Miroslav Klose adds big Juventus scalp to unbeaten Nuremburg start
The former Bayern striker and current Nuremberg head coach is enjoying a fine start to life as a manager. His Nuremberg side continued their unbeaten pre-season record with a statement victory over Serie A giants Juventus on Friday.
New signing Caspar Jander, who recently joined from MSV Duisburg, and academy products Dustin Forkel and Tim Janisch were all on the scoresheet as Klose’s side recorded a 3-0 victory against Thiago Motta’s men in front of a home crowd at the Max Morlock Stadion.
The result bodes well for Nuremberg and their young stars, who overcame a tough test against a side containing Dusan Vlahovic and Manuel Locatelli, as well as new signing Khephren Thuram, with flying colours.
The legendary Bayern striker will be delighted with his side’s performance and the result as he looks ahead to his first full season in coaching with the Bundesliga 2 side who finished in 12th place last season. Klose will also have been pleased to see that he is influencing his players in more ways than expected, as 19-year-old Forkel celebrated scoring his side’s second goal by replicating Klose’s trademark front flip, which was even praised by his coach who said: "He can do it better that me”.
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It's a celebration that Bundesliga and Germany fans will be all too familiar with, as Klose scored 121 league goals in 307 games for Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, winning two Bundesliga titles and two DFB Cups in the process. For his country, Klose scored 71 times in 137 caps and was a part of the World Cup winning squad in 2014.
Watch: Thanks for the memories, Miro!
Friday’s huge victory against Juventus means that Nuremberg are yet to taste defeat so far in their preparations for the new season. Der Altmeister have now played five games, scoring 25 goals and conceding just four. They've beaten FC Hersbruck, FC Augsburg 09 and Blackburn Rovers along the way, as well as drawing against 1860 Munich.
Klose also stays unbeaten, but was keen to keep his feet on the ground, saying post-match: "I can judge that it was Juve's first friendly match. But I liked the fact that my team was brave and that they didn't lose their heads even in difficult phases. The things we want to see are coming more and more to fruition."
Nuremburg's competitive season now gets underway on August 3 against Karlsruher, who could well end up being a promotion rival.
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