35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Nürnberg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Everything agreed with Union Berlin, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Elia Summa is living that version at Nürnberg, and it tends to show in the first month.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nürnberg asked and Arminia Bielefeld said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Heidenheim were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Jeff Chabot and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
0‑1 to Eintracht Frankfurt, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Romke van de Pol is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Romke van de Pol was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Dec 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Jürgen Krüger to a room that had heard them before.
Position 16 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ken Izekor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nürnberg the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Nürnberg will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hector Rodriguez. 1‑0 against Fortuna Düsseldorf, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at the club will say out loud who this signing is for, which is how you know exactly who it is for. Owen Gene has been brought in to take a shirt somebody is still wearing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vincent Ocansey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nürnberg the goodbyes have quietly begun.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
A performance of 8.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lasse Qvigstad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Romke van de Pol is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Nürnberg are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lasse Qvigstad trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ermedin Demirović’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Nürnberg needing him to play as if none of it matters.
10 appearances at Austria Wien and the goals have stopped going in. Nürnberg lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
The deal that would have taken Hector Rodriguez to Mainz 05 has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Nürnberg with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Bryan Lasme has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad9 Sep 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Julian Justvan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Julian Justvan’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Nürnberg needing him to play as if none of it matters.
In brief
The dugoutJakob Lemmer knocks on the manager's door
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nürnberg have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jakob Lemmer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nürnberg the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Deadline passes with 23 signed and 26 gone
That is the business done at Nürnberg until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad2 Sep 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nürnberg asked and Bayern Munich said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Nürnberg people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom26 Aug 2030
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Nürnberg
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Hwang Hee-Chan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Nürnberg will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nürnberg have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A conversation is coming this week. Nürnberg will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad19 Aug 2030
7 new faces, and Nürnberg are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nürnberg have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Nürnberg will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nürnberg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The unglamorous genius of a well-written contract. Semir Telalović is somebody else's player now, and $700.0K has arrived because the people who sold him thought further ahead than the transfer window.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. VfL Wolfsburg have kept their man, and Nürnberg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nürnberg know it.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Julius Dirksen is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Arminia Bielefeld waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The name of Hector Rodriguez has come up in conversations Nürnberg were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every Nürnberg game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Austria Wien runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nürnberg asked and RB Leipzig said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“I watch every Nürnberg game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at VfL Bochum runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nürnberg know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thiago Cáceres is on it.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A clause somebody insisted on years ago, in a negotiation nobody remembers, has just paid Nürnberg $2.1M. Youssoufa Moukoko left a long time ago; the paperwork stayed.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jakob Lemmer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nürnberg the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nürnberg asked and VfL Wolfsburg said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
The phone has started ringing about Hector Rodriguez again, and this time the name on the line is Mainz 05. Nürnberg are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Nürnberg are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Fortuna Düsseldorf is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Julius Dirksen is living that version at Nürnberg, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer went to Greuther Fürth this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Abdelrahman Akmal has, at Nürnberg, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Tobias Raschl is in the works
Transfer targetsA loan move for Ilias Ebnoutalib is in the works
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad27 May 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Samuele Inácio wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Thiago Cáceres has his answer from Nürnberg; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yunus Ünal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Jeff Chabot was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tjark Ernst was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Nürnberg could ask drops and the wages Alexander Bernhardsson can ask rise.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yunus Ünal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Thiago Cáceres is on it.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Position 14 on 30 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 May 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nürnberg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ermedin Demirović commits to Nürnberg for another 4 years.
Squad6 May 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nürnberg know it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Ermedin Demirović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Nürnberg are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tjark Ernst was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Yunus Ünal has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Josh Keeley will call it something else in private.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nnamdi Collins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nürnberg told Alexander Bernhardsson something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
0‑3 against Fortuna Düsseldorf, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Jürgen Krüger left the room before anybody could ask which.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Fabian Bredlow has his answer from Nürnberg; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
Up for the corner, and Adam Markhiev delivers — 7.57
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Adam Markhiev scored, was marked 7.57, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad11 Mar 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Kevin Gutiérrez wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout11 Mar 2030
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Jürgen Krüger to a room that had heard them before.
1 for Adam Markhiev, marked 7.90, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Josh Keeley wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Feb 2030
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Nürnberg asked and Stabaek said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Jakob Lemmer was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
10 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ragnar Ache
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The deal that would have taken Alexander Bernhardsson to Werder Bremen has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Nürnberg with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
Alexander Bernhardsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Add another name to the list: Hannover 96 have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ragnar Ache. The answer from Nürnberg has not changed — yet.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Joaquín Trasante is living that version at Nürnberg, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Union Berlin will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Nürnberg were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 9.41 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 5 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Nürnberg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Nürnberg people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The offer from Burnley for Yunus Ünal was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Ermedin Demirović wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad28 Jan 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nürnberg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 89th, and Heidenheim spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The name of Yunus Ünal has come up in conversations Nürnberg were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Hannover 96 will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Daniel Júnior has pre-agreed a move to Nürnberg, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jeff Chabot wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Jeff Chabot was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
7 goals in one match, Hector Rodriguez on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Nürnberg and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marked 9.45 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 3‑4 defeat, delivered by Jürgen Krüger to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
SquadDave Gnaase falls out with a teammate over standards
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
Position 16 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Ronald wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
Jeff Chabot and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Something was said to Vitinho and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Bryan Lasme has his answer from Nürnberg; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Nürnberg are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nürnberg know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nürnberg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fortuna Düsseldorf next, and one man in the Nürnberg dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.08 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
Alexander Bernhardsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 7.07 on 13 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A point taken on 95 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A 1‑1 draw with Hamburger SV leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Jürgen Krüger was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Nürnberg dressing room was either.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Raúl Moro and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vitinho trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Nürnberg would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adam Markhiev signs something — a contract at Nürnberg or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Ronald wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Yunus Ünal is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Nürnberg will try very hard not to make too much of it.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Hector Rodriguez wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Alexander Bernhardsson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Nürnberg can tell you which week it ends in.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nürnberg has been clear about where Ronald stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Alexander Bernhardsson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nürnberg asked and Bayer Leverkusen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nürnberg has been clear about where Sinclair Armstrong stands, which is more than many ever get.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. FC Augsburg have kept their man, and Nürnberg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nürnberg they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Nürnberg close the window on a squad of their own making
32 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nürnberg know it.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 16 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Nürnberg have gone to FC Augsburg with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and SC Paderborn waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Raúl Moro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom27 Aug 2029
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Nürnberg
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nürnberg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adam Markhiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bayer Leverkusen have kept their man, and Nürnberg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nürnberg have made the call to VfL Wolfsburg. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Germán Barbas is in the works
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Nürnberg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
The fee is $1.7M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. VfL Bochum drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nürnberg asked and Holstein Kiel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Nürnberg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Giorgi Guliashvili will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nürnberg the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The fee is $2.0M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Karlsruher SC drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Giorgi Guliashvili has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nürnberg asked and VfB Stuttgart said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
The chase for Vincent Ocansey ended with $2.9M changing hands and VfL Bochum out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Nürnberg have gone to Hannover 96 with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Borussia Dortmund have kept their man, and Nürnberg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Nürnberg people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Nürnberg have done the hard part with VfL Bochum, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nürnberg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The unglamorous genius of a well-written contract. Youssoufa Moukoko is somebody else's player now, and $2.1M has arrived because the people who sold him thought further ahead than the transfer window.
In brief
The dugoutRagnar Ache asks for a word with the manager
$3.1M was the most the club would pay and Hertha BSC were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Everything agreed with Holstein Kiel, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Jeff Chabot was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Adam Markhiev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nürnberg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nürnberg, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nürnberg have gone to Hertha BSC with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The chase for Yanis Maronne ended with $630.0K changing hands and SV Elversberg out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nürnberg told Josh Keeley something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
Squad6 new faces, and Nürnberg are still learning each other
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Preußen Münster have kept their man, and Nürnberg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The deal with SV Elversberg is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Hwang Hee-Chan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nürnberg have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Nürnberg asked and VfL Bochum said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Alexander Bernhardsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Red Bull Salzburg have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Nürnberg are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nürnberg can pretend not to have heard.
Nürnberg and Greuther Fürth have settled on $670.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Yunus Ünal is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Nürnberg will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nürnberg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Jeff Chabot and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad28 May 2029
Adam Markhiev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nürnberg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Jannik Hofmann is on it.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Nürnberg that is a harder question to answer.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Nürnberg will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Hector Rodriguez wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Raúl Moro and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 May 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nürnberg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Robin Meißner is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adam Markhiev signs something — a contract at Nürnberg or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Raúl Moro scored in the 89th minute, Arminia Bielefeld had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Nürnberg took the lot.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nürnberg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 47. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
15 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 May 2029
Adam Markhiev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Adam Markhiev will call it something else in private.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.86 for the rest of it.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nürnberg heard it as anything else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeff Chabot was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nürnberg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Adam Markhiev. 2‑1 against Dynamo Dresden, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Saïd El Mala and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
11 combined actions and 6.92. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 94. Köln had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adam Markhiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jürgen Krüger after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ilves waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Nürnberg is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
13 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jeff Chabot wants continental football; whether Nürnberg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hector Rodriguez and Nürnberg agree another 4 years.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Nürnberg can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Nürnberg can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Nürnberg will try not to make too much of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ragnar Ache trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nürnberg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Hector Rodriguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Nürnberg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeff Chabot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Raúl Moro. 1‑0 against SC Freiburg, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nürnberg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Saïd El Mala was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.27. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Jürgen Krüger could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Samuele Inácio
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Nürnberg will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Nürnberg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adam Markhiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Yunus Ünal has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Nürnberg pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Nürnberg will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Love Arrhov did not need any: 8.15, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.79 for the rest of it.
Hector Rodriguez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Jeff Chabot falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Raúl Moro. 3‑1 against Eintracht Braunschweig, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Raúl Moro at his very best