At first glance, everything was the same as always. Markus Weinzierl was sitting in front of the advertising wall in a black training jacket, with the initials and coat of arms of 1. FC Nürnberg on his chest. Weinzierl looked at the group of reporters, and when he heard the first questions, he explained this and said that. At the end of the press conference, however, it was a different Markus Weinzierl who got up and left the podium.
Weinzierl, 48, usually deals with media rounds in a more business-like manner, but this time it was a rather energetic Weinzierl who was sitting in the small press room on the Valznerweiher on Friday afternoon. This time, Nuremberg’s coach was keen to get rid of a message. He knows how powerful the north curve can be – but he also knows that his team will only bring the season to a happy end if the power is directed against the opponents and not against their own players.
“I really hope and ask that the fans give their support to the guys who are going to tear themselves apart,” said Weinzierl. Although the words Nuremberg’s coach formulated were haunting, there was nothing pleading about him like Christopher Schindler a week earlier. When the captain talked about the despondent and helpless performance after the 1-0 defeat at the Frankenderby in the catacombs of the Fürth stadium, he almost begged. In the hour of the defeat, Schindler came along like a broken man, but four days later he was suddenly one of the celebrated penalty takers in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup.
Due to the dramaturgy, the triumph against Düsseldorf could actually have the power to set something in motion
The Max Morlock Stadium on Wednesday evening, the club is up against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Before the game, the stadium announcer asks the spectators to pause for a moment, Syria, Turkey, the earthquake, these are bad days and terrible images that are going around the world. Nuremberg is now also thinking about the victims. There is something very special when more than 25,000 people are gathered and the only thing the crowd lets out in the February cold is clouds of breath. There is something beneficial about the silence because it wraps itself around you like a cloak. The silence of the crowd is somehow mystical not only because it contrasts with the noise of 120 minutes, but also because 25,000 people are in a line for a few seconds. All as one, no one flinching until you hear a fork drop in the rooms where the very important people are getting their pre-game refreshments.
Then the ball rolls and in the end the people of Nuremberg hug each other. The game was tough and Fortuna could have won it in extra time, but in Nürnberg they still hope that the win will trigger something. Because of the dramaturgy, the triumph could actually have the power to set something in motion, the point is that it actually sets something in motion mustbecause the team has long since maneuvered itself into a threatening situation.
“Everyone should have understood by now that not everything is working out, that we are not above things, that we are in a difficult situation,” says Weinzierl, “perhaps we can’t do it any better, or perhaps we’re not doing it right down to the last detail, because the self-confidence is not there at the moment, but unity in the club is crucial for the course of the next few months.” Weinzierl says he heard whistles again against Düsseldorf: “And that pulls the boys down.”
Sports director Dieter Hecking has long been criticized
When, despite the expressions of dissatisfaction, it was made and the club was in the quarter-finals of the cup for the first time in twelve years, a strange atmosphere spread. Some look relieved, others know how lucky the triumph is, a few individuals sing about the European Cup as if they didn’t know that Meppen is a lot closer than Madrid.
The crisis is now so deep that it draws attention to the office. Sports director Dieter Hecking has long been criticized because the team he put together with sports director Olaf Rebbe has not lived up to expectations since the first game. The club has now dropped so many points on its way that it is now a matter of not steering towards a heart-stopping final for staying in the class like in 2020.
This Saturday, Nuremberg face Jahn Regensburg, Weinzierl’s former club. It is the duel between the penultimate and the penultimate. The club is fighting for three points again and yet for so much more. Everyone must be one, no one is allowed to swerve, otherwise the threatening situation will become even more threatening.
