Masterpieces

After 118 minutes of last Tuesday's German cup quarter-final match between Schalke 04 and 1.FC Nuremberg, a fascinating, hard-fought and thrilling encounter was heading for penalties - cruel, but with time about to expire, it looked like a decisive, match-winning moment would elude the weary players and the nerve-wracked crowd. In the 119th minute, a 17 year-old schoolboy by the name of Julian Draxler changed all that. His glorious strike of the ball was worthy of winning any game of football. One set of fans were elated, the other devastated, yet all could admire the brilliance of the goal itself.

There are many aspects of the 'beautiful game' which make it just that. Flowing passing moves, mesmerising dribbles, impossible saves, even stoic defensive performances - they are all specialised areas of the art of football. Their beauty is often open to some subjectivity and different aficionados will appreciate different things. Yet there is something so straightforward about a wonder-goal. The simplicity is plain for all to see - a player strikes the ball and propels it into the net in spectacular fashion. It even looks easy, yet for the average person it is also almost impossible to recreate. It's a bit like a Van Gogh. A painting of a vase of sunflowers or an untidy bedroom - instantly recognisable, iconic pieces, surely within reach of anybody at first glance, but then look at the intricacies of the individual brush strokes and think again.  Curling a ball from 25 yards, while running forward, avoiding the challenges of brutal defenders, transferring enough energy to the ball to give a highly trained custodian of the goal absolutely no chance of saving it. An element of luck maybe, but a huge slice of skill too.

Art lovers queue to look at masterpieces in art gallery exhibitions. They remember the best paintings for years to come. Football fans love goals, and the great ones live in the memory for a long time. Just prior to writing this piece I watched Nuremberg beat Hamburg 2-0 in the Bundesliga. A penalty and a tap-in were celebrated at the time as though they were the greatest goals ever scored. The result will be remembered long after the goals themselves have been forgotten. On a week-to-week basis this is probably the norm for any football fan. But every once in a while there is a special strike. Something out of the ordinary that is either highly spectacular, highly significant or a combination of the two. Everybody has their favourites - for many present day Nuremberg fans, Jan Kristiansen's cup winning goal in extra-time of the 2007 final will be their personal number one. Even the defeated Stuttgart players and fans will remember this footballing moment.

That Nuremberg were on the wrong end of another great cup goal, should not detract from the quality or indeed longevity of the memory of Draxler's effort for Schalke. The significance may be more long-term than simply knocking 1.FCN out of the cup. Another young, exciting, and obviously very talented German footballer should set warning bells ringing in the international footballing arena too, as well as having agents, scouts and the media working themselves into a frenzy.

Personally, while 'gutted' at the defeat, it felt less heartbreaking to lose in this manner than through a penalty shoot-out (although at least if you get to that stage you still have a chance of winning). All that is left for a football fan on the 'wrong end' of such a moment, is to hope that their team do not leave it too long before they next score a goal so beautiful and significant that it might even over-shadow the game itself. We can all appreciate great goals against us, but we don't want to have to do it too often.

The Pokal - Glory in Berlin, 2007

As 1.FCN prepare to meet Schalke 04 in the quarter-final of the DFB Pokal, and while Glubberer still hang on to hopes of another trip to Berlin in May, it's worth looking back to the final of four years ago. when Hans Meyer's team ended a glorious season with a marvellous cup victory. 

Rarely does a cup final live up to it's big match billing as did the 2007 meeting between 1.FCN and Stuttgart. Hans Meyer had turned his team into UEFA Cup qualifers after taking the helm just 18 months previously with relegation looking likely. Stuttgart, already crowned league champions, had lost their two Bundesliga encounters with 1.FCN but were favourites to lift the cup and complete the 'double'.

The odds, however, were upset and Nuremberg lifted their first trophy for 39 years. The story of the game was best captured on the original 1FCNUK website in the words of Jason who, with several other UK-based fans, was in the Olympic Stadium that special day...

…From the once great shores of the UK flew a great bird bearing the island’s cream of football supporters. These brave pioneers headed to the imposing metropolis of Berlin. For it is here that they slogged their way through beer and wurst to arrive at the stage that was once the dream of all Olympians.



There were different gladiators there that day, all dressed in white but still with that same look

of determination and steely grit in their eyes. And it was these great champions that the British pioneers came to see.

A brave contest ensued between the graceful Whites and the savage Reds. Misplaced footings and sublime finishing resulted in an early blow from the Reds. But this was just the tonic needed to force the Whites into action, an incisive move down the right flank ensured the quick thinking Slovak [Marek Mintal] punished a flat-footed defence. And then the Reds showed their true colours and took to Neanderthal methods to stop the rampaging Whites, their talisman  taken from the field of play [Mintal after a vicious foul]. But still the Whites pressed, moved by their mountain of support… forward, forward.

A break from the battle came.

The general on the sideline pushed his troops forward and a victory seemed inevitable. GOAL. [Marco Engelhardt]

.

The Franconians, euphoric (the British heroes too) applauded their warriors. The end seemed in sight, but a cruel blow was to come... tired legs retreated and a penalty came. Was this the end of the battling Franconians and their faithful hordes? No! No! Wir Sind Der Club!! That was the cry! And the Whites poured forward with one final push. GOOOOOOOAL [Jan Kristiansen]

… This was too much to bear for our British heroes, who went into a frenzy.

The golden chalice was won. Legends were born. And one lived on…Der Club.

At least Dick Turpin wore a mask

It would be hard to argue against the feeling that poor decisions from the referee cost 1.FCN at least one point in the first game after the winter break.

Struggling Borussia Moenchengladbach caused Nuremberg plenty of problems, particularly in the first half, and led 1-0 at half-time through Neustaedter's 8th minute effort. 1.FCN certainly had the better of the second half and if Pinola had converted a penalty they would have at least had something to show for their performance.

But unfortunately, and this is a recurring theme with games involving 1.FCN, the performance many will want to discuss is that of the referee, Babak 'Dick Turpin' Rafati. As the infamous English highwayman (for those of you who have never heard of Turpin) stole precious jewels from the upper classes, Rafati robbed 1.FCN of equally precious points. Two strong penalty claims were ignored, and a pefectly legitimate Mendler goal was disallowed, despite Rafati's assistant who was just a few metres from the action, considering there to have been no infringement of the rules.

It has to be hoped that the DFB will take a close look at Rafati's performance. 1.FCN can certainly feel somewhat cheated. Fans of Gladbach's relegation rivals, Stuttgart and Cologne must be wondering how the bottom placed team is not further adrift after round 18.