When Hamburger SV and St Pauli last met at the Volksparkstadion in April, their roles were reversed. HSV was the favorite for promotion and their rivals were holding their breath. St Pauli were dubbed “HSV-Jäger” (“HSV hunters”) by the German press and had turned their form around so spectacularly that they had gone from relegation candidates to third place, six points behind their derby rivals. A win would close the gap to three and a confused and exhausted HSV could well be trapped.
But in the end, the hunter became the hunted. St Pauli’s galloping wing-back Manolis Saliakas opened the scoring before walking away with his hands tucked behind his ears, but HSV scored three goals either side of half-time and although the visitors recovered late, the score finished 4-3. . When Jonas David, currently on loan at Hansa Rostock, scored the equalizer from 25 yards, HSV coach Tim Walter could not hold in his relief and rushed onto the field along with most of the coaching staff and substitutes. During the entire match, surrounded by a thick fog from flares and smoke bombs in the stands, he and his team jumped to the beat of the ultras’ drums and were swept up in the praise of more than 50,000 blue-clad fans. .
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When the sides meet at the Millerntor-Stadion on Friday evening, it will be St Pauli trying to escape the pursuing jaws. It wasn’t meant to be this way, at least in the case of HSV. On the final day of last season, after HSV beat SV Sandhausen 1-0 to move into second place, the final automatic promotion spot, it looked like the fallen giants would finally climb back into the Bundesliga and have an uninterrupted season there. 55 years before their heartbreaking relegation in 2018. HSV fans celebrated on the pitch, as did Walter before raising his hands in a vain attempt to change fate, and Sandhausen’s stadium announcer even congratulated them on their success. What they didn’t know was that Heidenheim, who had lost 2-1 to Jahn Regensburg and entered the injury period, would score two goals to get past HSV and condemn them to a promotion play-off, in which they would be sidelined by VfB Stuttgart.
Although St Pauli fans may have looked confused after the derby defeat, HSV’s tragicomic end to the season at least gave them something to smile about. In fact, they haven’t stopped smiling since then: St Pauli, who were in good form in the league after last season’s winter break, carried that momentum into this season and are unbeaten in the league. HSV is three points behind in second place. The chase continues.
St Pauli’s manager Fabian Hürzeler has earned a reputation as one of Germany’s most promising tacticians. The 30-year-old former Bayern Munich youth player is inevitably compared to Julian Nagelsmann as he is by far the youngest coach in the league. He cited Nagelsmann as an influence, as both spent their formative years in Bavaria and followed similar paths to the dugout. After suffering injuries and other setbacks throughout his football career, Hürzeler focused on coaching and was promoted from his assistant position by St Pauli following the sacking of Timo Schultz last December.
St. Pauli was nicknamed “Freibeuter der Liga” (“Pirates of the League”) as it cemented its counterculture status in the 1980s and 1990s, adopting the Jolly Roger as its unofficial emblem and once again living up to the name under the Hürzeler. They place a lot of emphasis on possession, but also rely on marauding wingers and wing-backs to overload their forward areas. Dapo Afolayan, transferred from Bolton in January, hit the field running in the 2. Bundesliga and did not look back, his blitz burst out and he took the field with Saliakas behind him. Up front, former Werder Bremen striker Johannes Eggestein poses an aerial threat by getting in crosses from Afolayan and Elias Saad on either wing.
The biggest improvement compared to last season was in defense. Although St Pauli changes shape frequently during the match, Hürzeler prefers to start the match with a 3-4-3 formation, with Karol Mets, Eric Smith and Hauke Wahl at the back. Signed on loan in January and signed permanently in the summer, the Mets bring in steel, Wahl, another summer addition, is a short-ball debut and Smith, a defensive center fielder by trade, combines the long-passing playmaker role with increased running backs. In the middle of the park, they defend on the front foot while others anchor the line. St Pauli has the tightest defense in the league, conceding only 11 goals. The equation is completed by midfield set-piece specialist Marcel Hartel, who has a wealth of goal-scoring form, and box-to-box raider Jackson Irvine, loved by fans for traveling to training on the bus. activism and involvement in the alternative music scene, just like the club.
HSV are also possession-oriented, but they are less consistent in imposing themselves on opponents. Their efforts to attack from the back are characterized by their goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes attacking off his line and providing defenders with an extra ball, but this is no small risk. With their most effective winger Bakery Jatta suspended, they will be even more dependent on former Cardiff forward Robert Glatzel, who is second in the Bundesliga with 10 points. Glatzel was directly involved in just under half of HSV’s goals. He also made three assists thanks to his tendency to drop deep and manage the game. “[The derby] “It’s a game like no other,” he said this week. “He has his own rules.”
There is little doubt that sparks will literally fly in the stands. It’s often said that St Pauli and HSV are worlds different, but they have more in common than their fans might like to admit: Hamburg has a vibrant lower league scene and fans of the two clubs generally get along well in the stands.
St Pauli fans are famous for their left-wing politics, but there is no simple political dichotomy between the clubs: HSV fans come from all walks of life and every part of the city. The difference is perhaps best illustrated by the difference between mainstream and counter-stream: HSV, six-time German champions and former European Cup champions for whom commercialization is a fact of life, and second-division mainstay St Pauli, who have never won a major victory. Thanks to their historical ties to anarchist, punk and squatter movements, they passionately discuss commercial impact at every opportunity, even as the club has become a global brand.
But there is a deep antipathy between the clubs’ ultras, manifested in large pre-match street marches and banners mocking each other at matches. This will create a heated atmosphere at Millerntor, where St Pauli have not lost a derby in over four years. Underdogs by nature, they are now in the unfamiliar position of belittling their opponents. “There are no favorites in this match,” Hürzeler said when asked about St Pauli’s lead. “The truth lies on the field”