2nd league
Hamburg city duel: between reputation and advancement
Will FC St. Pauli secure promotion against city rivals HSV? photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
Games between HSV and FC St. Pauli are explosive. This time there is a special constellation in addition to the prestige: FC St. Pauli could celebrate promotion – of all places in the Volkspark.
The question of number one in Hamburg this football season has long been answered. Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli will clarify the question of the more prestigious unofficial title of city champion on Friday (6.30 p.m./Sky).
But the 111th edition of the duel between the two neighbors, who are only seven kilometers away, is about much more than reputation. Since last weekend it has been clear that the slightly different club FC St. Pauli will finish a season ahead of the big Hamburger SV for the first time in 70 years. As if that wasn’t bad enough for the hardcore fans of the club with the diamond, the league leaders from the neighborhood could now complete their sixth Bundesliga promotion in the HSV living room, Volksparkstadion.
HSV competitor Düsseldorf plays in parallel
“14 years since the last promotion is a long time, you can see the longing in the club and among the fans, for whom we would like to take this final step,” said St. Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler. On the other hand, with a win, HSV can maintain its own chance of reaching third place in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Their rivals Fortuna Düsseldorf, who are four points ahead of Hamburg, will play against 1. FC Nürnberg on Friday. If the Rhinelanders surprisingly lose against Nuremberg, who are currently in crisis, HSV would be within one point of Fortuna with a win and two games remaining and FC St. Pauli would be promoted despite the defeat. By the way, second-placed Holstein Kiel could also follow FC St. Pauli into league one for the first time on Sunday (1:30 p.m./Sky) with a win at SV Wehen Wiesbaden.
But the constellations and speculations seem secondary before kick-off in Volkspark given the special nature and rivalry of the two clubs – even if the coaches assure that both are important to them.
Derby victory or promotion relegation place? “Derby victory and the jump to third place,” said HSV coach Steffen Baumgart. His St. Pauli colleague Hürzeler responded similarly to the question of derby victory or promotion: “It’s best to have both.” And the 31-year-old added that promotion was the result of a whole season, “the city derby was the result of one game.”
Derby electrifies the Hanseatic city
The protagonists feel that this time the edition of the city duel is even more special than before. There is no other topic among the football faithful in Hamburg. “The whole week feels special. The weather is better, people are outside, and of course the main topic these days is the derby,” said St. Pauli captain Jackson Irvine to the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. The Australian lives in the neighborhood and gets the atmosphere around the Millerntor. It’s a special week – for him, for the club and for the whole district. “First the important win against Hansa Rostock, which we felt was extremely important. And now the city derby. There’s not much more possible.”
Baumgart, who has been a HSV fan since childhood, sees it similarly. “This city derby is not only something special for me, it is also what I was most looking forward to when I took over the job here,” said the 52-year-old, who has been on the sidelines at HSV since February.
Baumgart is looking forward to the derby
A derby win would potentially give him and HSV as a whole some peace. Since the renewed failure to promotion has become more likely, there has been intense speculation as to what will happen next – with sports director Jonas Boldt, but also with Baumgart himself. Names like Jörg Schmadtke and Felix Magath are being traded in the media as possible Boldt successors. The most recent variant brought “Bild” into play with Magath and the former world star Raúl as coach.
Baumgart doesn’t want to deal with that. He’s just looking forward to the game on Friday. “Two very, very good teams on the pitch. One of the hottest stadiums you can have. The atmosphere is going to be great. What more could you want than to be here at 6.30 p.m. and give it full throttle,” he said and added: “It There is no better game.”
The police classify the “hot game” as a high-risk game. Coach Hürzeler has no fears that the Hamburg duel could lead to riots or even a game being abandoned – as discussed in HSV fan forums – if FC St. Pauli were about to be promoted. “I believe that everyone who is responsible for this will do the maximum to guarantee safety.”