Borussia Dortmund and FC Nuremberg lost to promoted teams in their Bundesliga openers on Sunday.
Nuremberg, the German Cup champions, lost to Karlsruher SC 2-0 while Dortmund fell to MSV Duisburg 3-1 despite expectations of contending for the title.
Hungary international Tamas Hajnal scored goals in the 44th and 74th minutes for Karlsruhe, last year's second division champions.
PHOTO: AP
Nuremberg lost their poise in front of 45,000 local spectators after Hajnal put back a shot off the crossbar by teammate Michael Mutzel just before the break.
"Until 0-1 we had the match under control," FC Nuremberg coach Hans Meyer said. "This was not the Nuremberg we have known the last one-and-a-half years, a stable team."
Meyer has been given a lot of credit for turning Nuremberg into a hard team to beat during that time, finishing sixth last season only because of a late slump. Before that the club lost the fewest times in the league.
PHOTO: AP
Dortmund lined up four new players against Duisburg, including former Juventus player Robert Kovac and several promising prospects.
They were supposed to bring back some of the glory lost since Dortmund's 1997 European Champions League title, but they were all overshadowed by Duisburg's own new acquisition, Manasseh Ishiaku.
Signed from FC Bruegge, the Nigerian scored in the eighth and 64th minutes. Mihai Tararache added the team's third goal from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute.
Ishiaku headed in a free kick for an early goal that stunned Dortmund. The team played poorly the rest of the match and some of the 78,000 spectators began to stream out of the stadium long before the final whistle.
Florian Kringe scored an 86th minute consolation goal for Dortmund.
"We can't win the fans back like this," Dortmund coach Thomas Doll said. "This opener was a mess. We played like it was a preparation game. We can't win a Bundesliga game like this."
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