Citizens from Switzerland seem to feel at home in Nuremberg. That could be due to its proximity to Franconian Switzerland, which begins a few kilometres to the north. It could also be down to a certain stubbornness that is allegedly shared by the Franconians and the Swiss. A Swiss footballing icon, Alain Sutter, made a name for himself at FC Nürnberg at the start of the 1990s. This season another Swiss citizen currently entertains the Franconians: Josip Drmic.
“He’s a goalscorer, a fox in the box,” said Xherdan Shaqiri when asked about his international team-mate who twice bagged two goals in two games after the winter break. With ten goals in the current campaign he is also one of the most dangerous strikers in the Bundesliga. “He’s on song at the moment, does a lot of running and works hard for the team,” added Shaqiri. The 21-year-old is a “key player in the Nürnberg side.”
The top form of the Nürnberg right winger is not the only reason for FCB to be wary ahead of Saturday’s away game in Nuremberg (15:30 CET). “We all know how difficult playing at Nürnberg has been,” said Shaq. Bayern have only won once in the last six matches away to the Franconians, “so it won’t be an easy game,” the wide player warned.
“The atmosphere’s always electric”
And Nürnberg’s recent results have caught the eye. With their first two wins of the season - the best start to the second half of the season in FCN’s history - the Franconians have moved out of the drop zone. “They’re on form and they’ll do all they can to trip us up,” declared Shaqiri, “they will be aggressive from the start, ask us all the questions and do everything they can to win the game or at least get a point. They’ll be up for it.”
Jérôme Boateng shares that view and expects a close encounter. “They work really hard and are incredibly aggressive. We’ve got to be prepared for that,” said the FCB central defender. Naturally, it is a derby too. “It’s definitely a special game. The atmosphere’s always electric,” reported the Berlin-born player, now in his third season at Bayern. However, Jerome is looking forward to the challenge: “It’s always great fun playing in a derby.”
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