A Friday Night in St. Pauli for the Hamburg Derby
The Hamburg clubs went into the first Stadtderby of the season occupying the top two spots in Germany’s second tier. Ryan Hunn was at the Millerntor, to experience the Hamburg derby for the first time.
Whenever I go to a game in Germany, I have this really annoying habit of getting one chant stuck in my head. I mean we’ve all done that at some point, right? Where you can’t stop humming or singing it in a low voice to yourself on the train home, or walking from the station to your door, or for the entirety of the following day. The one that’s been on rotation this week is St. Pauli’s chant to the tune of Culture Club’s ‘Karma Chameleon’, that rang out for the last ten minutes or so of last week’s Hamburg Derby.
Despite living just a couple of hours away from it for years–and having been to Hamburg many times–the derby has been a fixture I had never been to, let alone one at St. Pauli. In fact, I’d been to a club fanshop in another city before I’d seen a game at the Millerntor, with the stadium long being one on the bucket list.
So here I was, finally, on the first day of December—a Friday—at the end of a week where Germany truly plunged itself into winter, having seemingly had little patience for autumn. Heading into Hamburg the weather was cold and crisp, with snow on the ground and the sun hidden somewhere in a bottomless blue sky.
Getting off the train at Hamburg’s Hauptbahnof, there’s the odd sign here and there of the evening’s derby. There’s a blue and white and scarf tucked under the collar of the coat of a well dressed man. He looks almost sheepish, maybe because his HSV are the away side tonight. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a scarf bearing the iconic St.Pauli skull and crossbones, worn by a younger guy, who’s dressed in all black and walking with much more purpose. Both head into town, weaving their way through the crowds of Christmas shoppers. But the overall mood is calm: not one you’d associate with derby day. Yet.
A few hours later, after heading west through the Altstadt, a helicopter hovers over the city. No need for Google Maps now: just follow the chopper or the increasing flow of those wearing St. Pauli scarves and hats, let yourself get carried in the current until—behind a ferris wheel at an adjacent Christmas market—you catch a glimpse of the Millerntor for the first time, as the temperature cruelly drops and the sun has long gone.
The stadium is tucked away, just off Budapester Strasse which forks away from the infamous Reeperbahn, and it’s appearance is casually unique. From the outside, it’s all old-school brick and glass. There’s a club bar on one side and a club restaurant next to that. Crowds of fans are outside, drinking beer, eating bratwurst, smoking, chatting, catching up. This is a Friday night and this is their club. It’s hard to explain, but it really does feel like a singular grassroots institution which just happens to have one eye on promotion to Germany’s top tier.
After currywurst and coffee, it’s time to step out into the quickly-cooling Hamburg night. It’s more than an hour before kickoff and the players are yet to come out to warm up, but the home and away fans are already engaged in some call and response chanting and the volume is already rising. Despite the temperature being well below freezing, things get heated when the teams do come out to warm up, where a brief ruckus between both sets of players is eventually separated by the coaching staff.
By the time kickoff arrives, it gets delayed a little longer. As the players walk out to the customary sound of AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells, the Pyro displays unveiled at both ends of the stadium have filled the Millerntor with smoke. The resultant cloud is so dense that it’s hard to make out how many players are on the pitch and, as it clears, snow has started to descend upon on the stadium. More flares are lit, met with multiple warnings on the stadium tannoy, but even they couldn’t prevent the snow from settling on St. Pauli’s home patch.
As for the game itself, it was arguably the biggest derby in a while, with St. Pauli sitting three points clear of HSV ahead of kickoff at the top of the 2.Bundesliga table. The league leaders are the only undefeated team in the division, and are looking more assured of promotion than their crosstown rivals, who have had several agonising near-misses since being relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time back in 2018.
St. Pauli dominated the first half, playing a hyper-attacking style of football that they’ve developed under their coach, the precocious 30-year-old Fabian Hürzeler, who got promoted from assistant following Timo Schultz’s sacking. Six players lined up on the halfway line at kickoff and all charged towards the HSV goal and it was a sign of things to come. The home side took the lead with Jackson Irvine’s smart finish from a corner, then doubled it following a bizarre own goal from HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes.
Whether it was the orange ball, another smoke break, or the deteriorating conditions, St. Pauli weren’t the same in the second half, as HSV scored two goals in quick succession to pull level. The points would end up being shared. It suited HSV, but—despite the disappointment—it also suited St. Pauli, who maintained their unbeaten record and their position at the top of the Zweite.
A win for St. Pauli in the following game, in the German Cup, extended their unbeaten run, putting them into the quarterfinals of the cup and leaving them still in prime position to return to the top flight for the first time since 2011. If they get there, they look more prepared to stay there longer than their previous visits, which only lasted a season that is largely down to Hürzeler.
In Seb Stafford-Bloor’s brilliant interview with Hürzeler, he revealed how unique his situation was, with some experienced players in the dressing room being older than him. He also detailed how he met with a group of the senior players, revealing his ideas and making the process feel collaborative and democratic. St. Pauli haven’t looked back since.
Who knows if there will be a league Stadtderby at the Millerntor next year: but, if there is, then chances are it’ll be in Bundesliga. But, wherever it is and whatever the weather, the flares will be lit, the smoke will fill the air and—if you get a chance to go—you’ll probably find yourself humming, “Allez allez allez allez allez allez St Pauli, oh St Pauli, oh St Pauli-iiiii,” on the train home, walking to your door, or for the whole week afterwards.