1. FC Nuremberg: Currently no result sport

It's part of the rituals of a matchday for the coach of the winning team to wish the opposing team all the best for the near future and express his confidence that their team will win the next match. Often, this is purely a matter of courtesy. Not so on Saturday afternoon, when Karlsruhe coach Christian Eichner began his statement by praising his colleague Miroslav Klose , who was sitting dejectedly next to him: "First and foremost, I have to say that we played against an opponent who had very good players and played a very good game."

While this was certainly well-intentioned, it wasn't hypocritical. The club had previously been the better team in a truly good second-division match, having four or five really good chances in the first half and two even better ones in stoppage time through Luca Lochoshvili (90'+1) and Finn Becker (90'+2). But Karlsruhe's strong goalkeeper Hans-Christian Bernard also thwarted these chances, so the final score was 2-1 for KSC.

Since FCN had only picked up a meager point in the previous four games, the question of the coach's job security automatically became the focus. Klose himself found it "normal" and used the phrase "results-based sport," which is what football is.

Fortunately for Klose, it's clear that he's not currently in Nuremberg. Otherwise, the coach would surely have been fired this weekend, instead of hearing from his sporting director Joti Chatzialexiou immediately after the final whistle that he would "of course" be on the bench next Saturday against VfL Bochum. Because football isn't just about results: "We were never inferior. We've always played on equal terms, and at some point this knot will be broken. I'm convinced of it."

The Nuremberg management deserves congratulations for their adherence to their principles. One point from five games – given the 29 remaining matches, that doesn't sound all that dramatic at first. However, it already means that the club, which has always finished in a similar region of the table as KSC over the past six years, is already ten points behind the Baden team. One point from five games – that's so little that they'll need a major winning streak to finish the season in the top third of the table. And the goal for the season was seventh place. At least.

In fact, that's the truly nasty thing about the current situation: The club, where new signings Adam Markhiev and Adriano Grimaldi were only substitutes, played on Saturday more like a team with promotion ambitions than one losing four out of five games in a row. And they played like a team that fundamentally knows what they have to do. Klose also felt that their own plan had actually worked: "We wanted to have the ball for a long time and often. We managed to dominate."

The signs that usually indicate the need for a coaching change were certainly not present: After the two goals conceded, there was no discernible drop in pressure, and the expressions of loyalty, such as those from Henri Koudossou, seemed sincere: "All the players are behind him, we know we have to take responsibility for ourselves." It was fitting that the fans, toward whom the players crept with bowed heads, weren't interested in grabbing anyone's nose. Instead, there was encouraging applause.

In such a climate, it doesn't take much strength of character to issue a job guarantee, which only applies to the upcoming match against Bochum, coached by longtime coach and sporting director Dieter Hecking. Especially since there were many indications that Klose's style of football would suit this team, which has occasionally been able to conceal its attacking strategy quite well over the years.

The bottom team is on the right track, one could say without sarcasm. If only points weren't always being dropped in football. And if the club hadn't been absent in those "moments where you have to be there" (Klose) so often in recent weeks. Like when Fabian Schleusener gave Karlsruhe the opening goal in the 44th minute, before which David Herold's cross was largely admired with indifference.

"Sometimes we don't think it could be dangerous," sighed Klose. Like with Mickaël Biron's chance, which could only have been put in the net (14th minute). And like in the scene in which Karlsruhe's Marvin Wanitzek managed to score the 2-1 winner with relative ease (75th minute) – just as a Nuremberg player, Henri Koudossou, did when he equalized with a long-range shot shortly before halftime (45th+4th minute). It would have been the appropriate final score. Koudossou agreed, promising full presence of mind for the Bochum game: "Nobody is taking this lightly. We're all on alert."