FCN boss curbs promotion dreams: Nuremberg is aiming for stability in midfield for 2026/27 for now

Joti Chatzialexiou noticeably dampens expectations around 1. FC Nuremberg. Instead of promotion rhetoric, the sporting director publicly takes a cautious line – and justifies it mainly with the unresolved personnel issues.

In the 3-0 win in the last home game against Schalke 04, Chatzialexiou avoided any statement about aiming for the top of the table. He said that the club wanted to improve – explicitly "not at the top".

Chatzialexiou distances himself from earlier promotion plans

The new tone stands in stark contrast to Chatzialexiou's start in Nuremberg. At his introduction on June 3, 2024, he still said: "We want to eventually have the punch to get promoted." Now, the public goal sounds much more defensive.

On Sky, the sporting director stated during the home game against Schalke: "I have to be creative in Nuremberg. Therefore, I hope that this year we can keep some key pillars. We won't manage that with everyone. So that we can play a role next season as well. Not at the top! But we just want to improve."

The effect is a clear statement: FCN wants to lower expectations – away from "promotion now" towards "step by step". Sportingly, this caution fits the starting position: In this season, Nuremberg can at worst only finish ninth. Since relegation from the Bundesliga in 2019, FCN would thus miss the top third of the table for the eighth time in a row. In the club environment, this series is also seen as particularly striking, because the club – in this reading – would be the only one among the long-term second division regulars still not making a sustained push at the top.

The squad question shapes the new caution

The core of the message lies in the personnel uncertainty. Chatzialexiou himself points out that "key pillars" may not be able to be kept completely. This very uncertainty is, in practice, the main reason why club managements rarely set concrete goals before the summer: As long as departures, contract decisions, and final reinforcements are not settled, any specific placement target remains a risk – both sportingly and communicatively.

Added to this is the logic of the transfer market: What matters is not only which positions are strengthened, but also when. In Germany, transfers are tied to the official transfer windows; many squad decisions are made late, when domino effects occur on the market. Anyone who promises "the top" too early can end up being judged by a squad that is only finalized shortly before the season starts – and then may not be able to meet the self-set bar.

The goal setting was already a sensitive topic internally

The fact that Nuremberg is now communicating more tightly and cautiously also has a backstory. In the summer of 2025, head coach Miroslav Klose was dissatisfied when at least seventh place was set as the season goal very early in preparation – even though it was still unclear at that time which team he would actually be working with.

What followed was a botched start to the season. Only towards the end of the transfer window were several multi-million euro signings added. The process shows how closely goal setting and squad planning are linked: If the team is not yet complete, any public target quickly becomes vulnerable – and can also create additional internal pressure that does not help sportingly.

Nuremberg is therefore now focusing on expectation management. The new line is less spectacular, but plausible: first clarity in the squad, then realistic ambitions. Whether "improvement" can again become a serious attack on the top group in the medium term depends above all on which pillars remain – and how accurate the later squad development turns out to be.