2nd league
Celebrating in the North? Kiel and St. Pauli shortly before the climb
St. Pauli wants to celebrate a possible promotion to the Bundesliga not only with a fan party, but with a day of action for democracy, against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination. photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
Some are the big surprise of the season. The others are probably the best team. This weekend, FC St. Pauli and Holstein Kiel can crown themselves with promotion to the Bundesliga.
Of course Schalke 04. Plus Hamburger SV. And maybe Hertha BSC. It’s clear: This season in the 2nd Bundesliga had its clear favorites who played in front of more than 50,000 spectators. But if two clubs can achieve promotion to the first division early this weekend, then they have completely different names. Then these are the two northern clubs Holstein Kiel and FC St. Pauli – the big surprise and probably the best team in this league over the entire season.
“The anticipation outweighs everything,” said Kiel coach Marcel Rapp before the home game against Fortuna Düsseldorf (Saturday, 8:30 p.m./Sky and Sport1). Third in the table is the only competitor who can prevent Kiel and St. Pauli from gaining direct double promotion on the last two match days.
Several constellations are still conceivable: If leader Holstein (64 points) wins against Düsseldorf (59), their own promotion and that of FC St. Pauli (63) would already be determined on Saturday evening. If this top game ends in a draw, Kiel would be through early, but St. Pauli would still need a point in their own home game against bottom-placed VfL Osnabrück on Sunday (1.30 p.m./Sky). With a win in Kiel, Düsseldorf could at least catch the “storks”. Then they would be under pressure again in the last game at Hannover 96 on May 19th.
“Kiel and St. Pauli deserve promotion”
Whatever happens this weekend in the Holstein Stadium and at the Millerntor: After 32 match days, no one doubts anymore that Kiel and St. Pauli deserve promotion. No other clubs have been in the top two places in the table more often this season. No one else has had courageous personnel decisions and solid cost management pay off so much in recent months.
The Kiel team gave up 14 players before this season. The first team in the second league is a completely newly formed team. But when coach Rapp was asked to list the qualities of this team the day before the Düsseldorf game, the 45-year-old went into raptures: “The desire for more. The desire to get better and always go the extra mile. There for each other be.” That’s what sets his team apart.
The stadium is already sold out on Saturday evening. The Kiel supporters will start a fan march there in the afternoon. But Rapp doesn’t see any reason to lose his nerve or disappoint his great expectations.
Kiel would be the first Bundesliga club from Schleswig-Holstein
“It’s like being in two worlds. When I talk to journalists, it’s always about mental things and the question: What’s going on in your head? But when I’m with my team, that’s not an issue for us. Then “We’re completely normal,” said the coach. “Every player has had an important game at some point. And I always compare it to a student: If I wasn’t well prepared before a job at school, then I was just nervous. If I prepared for it, then I was fine happy. That’s how we see it!”
Holstein Kiel has been training coaches (Ole Werner) and managers (Fabian Wohlgemuth) for the Bundesliga for years. Now the entire club finally wants to follow them there. And the difference to FC St. Pauli lies precisely in the size and aura of the club: the Kiel team would be the first Bundesliga club ever from Schleswig-Holstein. St. Pauli, on the other hand, has a charisma that extends far beyond Hamburg and northern Germany.
St. Pauli is planning a day of action on Whit Monday
The possible promotion celebration of the neighborhood club should therefore not just be a fan party, but a day of action for democracy, against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination on Whit Monday in downtown Hamburg. FC St. Pauli has been waiting to return to the Bundesliga since 2011. For the first time in the club’s history, he could then play in a higher league than his big city rivals HSV. But the values and political messages to which the club is committed have not changed in almost 40 years.
“Millerntor is something special,” said Fabian Hürzeler on Friday. And what was a big upheaval for Holstein Kiel meant the decision for FC St. Pauli to promote the then 29-year-old to head coach for club icon Timo Schultz in December 2022. At that time, Hamburg were 15th in the table, but now they are on the verge of promotion after three defeats in the last five games. “This is the best team in this league for years,” praised Mersad Selimbegovic, coach of arch-enemy Hansa Rostock.