Home game against Nuremberg: SC Paderborn facing the “toughest challenge” – Football – Sport – WDR – Football – Sport

Miroslav Klose is world champion, World Cup record goalscorer, German champion and cup winner. For Lukas Kwasniok, this is of secondary importance before his first personal meeting with Klose: “I’m looking forward to the first meeting because he also comes from Upper Silesia. Then I can chat a little Polish with him.”Kwasniok said Thursday.

The 43-year-old, who was born in Gliwice in Poland, is in his fourth season as coach of SC Paderborn. Klose, born in Opole, has been training at 1. FC Nürnberg since this season. On Friday (6.30 p.m.) there will be a direct duel on the 13th matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga in Paderborn.

SCP can become league leader

With a win, the SCP can – at least temporarily – take the top spot in the table. The SCP is currently in second place, one point behind leaders Hannover 96. The Paderborn team has had a strong season so far and shows that they can have a say in the promotion race. An unfortunate own goal in the final minute at Fortuna Düsseldorf (1:1) prevented Paderborn from saluting from the top of the table last matchday.

Purely in the table, the SCP is also the favorite in the duel with the Franconians, who are in seventh place with three points less than the SCP. However, Kwasniok doesn’t want to know anything about it. For him, the FCN is currently the one “hottest stock in the 2nd Bundesliga”.

Nuremberg hat “found the system”

After a major squad shake-up in the summer, including a change of coach, Nuremberg got off to a rocky start with four defeats from seven games, but have now been without defeat for five second division games. “An absolute top team,” said Kwasniok. “It took them a while, but now they have their system. 1. FC Nürnberg is currently really the toughest challenge.”

The FCN set a real exclamation mark on matchday ten with an 8-3 win against Jahn Regensburg. Player of the game was Julian Justvan with three goals and one assist. The midfielder is well known in Paderborn, after all, he wore the SCP jersey between 2020 and 2023. “I would like to have him with us,” Kwasniok said. “I loved the way he played and especially the personality of Julian Justvan. Nevertheless, the aim here is not to lay out the red carpet for him, but rather to disturb him during his ball activities. But the fatal thing is: Not only do you have Justvan, but the rest can also dribble.

However, Kwasniok also knows that his team has a lot to counteract: “We also have boys who can play football. We are at the forefront of all running data. That means you have to stand your ground against us first.”he said.

“Player game, not coach game”

It will arrive at the end of the performance of the individual players: “Both teams will try to use their own strengths. I think that both styles of play are very similar and then you have to see which team can prevail in the end. It will be more of a players’ game than a coaches’ game. This means that it will not be about tactical finesse, but rather the performance of individual players and individual parts of the team.

For the SCP, the game against Nuremberg will once again determine our position. If the SCP also survives against one of the strongest teams in the league, this will give them further confidence for the remaining games until the winter break. In terms of personnel, Kwasniok has almost everything he can draw on. Apart from the long-term injured Sebastian Klaas, Mattes Hansen and Felix Platte, all players are available. Kwasniok did not want to reveal whether Sven Michel was recently sold in the starting line-up after his Joker appearances.

Statistics speak against Paderborn

However, the statistics against Nuremberg do not speak for the SCP. Of eleven games against FCN, the SCP only won two and lost eight. However: Paderborn won their last meeting on matchday 30 of last season 2-0 in Nuremberg.

At that time the Nuremberg coach was called Miroslav Klose, but not yet. Kwasniok has particular respect for Klose’s career path: “He worked his way up from the district league to becoming the most successful goalscorer at world championships. A classic Upper Silesian”Kwasniok said with a laugh. “Americans used to say: from rags to riches. Today there are two Upper Silesians and coaches in the 2nd Bundesliga sitting here. The only difference is that one could do something with the ball and the other couldn’t.”