in 1948. In 1961, 1. FCN captured their eighth national title and appeared in a losing effort in the following year's final. Some consolation was to be had^[] in the team capturing its second DFB-Pokal in 1962. The club's strong play made it an obvious choice^[] to be amongst the 16 teams selected to participate in the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional football league, formed in 1963. Der Club played as a mid-table side through the league's early years until putting on a dominating performance^[] in 1968 in which it sat atop the league table from the fifth week of play on to the end of the season, en route to its first Bundesliga title. It went on to become the first club to be relegated from the Bundesliga as the reigning champions. This was a result of Max Merkel's decision to remove his championship-winning team of veterans – believing that they were too old – in favour of a dozen newcomers.

It would take the club nine years to recover and return from an exile^[] in the second tier, first the Regionalliga Süd, then the 2. Bundesliga Süd, that included several failed efforts in the promotion rounds. 1. FCN returned to the Bundesliga for a year in 1978, but played to a 17th-place finish and were relegated again. The club immediately played its way back to the top flight, but since then its Bundesliga performances have been stumbling ones,^[] characterized by finishes well down^[] the league table and occasional relegation for a season or two.^[] The side's best recent^[] result was a fifth-place finish in 1988.

The early 1980s also saw the rise of a longstanding and intense friendship between the fans of Nürnberg and those of former archrival Schalke 04. Fans accompany each other's on their respective away games, and the two-season matches between the teams are generally^[] a very laid-back and hospitable affair^[] for all fans involved.

In the mid-1990s, Nürnberg had financial problems, including the conviction of their club treasurer Ingo Böbel for fraud and misallocating club finances. This led to their being penalized six points in the 1995–96 season while playing in the 2. Bundesliga. The club was relegated to the third division as a consequence. Improved management^[][] saw the club clawing back^[] and return to the top flight eventually.^[][]

In 1999, however, 1. FCN suffered what was arguably the worst meltdown^[] in Bundesliga history. Going into the last game of the season, the club sat in 12th place, three points and five goals ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt, which was sitting in 16th place and seemingly headed to relegation. Nürnberg was closing out the season with what looked to be^[] an easy home game against SC Freiburg, which was also facing relegation. Frankfurt was up against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the previous season's champions which were in a fight for a UEFA Champions League spot. Therefore, FCN had already begun soliciting season tickets for next Bundesliga season in a letter to current season ticket holders within celebrating successfully avoiding relegation.^[]

The stage was set^[] for an improbable outcome. Nürnberg lost 1–2, with Frank Baumann missing a chance to score in the last minute. Every other 1. FCN rival won, including Frankfurt, which routed Kaiserslautern 5–1 with three late tallies – this put the side ahead on goals scored and sent 1. FCN crashing to 16th place and into a shock relegation. 1. FCN was not relegated because they had fewer points than Frankfurt, nor because of a lower goal differential, but on the third tie-breaker – fewer goals scored.

1. FCN rebounded and played in the Bundesliga, but still found itself flirting^[] with relegation from season to season.^[] However, it comfortably avoided relegation in the 2005–06 season, finishing eighth in the Bundesliga. After several years of consolidation, Nürnberg seemed back as a force to reckon with^[] in Bundesliga football. Manager Martin Bader's professional^[] and sometimes even spectacular^[] work until spring 2007 (the signing of former Ajax captain and Czech international Tomáš Galásek, for example, was greeted with enthusiasm),^[] as well head coach Hans Meyer's tactically modern understanding of football,^[] helped Nürnberg to its most successful play in almost 40 years. In May 2007, the cut for the UEFA Cup was sure^[] and after the triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal, the Club was in the final of that tournament for the first time since 1982. On 26 May, the Club won this final against VfB Stuttgart in extra time 3–2, winning the DFB-Pokal 45 years after its last victory.

In the first round of 2007–08, however, the team could convince no more^[] in Bundesliga. As the team had ended up^[] second in their UEFA Cup group in front of later champion Zenit Saint Petersburg after defeating Rapid București in the first round, head coach Hans Meyer was allowed to restructure the team, for example by buying Czech international striker Jan Koller from Monaco. In the consequence of no improvement, Meyer was replaced by Thomas von Heesen after two legs in the second round.^[] The latter one did not do much better, and so 1. FCN was relegated after finishing 16th after losing a 2–0 home match against Schalke 04 on the final matchday. After not meeting the expectations^[] of dominating the 2. Bundesliga, Von Heesen resigned in August and was replaced by his assistant coach, Michael Oenning. After a slow start,^[] Oenning was able to guide Nürnberg to a third-place finish and a playoff with 16th placed Energie Cottbus. Nürnberg won the playoff 5–0 on aggregate, rejoining the Bundesliga. The club was demoted again, however, after the 2013–14 season, finishing 17th with a final matchday loss to Schalke 04. The club finished third in the 2015–16 season and qualified for the promotion play-off to the Bundesliga, but lost on aggregate to Eintracht Frankfurt to remain in the 2. Bundesliga for 2016–17. The club went on to finish 2nd in 2017–2018 season, securing a promotion spot into the Bundesliga with an away win against SV Sandhausen. However, they finished dead last^[] the next season and were relegated back to 2. Bundesliga.

In the 2019–20 2. Bundesliga season, they finished in 16th place, and faced a relegation playoff against 3. Liga side Ingolstadt, for which Nürnberg prevailed^[] and saved themselves from a double relegation to the 3. Liga after winning 3–3 on aggregate score thanks to the away goals rule. The away goal which retained their second-tier status was scored in the sixth minute of injury time in the second leg, thereby keeping them up at the last moment.