The world keeps turning, Uwe Seeler would have wished for nothing else. In Hamburg, it seems, this world seems just a tad quieter. It has also become darker, which Seeler would not have liked at all. But the people who loved and admired him and will never forget want to express their admiration on Sunday by doing without colors. Almost everyone wears black.
That means almost all of the almost 60,000 people who flock to the sold-out Volkspark to watch Hamburger SV’s home game against Hansa Rostock. Second division, what a shame. Seeler, the greatest HSVer in history, was pretty much the only one in the Hanseatic city who never complained about it. He was just sad. And hoped to the end that times would get better.
Place of mourning: Visitors lay flowers and wreaths in front of Seeler’s bronze foot.
(Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa)
11 a.m., two and a half hours until kick-off. Dozens of HSV fans gather, of course, in front of Seeler’s bronze foot, which has been enthroned in front of the Volkspark since 2005. Four tons heavy, 3.50 meters high, 5.15 meters wide. A sea of flowers, candles and HSV scarves lies in front of the monument, but also jerseys from other clubs, such as FC Schalke 04 or northern rivals Werder Bremen. The grief goes beyond the city limits, it connects generations.
“Man of honour,” shouts a youth wearing an old HSV jersey by Hakan Çalhanoğlu, number 9. Seeler’s number. Or Ulrich and Marcel, father and son, holding each other arm in arm. Ulrich, 76, saw Seeler play in what was then the North German Oberliga, which he won an incredible nine times in a row from 1955 to 1963. “There won’t be one like that anymore,” says son Marcel, wiping tears from his face: “Actually, it’s just sad what has become of his HSV.”
Seeler always wanted to see only one thing: a pacified and successful HSV
In fact, “his” HSV has caused Seeler a lot of grief in recent years. Only the crash into the second division, although one had already believed that the former Bundesliga Dino would not be relegated. Then all the missed promotions, these crazy bankruptcies that nobody can explain. Not even the HSV managers who are to blame for the disaster. In the past ten years they have done just about all the stupid things that are possible in a football club, and currently there are back-to-back squabbles, power games and intrigues in the committees. Quite grotesque: in Hamburg there are always people struggling for influence and reputation – what kind of theater is being produced with the legacy of Uwe Seeler, who just wanted to see a pacified and successful HSV.
12:45 p.m. A day like this cannot do without symbolism, which is why Seeler’s favorite songs roar from the stadium speakers, for example “An de Eck steiht’n Jung mit’n Tüdelband” by Heidi Kabel. Seeler is said to have loved this Low German classic. Meanwhile, old scenes and images are flickering on the video board in the stadium, all in black and white: Seeler’s goal of the century in 1960 while sitting against Westfalia Herne, his legendary hit with the back of his head against England in 1970, a team photo of the “Jungmannen” of HSV, as it used to be called the A youth.
The HSV fans put on an impressive choreography
Seeler has been a HSV member since 1946, and he kept the card he issued at the time, membership number 1725. It quickly became apparent that the striker, who was only 1.69 tall, would become something, but purely in terms of titles, there are more successful HSV footballers . Seeler was champion, cup winner, he was the first top scorer in the Bundesliga – but in the 1980s the HSV team around Magath, Hrubesch, Kargus and Wehmeyer was a dominant force in Europe. Their footprints are immortalized in front of the Volkspark, they look tiny compared to Seeler’s bronze colossus. To date, no one has complained about this.
1:17 p.m. HSV board members Jonas Boldt and Thomas Wüstefeld lay a wreath together in the center circle. Otherwise they have, well, a rather frosty relationship, see above. So it’s a good thing that the HSV fans in the north curve pull up a tremendous choreography that reminds them of how one achieves legendary status in Hamburg: “Loyal and modest – the greatest of all time”.
But this Sunday, the stadium announcer emphasizes, everyone is somehow Uwe Seeler. He introduces every HSV player who is in the starting eleven as “Uwe”, and the Volkspark replies: “Seeler, Seeler, Seeler!” It goes on like this until finally the HSV team steps onto the pitch. When warming up, the players wore black shirts, like the fans, now the lettering “Uns Uwe” is written on their jerseys instead of the sponsor, and the number 9 is emblazoned on the sleeves.
On the field, the Hamburg pros disappointed once again, who competed with “Uns Uwe” lettering on their jerseys. However, Rostock (here John Verhoek, left) also offered fierce resistance.
(Photo: Michael Taeger/Imago)
Seeler hasn’t been to the Volksparkstadion for a long time, which may soon be called the Uwe-Seeler-Stadion. The health, it was no longer possible. He had a pacemaker and fell down the stairs at home several times, along with the virus, which Seeler had great respect for. In the past, Seeler knew every HSV player personally, but he could never imagine the current team, which HSV coach Tim Walter in particular regrets – sometimes in tears, like at the press conference before the game against Rostock.
“It hurts especially today,” said HSV captain Sebastian Schonlau
1:35 p.m. After a eulogy by former HSV stadium spokesman Jo Brauner, shouts of “Uwe! Uwe! Uwe!” echoed through the stadium for minutes, the stands are black, the atmosphere is solemn and depressing at the same time – anyone who thought that was pathos wasn’t there. HSV also plays a bit ambivalently, he tries hard, he runs, but he rarely finds a way against the deep and highly motivated opponent. That’s the second division, the traditional club brought it on itself.
With a bit of imagination, only defender Mario Vuskovic displays some of Seeler’s virtues as he refuses to leave the pitch despite barely being able to walk due to an injury. In the second half, HSV increased the tempo, but coach Walter’s attacking football is prone to risk, which is why what shouldn’t happen happens in added time. A counterattack by Rostock, a positional error by Jonas David, who came on for Vuskovic, a hard low shot into the far corner – 1:0 Rostock, a little later the game is over. “It hurts especially today,” said HSV captain Sebastian Schonlau. He meant: on this special day, in this special game.
Maybe you could see it like this: HSV at least didn’t hide the fact that it was a black week for the city of Hamburg. There are now 32 matchdays left to fulfill Seeler’s dream of returning to the first division. Missing promotion again in the season in which the greatest HSVer in history died – HSV really can’t bring that about.