# Fabian Nürnberger

Fabian Nürnberger (Bulgarian: Фабиан Нюрнбергер; born 28 July 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or central midfielder for Darmstadt 98. Born in Germany, he plays for the Bulgaria national team.

## Career

Nürnberger was born in Hamburg. He played in his youth for the Niendorfer TSV under-19 team and made 21 appearances scoring 4 goals.

### 1. FC Nürnberg

As an 18-year-old he moved to Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg in Franconia. For his second team playing in the Regionalliga Bayern, the defender played 31 games as a regular player, in which he was able to contribute three goals and three assists. At the end of the season, he finished third with the team behind promoted and champion Bayern Munich II and VfB Eichstätt.
Following the season, Nürnberger received his first professional contract in May 2019, which is valid until 2021. In addition, he was permanently appointed to the FCN second division squad, trained by Damir Canadi, for which he had already completed training sessions for the 2019–20 season. In the 1–0 home win against VfL Osnabrück on match day 4, Nürnberger was used for the first time after a substitution for a professional team.
On 13 March 2020, 1. FC Nürnberg announced that Nürnberger had tested positive for COVID-19.

### Darmstadt 98

On 30 May 2023, Nürnberger signed a contract with the returning to Bundesliga team of Darmstadt 98 until June 2026, coming as a free transfer.

## International career

Born in Germany to a German father and a Bulgarian mother, Nürnberger can represent both Germany and Bulgaria internationally.
In 2019 Krasimir Balakov, then coach of Bulgaria national team, had Fabian under the radar for a call up. On 12 September 2023, Georgi Ivanov, technical director of the Bulgarian Football Union, announced that Nürnberger had accepted to represent Bulgaria on the international level and that they were working on making him available to debut in October or November 2023. On 19 August 2024 he received his first call-up for Bulgaria for the UEFA Nations League C matches against Belarus and Northern Ireland on 5 and 8 September. He debuted on 5 September 2024 against Belarus at the ZTE Arena in Hungary, playing the full game in a 0–0 draw.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 9 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1. FC Nürnberg II | 2018–19 | Regionalliga Bayern | 31 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 31 | 3 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg II | 2019–20 | Regionalliga Bayern | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg II | Total | Total | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 29 | 0 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 33 | 3 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 27 | 1 |
| 1. FC Nürnberg | Total | Total | 100 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 108 | 7 |
| Darmstadt 98 | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 22 | 1 |
| Darmstadt 98 | 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 1 |
| Darmstadt 98 | Total | Total | 32 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 164 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 177 | 12 |

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Bulgaria | 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 5 | 0 |