Not so long ago Fußball-Club Nürnberg were hosting Bayern Munich at the Max-Morlock-Stadion.
17 years have passed since the historic cup win over VfB Stuttgart in 2007.
Despite directors making every effort to consolidate the economic and sporting status of the club as an elite Bundesliga 1 outfit, Der Club spent the last few months of the 2018-19 season seemingly resigned to relegation and the dreaded drop.
There are those that feel that they were dead on arrival.
FC Nürnberg have previous when it comes to relegation.
In 1969, they became the first German club to be relegated when reigning Bundesliga champions. Some 50 years later, going down again is not something any fan wanted but as many of them state they are ‘used to it’.
Relegation again has came as no surprise to the club’s long suffering but loyal fan base.
The Legend Still Lives
FC Nürnberg was founded on 4 May 1900 by a group of 18 local men who met at the Burenhuette Tavern.
The first official match was an away fixture in Bamberg on 29th September 1901.
As early as 1919, the club started to be referred to as Der Club (the club) in recognition of their skill, regional domination and a unique tactical style.
They are also referred to as Die Legende; the club using the term regularly on its social media channels.
The title came in recognition of multiple domestic titles and cup wins. The term is immortalized in song before each fixture:
Ein Fels in wilder Brandung (A rock in wild seas)
der alles überstand (who survived everything)
Er hielt in vielen Jahren
so manchen Stürmen stand (survived many a storm in many a year).
Ein Fels in wilder Brandung (a rock in wild seas)
ist unser FCN. (is our FCN)
Sein Stern er wird für immer (His star will stand forever)
am Fußballhimmel steh’n! (at football’s heaven).
Die Legende lebt, (the legend lives)
wenn auch die Zeit vergeht. (but as time passes)
Unser Club, (our club)
der bleibt besteh’n! (will last)
Die Legende lebt, (the legend lives)
wenn auch der Wind sich dreht (even though they will things turn)
Unser Club (our club)
wird niemals untergeh’n! (will never go under).
First built in 1928 the Max Morlock Stadium underwent renovation ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Since the rebuilding of the Nordkurve (during the winter break of the 2009-10 season) the total capacity of the Max Morlock has increased to 50,000.
Of these seats 13,229 places are reserved for standing fans who congregate on the rail seats behind the goal.
Originally called Städtisches Stadion – but more commonly known as Frankenstadion – the stadium was built between 1926 and 1928.
Some 15 years later many of the Nuremberg rallies took place just a stones thrown away from the football stadium in a space that still exists to this day.
While the characteristics of the rally grounds have changed (more commonly it is now used for NFL) the football stadium of 1. FCN has changed very little – its distinctive octagonal shape remaining to this day.
Despite a lack of success on the field the fans feel a tremendous sense of emotional attachment to the home stadium.
Thoughts or plans of moving have largely been swept aside due to a lack of success on the field of play.
Ever changing stadium naming conventions have however been a thorn in the eye of the fans. This was one of the motivations behind the ‘Max Morlock jetzt’ initiative.
This campaign came about as a counter reaction to the unpopular ‘easy Credit-Stadion’ title, name by which the Frankenstadion was known after 2006.
A majority of fans had actually voted in favor of renaming the Frankenstadion into the “Max-Morlock-Stadion” after the World Cup. But the city of Nuremberg’s sponsorship deal held them tied to the use of the EasyCredit-Stadion name.
In 1995, less than a year after his death, the square in front of the Frankenstadion had been renamed Max-Morlock-Platz in his honor.
The dream of renaming the stadium in honor of a club legend finally came true in 2017.
And that is the way many of the fans want it to stay forever.
Update: With a capacity of over 50,000 Nurnburg was not chosen as a venue for the 2024 European Championships.
Its history dates back to the 1920’s and over the years it has hosted many major sporting events, including the Olympics, Considerations Cup and World Cup matches. Unfortunately Nuremberg’s stadium was not selected to host the Euros in 2024 due to its ageing infrastructure.
Nuremberg City Council has adopted a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the stadium, which involves significant changes to structure. The main points of the plan include a change in the number of seats.
The new plans envisages 40,000 seats and up to 10,000 standing places, as recommended by the design group.
In addition, the famous running track will be removed and the stands will be brought closer to the pitch. But club officials have assured fans that the shape of the arena will remain unchanged – the stadium will still have an octagonal form.
One of the key elements that has made it possible to start work on the stadium redevelopment is securing appropriate sources of funding. The project is being financed by both public and private funds.
The City of Nuremberg will invest a significant proportion of the funds, but significant support is also coming from private investors and sponsors.
This may lead to the stadium name changing again.
The stadium redevelopment is scheduled to be completed in 2027.