Meyer in bloom with Nürnberg

Sardonic humour
A favourite among supporters in Germany for his sardonic sense of humour, the 64-year-old ended a short attempt at retirement when he joined Nürnberg in November 2005 with the words: "My wife won't let me do the gardening since I can't tell roses from cauliflower any more, so I am back."

Working wonders
With a well-deserved reputation for creating strong teams on weak budgets, the East German-born trainer has worked wonders in Nuremberg, leading his charges to an eighth-placed Bundesliga finish and putting them on course for Europe by dragging Nürnberg up to sixth place this term.

Tears of joy
Once, when a former club handed him a new deal, Meyer said: "We had to stop training because some players were so overwhelmed with joy, they started to cry." With Nürnberg boasting the meanest defence in the Bundesliga, having conceded just 17 goals in 20 games, those tears may be flowing again.

East German roots
Sobs of frustration were probably more common for Meyer in his first campaigns in the reunified Germany. He had made his name in East Germany, taking charge at FC Carl Zeiss Jena aged 29, winning three East German Cups and losing the 1981 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against FC Dinamo Tbilisi.

Boundless optimism
"In my optimism, which knows no bounds, I expected [FC] Bayern [München] to offer me a job a day or two after the Berlin wall came down," he joked. However, teams on the western side of the divide initially proved resistant to his charms, causing him to head to Dutch outfit FC Twente between 1996 and 1999.

Initial scepticism
There was still plenty of scepticism when he was eventually offered his first big job with VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1999. Once asked whether it bothered his players that he was from communist East Germany, he replied: "No, not really. We don't do party meetings in the dressing room every Monday."

Mönchengladbach success
When he arrived, Mönchengladbach had just been relegated to the second division, but Meyer showed his worth. He became the first East German trainer to lead any club into the Bundesliga - in 2000/01 - before a dispute with local tabloid newspapers prompted his resignation in March 2003.

Roses call
He was not out of work for long, being hired to save Hertha BSC Berlin from relegation that December. Meyer duly steered them to a 12th-placed finish. He was offered a contract at the end of the 2003/04 campaign only to refuse, the one-time FC Rot-Weiss Erfurt and Chemnitzer FC boss claiming he wanted to retire to his rose garden.

Doomy humour
A 3-0 win against VfB Stuttgart on the opening day of this season then left Nürnberg top of the table, spurring the revived Meyer to say with his customary tongue in cheek: "Now we are top, we will stay here." With his retirement on hold until 2009, Nürnberg hope Meyer will be wise-cracking his way across Europe next term.