Hamburger SV (Germany)

Hamburger SV or Hamburger Sport-Verein eV to give them their full name, or HSV in short, is a sports club from Hamburg in northern Germany. The club were formed on the 29th September 1887.

As well as football the club has sections for baseball, badminton, basketball, bowling, boxing, cricket, darts, ice hockey, golf, gymnastics, handball and fitness for its members, though its football department is its foremost occupation.

The club was originally formed following a merger between Der Hohenfelder Sportclub and Wandsbek-Marienthaler Sportclub to form Sportclub Germania zu Hamburg. Germania began playing football from 1891, when six Englishmen with an enthusiasm for the game joined ranks.

The modern club came about in 1919 after Germania joined forces with two other clubs in the city. Hamburger FC had been formed in 1888 and FC Falke Eppendorf in 1906. The new club took on the city colours of red and white as well blue and black from Germania playing its games at Sportplatz am Rothenbaum.

HSV quickly made an impact as they reached the 1922 national final against 1. FC Nurnberg. The teams could not be divided after two games, although in the replay the southern side were reduced to seven men after injuries and a sending off.

HSV were awarded the title, but they handed back after persuasion in the spirit of the game. No title winner was declared for that year. However, the following season HSV were not to be denied as Union Oberschöneweide (now 1. FC Union Berlin) were defeated as the Viktoria Trophy was lifted.

Defeat in the final came the year after, but Rothosen (Red Shorts) were crowned champions once more in 1928. During the period of Third Reich rule, HSV were dominant in Gauliga Nordmark and then Gauliga Hamburg lifting a total of five titles.

After World War Two, Hamburg were placed in Oberliga Nord, where they became totally dominant. They were crowned champions in fifteen seasons out sixteen. HSV were defeated in the national final of 1957 against Borussia Dortmund.

The team recovered and returned in 1958 where they went down to FC Schalke 04 before lifting the title in 1960 with a 3-2 win over 1. FC Köln at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt, with two goals from their biggest hero Uwe Seeler and one from Charly Dörfel.

The following season saw HSV in the European Cup for the first time. BSC Young Boys and Burnley were defeated before FC Barcelona ended their run at the semi-final stage. A Seeler hat-trick won the DFB Pokal (German Cup) in 1963 against Borussia Dortmund, with the club becoming one of sixteen founder members of the Bundesliga.

Hamburg moved out of town to the 75,000 capacity Volksparkstadion at the same time. This venue had been rebuilt on the site of the old Bahrenfelder or Altonaer Stadion partly with materials from Eimsbüttel, a district of Hamburg destroyed under Allied bombings.

A second Pokal was added in 1975-76 following a win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern, with a young Manfred Kaltz in the line up. The following year HSV won the European Cup Winners Cup after seeing off RSC Anderlecht in the Amsterdam final.

Kevin Keegan was signed from Liverpool to great effect shortly after, becoming a vital member of the team crowned Bundesliga champions in 1979 as head coach Branko Zebec was assisted on the pitch by Felix Magath, Horst Hrubesch as well as Kaltz and Keegan.

The team continued on their excellent run, reaching the 1979-80 European Cup Final. Real Madrid were dumped out in the semi-final before Hamburg returned to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu for the final, only to go down 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.

Keegan had moved on when another league title was added in 1981-82 under head coach Ernst Happel, as well as ending runners up in the UEFA Cup, when defeated by IFK Göteborg over two legs.

Hamburg retained their Bundesliga crown the following season as well as putting right the wrongs of 1980 by lifting the European Cup, thanks to a Magath goal in the final against Juventus in Athens. To round off an amazing year, HSV also won the Intercontinental Cup defeating Grêmio.

A couple of disappointing seasons followed the stellar 1982-83 campaign. Magath retired before Happel took the team to a runners-up league position and victory in the DFB Pokal in the 1986-87 season, with victory in the final coming with a 3-1 win against Stuttgarter Kickers in Berlin’s Olympiastadion.

Happel left the club at the conclusion of the season to be replaced by Josip Skoblar who lasted just a few months. Gerd-Volker Schock took over as success at the club went into decline.

Financial troubles hit HSV which were resolved by the record sale of Thomas Doll to Lazio in June 1991. Egon Coordes had a short spell as head coach in 1992 before Benno Möhlmann’s three years in charge of the side from September 1992 to October 1995 saw three finishes in mid table or below.

Magath returned as head coach to try and improve matters with the legendary Uwe Seeler being appointed as President. The appointments heralded an immediate improvement as HSV finished in fifth place in 1995-96 and a return to European competition.

However, Magath was dismissed at the end of the 1996-97 campaign before Frank Pagelsdorf was put in charge of the side in July 1997. Anthony Yeboah became the latest fans hero as he banged in the goals during his spell at the club between 1997 and 2001.

The team finished in third place in 1999-00 as the rebuilt Volksparkstadion was completed and opened. The following season saw elimination at the first stage of the Champions League despite a 3-1 away victory to Juventus.

Kurt Jara arrived as coach in October 2001, taking the team to a League Cup DFB-Ligapokal success in 2002-03 before being replaced by Klaus Toppmöller in October 2003. Doll returned as coach in October 2004, taking the team to third place in 2005-06.

However, their Champions League campaign in 2006-07 was poor and Doll was replaced in the winter break by Huub Stevens. The Dutchman took HSV to fourth place in 2007-08 before departing to take the PSV Eindhoven job. Martin Jol was named as the new head coach.

Jol took die Rothosen to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and a fifth place finish before he opted to take the Ajax coach’s job. Bruno Labbadia stepped in with Hamburg again reaching the Europa League last four, as the UEFA Cup had been renamed.

Labbadia departed in April 2010, which was followed by short spells at the helm from Armin Veh and then Michael Oenning before Thomas Fink was appointed in October 2011. The new man helped stave off the clubs first ever relegation before a seventh place in 2012-13 with Heung-min Son the stand out player.

Bert van Marwijk replaced Fink in September 2013, who lasted just a few months before Mirko Slomka took over as the managerial merry go round at the Volksparkstadion continued. HSV avoided relegation by winning their play-off against Greuther Fürth.

Slomka, Josef Zinnbauer and a returning Labbadia were all in charge of the team at various stages of the 2014-15 season. Labbadia was head coach as relegation was staved off thanks to another play-off victory; this time against Karlsruher SC.

Markus Gisdol became the latest head coach ten games into 2016-17. He managed to help his team avoid relegation on the final day of the regular season; but the warning signs were there that the clubs continuous Bundesliga membership was being put under severe strain.

Gisdol lasted until January 2018 when he was succeeded by Bernd Hollerbach. Form didn’t pick up with Christian Titz being given the task of securing top flight football. HSV were relegated after a fifty five year Bundesliga spell in May 2018.

Titz was replaced by Hannes Wolf in October 2018 as the club tried to go straight back up. A fourth place was not enough at the completion of the 2018-19 season to either win promotion or keep Wolf his job, as he was fired, with Dieter Hecking arriving in his place.

Sonny Kittel was the leading marksman in 2019-20 as HSV chased the promotion spots before they fell away and remarkably lost their vital final game of the season 5-1 at home to Heidenheim.

Hamburger SV will play in 2. Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season.

My visits

Monday 29th October 2012

I was on the final day of four very enjoyable days in Germany, where I'd seen four games and been to twelve clubs. The weather was closing in, but I was keeping warm having had a bit of a rush after a bit of a under estimation of travelling times around the city. 

I alighted at Stellingen SBahn station at just after 11.35 wanting to get to the Imtech Arena by midday for a tour around the stadium.

A wide path led me all the way from the station on a long brisk walk of over ten minutes through a park bordering an industrial estate, over Schnackenburgallee and to the arena. In a similar fashion to the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen it was raised above ground, so it looked enormous. 

The perimeter fence was open with signs pointing to the museum. A gent in the service centre pointed me in the correct direction and I was soon at the reception paying Euro 8 for my ticket. I was told that the tour was in German, but Birget the lady guide spoke English.

There was a Manchester City man and his son from England also taking the tour as part of a city break, so between us we managed to understand the areas we were been shown round. Football is an international language and I'd been on enough stadium tours in the past to take most of it in.

We were led to the supporters club area in the Nordtribune before going downstairs and into the actual arena. The stadium was a two tiered all seated bowl all the way around, apart from terracing downstairs in the Nordtribune for league matches and in the Gasteblock for away fans in the far corner. 

Two tiers of corporate boxes separated the levels on the Osttribune. It was an excellent venue, which was fully adaptable but lacking a little bit of character like so many of the modern venues.

Our tour continued to the changing rooms, press centre and main foyer. Some first team players were arriving for training and we were asked to refrain from taking photos owing to their image rights! 

I had a little giggle at one point where the word hooligans was mentioned. A young lad wearing a Dynamo Dresden scarf was with us, and I said "Ja, Dresdener hooligans at St Pauli". He seemed to enjoy it!

Birget certainly knew how to talk, but the tour was fine. We said our goodbyes after about eighty minutes. I went for lunch in the restaurant to refuel before using my ticket to go into the museum. 

This was a first class exhibition of souvenirs and memorabilia covering the clubs entire history. There were also some excellent videos to watch as I walked around. It was good to see Kevin Keegan's spell at the club was given plenty of coverage as well the matches with Burnley and Forest, as well as a poster from an early tour by Hartlepool United

I chatted with the lad on the desk who regrettably informed me that was nothing left of the original Sportplatz am Rothenbaum. I left and went downstairs with the O2 World indoor arena opposite. 

The rain was falling, but my luck was in as the hourly bus arrived within minutes taking me back towards the city, where I took a SBahn train before linking with the UBahn to call once more at Millerntor to get some unexpected photos and to visit the souvenir shop.

HSV had been a fitting end to a superb four days.

Hamburger SV 2 SV Darmstadt 3 (Saturday 16^th March 2019) 2. Bundesliga (att: 54,668)

It was the last of three very enjoyable days in Hamburg; a city I’d really embraced by going on a couple of walking tours and enjoying the ample nightlife that the St Pauli district had to offer. This encounter was to be the highlight of the visit.

I’d woken in far better condition than I anticipated as I checked out of the decent Hotel Stadt Altona and walked along the Reeperbahn. My, how different it looked in the morning in daylight. That said, a few establishments were already doing a decent trade.

Grabbing a coffee, I took the S Bahn from St Pauli to the Central Station to leave my bag in a left luggage locker and to enjoy some food. There was still just less than a couple of hours until kick off time, but I decided to head towards the stadium.

The train wasn’t as busy as I anticipated, and I got a seat all the way to Stellingen. Crowds were gathered in the square outside the station getting their fill of beer and sausage. I had several options but getting to the stadium seemed more prudent.

With plenty of time in hand I could have walked, but conscious of keeping some energy I took a free shuttle bus. My flight wasn’t until 10.30 that evening and I didn’t want to run out of gas too early.

The driver seemed to be in good form with his pronouncements down his mic as he took us on the ten minute journey. He was getting a few chuckles, from the HSV fans who were still happy from their 4-0 derby day victory over St Pauli the previous weekend.

The bus alighted nearest to my required turnstiles, which was very handy; especially with consideration to the return journey. Usual German efficiency soon had me through a ticket check and search despite crowds building.

My ticket had been purchased well in advance for €26 which included posting back to the UK. A free pocket sized programme was handed out on the slope up to the concourses. My seat was in the corner above the home terrace and offered a fantastic view.

Once I’d got my bearings, I had a wander about for a beer and some food while enjoying the murals painted by fans groups as well as watching the build up in a supporter’s area. Everything appeared to be geared to an immediate return to the top flight.

I took my seat with half an hour to kick off as the atmosphere built. Some local musicians were introduced to the crowd and then played on a small hydraulic stage that was hoisted in front of the most vocal Hamburg fans for them to perform.

The Volksparkstadion may receive criticism for its remote location, but they seemed to have matchdays in good order, from transport, facilities, catering and pre-match build up. It had certainly got me in the mood as the teams came out for the 1pm start.

‘Die Rothosen’ also seemed to be in the mood. Within a minute Khaled Narey’s dangerous run was unceremoniously ended by Darmstadt skipper Fabian Holland. Douglas Santos hit the crossbar with the resulting free kick. Pierre-Michel Lasogga then had a shot deflected over.

From the resulting corner Santos was brought down. The pressure bore fruit. Berkay Özcan delivered the free kick for Bakery Jatta to net from seven yards out after just five minutes. It’s fair to say that the place was jumping.

Darmstadt’s keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes was pressed into action to keep out a Narey effort after he’d been set up by Jatta. The visitors fought back with Marvin Mehlem seeing his effort deflected behind for a corner.

At the other end the HSV pace was just too much to cope with. Narey and Özcan combined with a quick passing move on fifteen minutes. Mathias Wittek connected with Narey and referee Badstübner awarded a penalty without any hesitation.

Lasogga smashed home the spot kick. I was celebrating by now, both at the outstanding football on display and the fact that Hamburg were one of the teams in my accumulator! The noise increased further with news that St Pauli were getting thumped at Sandhausen.

Mehlem countered for Darmstadt but was thwarted by a timely challenge from Scottish international David Bates. The game began to settle down after its frenetic opening with the visitors getting into the encounter.

Loanee player Joevin Jones saw a speculative effort saved by home keeper Julian Pollersbeck after half an hour. A couple of inebriated home fans offered amusement as they tried to locate their seats while armed with beers. They were in a proper mess.

Santos went on a driving run ten minutes before the interval before seeing his shot blocked by defender Wittek for a corner. HSV still looked in command as they continued to force a string of corners. However, Darmstadt held firm to the interval with the score at 2-0.

Hannes Wolf would obviously be the happier of the two coaches. However, whatever Dimitrios Grammozis said to his troops was to have a lasting effect, as seven minutes after the restart the deficit was halved. Yannick Stark was given too much room to pick out Mehlem who advanced and slotted past Pollersbeck.

The visitors began to realise that the game was far from over. The atmosphere changed in the stand. A right royal punch up went off in the next block to me. The local lads next to me said that it seemed to be booze related.

On sixty three minutes Mehlem caused more havoc to the HSV defence as a got to the byline and pulled back for Serdar Dursun who was kept at bay by Rick van Drongelen. The game had certainly turned around.

Santos forced Heuer Fernandes into a save from which he pounced on the ball before Lewis Holtby had the chance to finish. Stark fired another warning shot across the bows of the hosts when he saw his shot come back off the post and away from danger.

Substitute Orel Mangala went desperately close for Hamburg before the same player pushed Tobias Kempe in a dangerous position just outside the box. Kempe stepped up and fired a beautiful free kick which Pollersbeck got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.

My frustrations joined the regulars. My bet was in jeopardy of going down before the other games on the coupon had kicked off! There was nine minutes for Hamburg to grab a winner. Jatta set up Mangala but Heuer Fernandes made a fine stop.

There were half chances, but no-one was taking the responsibility to shoot. Jatta held on too long when there was a real opportunity. Too many short passes and lingering on the ball allowed the defenders to deal with any problems.

I’d made my move down the stairs to next to the exit as the game reached its ninety third and final minute. Dursun headed forward for Darmstadt. The excellent Mehlem latched onto it, beat two defenders on the run before planting the ball into the bottom cormer to win the match.

The away fans in the far corner were going berserk. The mood in my area was exactly the opposite. Some supporters appeared to be surprisingly phlegmatic; as though their team were going to win promotion anyway and this was just a blip.

My move paid dividends as I was on one of the many buses lined up to take us back to the station in no time. I returned to the main station to grab my bag unsure of whether to visit a third team game across town.

Instead I decided to return to the Reeperbahn to have some food and then try out some bars. I was quite enjoying Friedrich's until a gang of feral young Scots came in with all of the subtlety of an elephant in china shop, but without the manners.

David Quelle was a lovely little traditional bar around the corner showing the live Bundesliga action. I remained there for one more than I intended before walking back to see if my favourite Astra Bar had opened for business.

It hadn’t, so I made do with going back to the 80’s, at least in a musical sense in Käpt´n Brass. It was time to take the S Bahn back to the airport as news was breaking from back home that Scarborough Athletic had sacked manager Steve Kittrick.

That kept me occupied on the phone until my delayed departure flight back to Stansted. I’d really enjoyed Hamburg and got far more from it than my previous visit, where the Reeperbahn had slightly intimidated me.

Not even leaving my IPhone on the National Express coach, leading to three days of further adventure and hassle could put a dampener on things. Moin moin!

Click here to see my video of the pre match build up and HSV's second goal.