Club - FC Nürnberg: the Club Facts

In Marbella, Spain, we practice against FC Nürnberg on Wednesday afternoon. Find out all about this match & opponent here!

The match

On Wednesday, January 10 at 2pm, Club will play a practice match against German FC Nürnberg on the fields of Dama de Noche. That match will be broadcast live on YouTube & Facebook and will also be open to supporters.

Coach Ronny Deila selected 29 players for the winter training camp in Marbella, southern Spain. They were already subjected to an intensive training week with a view to the second part of the season.

Club has to make do in Spain without Raphael Onyedika and Denis Odoi, who are active at the Africa Cup of Nations. Furthermore, it said goodbye to right winger Tajon Buchanan. The Canadian moved to FC Internazionale (Ita).

After 2/3rds of the regular league, Club can be found in fifth place. Club put up a strong series before the winter break and is already 7 matches in a row unbeaten (4W 3D). In the Croky Cup the next assignment awaits on January 16 against KAA Gent in the quarterfinals. In Europe, Club became group winner in the Conference League and is exempt until March, when the 1/8th final will be played.

In Marbella, Club will play a practice match against German 2nd Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg. 11 years ago, both teams met once before in Marbella in January. The then practice match ended in a spectacular 3-4 victory for the Blue-Black under coach Juan Carlos Garrido. The Germans quickly took a double lead through Hiroshi Kiyotake and Tomáš Pekhart. Club was able to score the tying goal before halftime through Ivan Tričkovski. The Macedonian added another goal after halftime and through Vadis Odjidja and Ryan Donk Club ran out to 2-4. In the closing stages, Alexander Esswein was able to make amends for FC Nürnberg from the penalty spot.

At the previous encounter, the Bavarian club was still active in the 1st Bundesliga. But in the past 10 seasons, the club played only 1 season at the highest level. The last campaign in the first Bundesliga dates back to the 2018-19 season. After relegation, the club could not claim promotion in the past four seasons.

This season, 1. FC Nürnberg can be found in tenth place in the 2nd Bundesliga halfway through the season. The club is 11 points behind leader Holstein Kiel. In the German Cup, the club fell in the third round at the beginning of December on the field of series-mate 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Coach of FCN is Cristian Fiél. This summer, the 43-year-old German was appointed head coach at the club where he was previously assistant of the A-team and coach of the second team. As a player, he was active as a midfielder at Alemannia Aachen and Dynamo Dresden, among others.

Nürnberg has been in Marbella since Sunday, where it will practice against Karlsruher SC in addition to Club Brugge. The club is preparing for the second half of the season, which it resumes on Jan. 20 with a home game against Hansa Rostock.

Top shooter in FCN's league is German Turk Can Uzun (6 goals). However, he is currently struggling with a groin injury. The 18-year-old striker is already being watched closely by many top clubs and is considered one of the league's biggest talents.

Daichi Hayashi, the Japanese striker who played for STVV in the past 2 seasons, is one of the assist kings (2 assists) at Nürnberg, along with Lukas Schleimer, Jan Gyamerah, Benjamin Goller and Tim Handwerker.

Timmy Simons played 110 matches at 1. FC Nürnberg from 2010 to 2013 before returning to Club Brugge. German midfielder Stefan Reisch, who made 30 appearances for Club in the late 1960s, was a youth product of the German club. Reisch played 7 seasons for FCN.

In addition to Simons, goalkeeper Robert Dekeyser (1987-88) is another compatriot who played for the club.