1. FC Nrnberg

[dibo]

hope he doesn't let the door hit his arse on the way out

 

[happy]

Yesterday was the dinner with the team. It was great although there were just 9 players there. But I was lucky and Spiro was there 
So I had the chance to talk to him.

He said that he will start running/training next week and is confident that he will play this season again.
He also said that he is quite confident that he might play in a WC for Australia as he trainer likes him and he feels good when he's with the Socceroos.
He added that Australia has a very good chance to qualify for 2010.
He isn't sure about the WC bid whether Australia will get it as there are tough opponents competing for it as well.

 

[dibo]

Yesterday was the dinner with the team. It was great although there were just 9 players there. But I was lucky and Spiro was there 
So I had the chance to talk to him.

He said that he will start running/training next week and is confident that he will play this season again.
He also said that he is quite confident that he might play in a WC for Australia as he trainer likes him and he feels good when he's with the Socceroos.
He added that Australia has a very good chance to qualify for 2010.
He isn't sure about the WC bid whether Australia will get it as there are tough opponents competing for it as well.

you folks better look after him! he's got a big future! ;D

 

[happy]

Yesterday was the dinner with the team. It was great although there were just 9 players there. But I was lucky and Spiro was there 
So I had the chance to talk to him.

He said that he will start running/training next week and is confident that he will play this season again.
He also said that he is quite confident that he might play in a WC for Australia as he trainer likes him and he feels good when he's with the Socceroos.
He added that Australia has a very good chance to qualify for 2010.
He isn't sure about the WC bid whether Australia will get it as there are tough opponents competing for it as well.

you folks better look after him! he's got a big future! ;D

I will do so
His contract expires in June this year, according to our homepage. But I missed asking him about that topic...

 

[dibo]

given you'll be promoted (fingers crossed) it's a big opportunity for him, and he's the sort of player who could be a regular starter but for less money than established 1.BL players.

 

[happy]

given you'll be promoted (fingers crossed) it's a big opportunity for him, and he's the sort of player who could be a regular starter but for less money than established 1.BL players.

Hopefully we will be promoted, but it is a long way to go.
I haven't heard anything about an extension of his contract but I think the club waits until he is fit again.

Btw, you should invite him to Bluetonge once he is back in Australia, as he hasn't never been there...

 

[happy]

At the end of the 2nd match day after the winter break we are playing Kaiserslautern at home, kick off 8.15pm.

We need to win today as nearly all teas hat are in the ladder in front of us have won this weekend.
The result and the match today is some kind of trend setting for the rest of the season

 

[loyalist]

tea hats?

 

[dibo]

teams that

 

[loyalist]

touche

 

[dibo]

1.FCN 3-0 1.FCK

gold!

nurnberg are now in 5th, leaping 5 places through a very crowded mid-table and 4pts behind the playoff spot, 6pts behind the automatic spots, 7pts off the division lead.

they also haven't lost since the beginning of november. last 8 matches have yielded 16pts.

 

[happy]

1.FCN 3-0 1.FCK

gold!

nurnberg are now in 5th, leaping 5 places through a very crowded mid-table and 4pts behind the playoff spot, 6pts behind the automatic spots, 7pts off the division lead.

they also haven't lost since the beginning of november. last 8 matches have yielded 16pts.

indeed, the win was worth a lot.
we could have easily lead 4:0 after 35mins but missed out several chances, among them was a penalty.
the 1st half was one of the best I have seen for a long time, but unfortunately the 2nd was not that good maybe it was because of the starting snow fall.
Kaiserslautern had to play with 10 players after a defender got red-carded which led to the penalty we missed out.

 

[happy]

Some news from Matthew Spiranovic

Nuremberg Trials
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
by David Davutovic, AFW


With several players sidelined, it was an optimistic Matthew Spiranovic who packed his bags for the World Cup qualifier against Bahrain last November. On the back of an impressive Beijing Olympics, national team boss Pim Verbeek had made more than one visit to the south-east of Germany to watch the stylish central defender in action.

Spiranovic was due to board a plane to fly out for the match on the Saturday evening after playing for Nuremberg but in the final training session before the match misfortune struck.

My bags were packed and ready to go and I was looking forward to it because I knew some of the overseas boys were unavailable or out with injury, Spiranovic recalls. So I was looking at it as a chance to show myself, but unfortunately, as football goes sometimes, I got injured and I was devastated.

I knew straight away it wasnt good because I heard a loud noise. I was scared to look at it and I had a burning sensation, so I knew that Id done something pretty bad.

It turned out to be a snapped syndesmosis (the ligament connection of adjoining bones) between the tibia and fibula, and now, after having two screws inserted and hobbling around on crutches, Spiranovic has finally returned to the training track.

If everything goes well, Id like to be training with the team at the start of February and by the time I get back to full fitness, realistically its probably March, he said.

Olympic glory

For someone whos made just two Socceroos appearances, Spiranovic has created quite a buzz, and much of it has been generated from his performances at the Beijing Olympics, where he was one of the shining lights in an otherwise dismal tournament for the Olyroos.

It was an amazing experience and something Ill never forget, I enjoyed every minute of it on and off the field, Spiranovic says. Not everything went as planned, but I took a lot out if it, and a tournament like that is great for experience.

Its just the big match pressure you become used to and its important for young players. Its do or die out there, with the crowd and whats on the line. Its a lot different to a club game, where if you lose one week, youve always got the next to fix things. This is do or die every pass and tackle is important.

With an under-17 World Youth Cup under his belt, the Olympics served as the ideal entre to international football. To be on the same field as some of those players, especially the Argentines, was fantastic Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Juan Roman Riquelme, Sergio Aguero, he says. You go out there with that belief and you play the game to keep progressing and challenging yourself. All the boys pumped each other up, it was a great opportunity and I wouldnt have wanted it any other way.

For me, Messi is the best player in the world and in that game he didnt destroy us.

Now the 20-year-old is ready for the main course the 2010 World Cup and barring a major mishap hes shaping as a strong bet to be part of the squad, at the very least. For Spiranovic, to have the opportunity to be able to add to the two caps he gained against Ghana and China is something he knows lies predominantly with himself.

Its pretty much been a slow progression, one step to another. Pims shown a lot of belief in me and come to Nuremberg and watch a few games and to have that interest in me is good, Spiranovic says, and to get the opportunity against Ghana and China Im very grateful. He (Pim) always lets me know when hes coming and we always have a chat after the game.

While many Olyroos struggled to regain their places after Beijing, Spiranovic was thrust back into the action with Nuremburg. Relegated from Bundesliga just one year after winning the German Cup final in 2007, the Bavarian club have now climbed to mid-table in the second division and are just six points off top spot. Spiranovic is relishing the chance to perform.

Personally its been action packed, as soon as I got back from the Olympics, I was back in the squad because the captain, who is also centre back, got injured. I was surprised because I thought it would take me a while to get back in.

It was frustrating early in the season because we started slowly, but weve started to get positive results.

And while playing in a second division may not be ideal, the standard still remains at a high standard for him.

Its pretty good, maybe just a different style to the first league, he says. In the first league you have a lot more time and other teams sit off and its more tactical. Here its more direct and you play the percentages, even longer balls.

Youth progression

In a sense, Spiranovic is probably the only player to have benefitted from the delayed introduction of the National Youth League. Around the time of his move overseas Melbourne Victory were unsure whether he was ready to play in the A-League and (it seems now) erred in not signing the teenager. It paved the way for a trial with Nuremberg, and within months he had made his first Bundesliga start.

While other clubs passed on deals for the likes of Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite around that time also, Spiranovic says having the youth league in place now provides more than just an easier pathway into senior football.

The biggest bonus with having the youth league is when the national youth teams the under 17s and 20s are in the qualifying stages, the players will have got a lot more games under their belts, he says. I remember playing for the under 20s against South Korea and they were playing week in, week out, where we werent getting regular games and that was the biggest difference.

A lot of us were at the AIS, and we had to organise friendlies against Premier League teams at least theyre all playing now. And when they do come into the first team, theyre all confident, in form and fit.

And Spiranovic has no complaints about how his own careers unfolded. Its all worked out for me pretty nicely. If I had my time again I probably wouldnt have changed anything, Spiranovic says.

As with all Australian players, the English Premier League remains a temptation and his 192cm frame makes him particularly appealing not to mention the fact hes comfortable with the ball at his feet. So what does the future hold for the Geelong-born player?

My contract runs until 2010. First I have to get myself back on the park and then well see what happens.

http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/2009InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeature_features_item_new&id=26530

 

[happy]

Match day 20 is already ongoing.
we are playing Alemannia Aachen away this Sunday at 2pm (CET).
As we are 4 points behind the relegation spot we really need to win that one. A win would have the advantage that we would leave Aachen behind us by 3 points.

It's going to be an interesting match, especially regarding our defence line. It will have an average age of 20,8 which is bloody young for German teams and will consist of German players only as Pinola is suspended due to his 5th yellow card.

 

[Paolo]

we are playing Alemannia Aachen away this Sunday at 2pm (CET).

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  Alemannia Aachen!!

 

[happy]

we are playing Alemannia Aachen away this Sunday at 2pm (CET).

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  Alemannia Aachen!!

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  1. FC Nrnberg!!

that's the right version

 

[Paolo]

we are playing Alemannia Aachen away this Sunday at 2pm (CET).

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  Alemannia Aachen!!

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  1. FC Nrnberg!!

that's the right version

tbh, i prefer my version

 

[happy]

we are playing Alemannia Aachen away this Sunday at 2pm (CET).

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  Alemannia Aachen!!

sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la *clap clap*
sha la la la la la la la  1. FC Nrnberg!!

that's the right version

tbh, i prefer my version

how can you follow Aachen?

 

[dibo]

keensy is best ignored.

 

[Paolo]

how can you follow Aachen?

because they dont have dirty communist colours?