Saturday morning began, slightly worse for wear, with a 2 hour train journey from Berlin to Hamburg. When the trip was initially booked the plan was for a double header today, but sadly the weather put paid to a visit to SC Victoria Hamburg as their game with Hamburg stiffs was called off in the week.
A possible alternative of SV Henstedt-Ulzburg was mooted, but quickly dismissed in favour of some "sightseeing" (luckily we did dismiss this option, as we subsequently found out this too was postponed).
The, ahem, sightseeing began in the afternoon when we met up some Hamburg supporters in the London Pub in the centre of the (in)famous Reeperbahn. This is the place where the fab five (as they were then) honed their skills in dingy clubs before going on to conquer the world. There is a sculpture to commemorate this and the street Beatles-Platz is named in their honour.
I had previously met the Hamburg fans in Freiburg and they said if I needed tickets for a match, they would sort me out and they were as good as their word and they also took me and my mate under their wings for the day, as we went from bar to bar, and up to the ground.
The Volksparkstadion (currently known as the Imtech Arena for sponsorship reasons) is well out of town and required a trip via S-bahn and bus. The ground was not the original home of HSV, but they did partake in it's inaugural match in 1925, losing 2-3 to FC Altona.
HSV moved into the Volksparkstadion in 1963 when they became founder members of the Bundesliga and in 1998 the ground was completely demolished and re-built, partly for safety reasons, partly for in readiness for the World Cup in 2006. The current capacity is 57,000 and in 2010 it hosted the Europa League final when Fulham lost 2-1 to Athletico Madrid.
Hamburg are one of the most famous names in German football having been continuously in the top level of the country's various league systems since the end of World War One. They have won the Bundesliga on 6 occasions and were European Champions in 1983, led by Rothosen legend Felix Magath.
In 1977 HSV hit the headlines by signing Kevin Keegan and he was named European footballer of the year twice (but to me he will always be remembered for his rant) and helped the club to the European Cup final in 1980. This signing is still remembered in Hamburg and when we were having our pre-match drinks there was a stag party all wearing Keegan wigs in homage to the permed one.
This season has been indifferent for HSV losing as many games as they have won, but the majority of victories have been at home. However today they were second best to a lively Frankfurt side. Srdjan Lakic (22 & 36) scored twice in the first half, his first goals for the club. Despite the influence of ex-Spurs man Rafael van der Vaart, HSV could not find a way back into the game.
The result never affected the post match atmosphere and the beer kept flowing well into the early hours and a good time was had by all, but I did end up losing my beloved hat!!!
With thanks to Markus & Julia, I hope to return the favour one day soon!
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