- "Punkts to keep here"
Miroslav Klose hopes to secure his first win as coach of 1. FC Nürnberg in Saturday's home game against FC Schalke 04. The last time the Franconians beat the Royal Blues in a competitive match was in March 2013, when they won 3:0 at home in the Bundesliga. "I think it's fantastic that there's such a strong fan friendship between the two clubs," said former national team striker Klose ahead of the match (13:00 CET, live on Sky). "We want to keep the points here at some point."
Nürnberg squandered a 2:0 lead to lose 2:3 at Karlsruhe in their opening game last week. Schalke, on the other hand, won 5:1 against Eintracht Braunschweig. "We will continue to support Schalke," said Klose, referring to the fan friendship between the two clubs, "but maybe not this week."
Klose will have to do without strikers Janni Serra and Benjamin Goller, as well as right-back Tim Handwerker against Schalke.
The first team Klose is aiming to guide to victory is indeed FC Nürnberg, mentioned earlier as his current coaching charge. Despite the strong bond between the clubs' fans, Klose might find it challenging to maintain neutrality this weekend, considering Nürnberg's recent loss and Schalke's impressive win.
