2nd League FC St. Pauli not only inspires its own fans
FC St. Pauli is the team of the moment in the 2nd league. photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
FC St. Pauli is currently top in the 2nd Bundesliga. This is no coincidence. As in the 5-1 win against 1. FC Nürnberg, they celebrate the art of football. But someone preaches humility and modesty.
For FC St. Pauli fans, their favorites are no longer of this world. While previously it was mainly captain Jackson Irvine who was proclaimed the football god of the Hamburg second division team, on Saturday evening in the Millerntor Stadium in the 5-1 win against 1. FC Nürnberg, the supporters gave each player the honorary title after mentioning their last name.
“I was really surprised. Most of the time it’s just Jackson. But I was also happy to be called that,” said double goalscorer Johannes Eggestein with a smile. “I don’t know if they always do that now. But today maybe it’s deserved that everyone was called that.”
Art football from the working-class district
He and his teammates are currently not only inspiring their own fans. The league leaders’ almost intoxicating performance against Nuremberg in the second half was not the first this season. Under their young coach Fabian Hürzeler, the team of the club from the working-class district sometimes celebrates the art of football, shows an unbridled enthusiasm for the game and maintains an amazing balance between attacking spectacle and solid defensive work – and does so consistently week after week. The only one who keeps a critical eye is Hürzeler himself. “I’m not someone who puts on the brakes. But I’m someone who can assess everything very, very well,” he said about the fan enthusiasm after Nuremberg -Game. “Values like humility and modesty are very, very important to me. Because that’s what I stand for. And I will carry that into the team.” Of course, a certain euphoria and flow should also arise. “But there’s always work to be done.”
“A lot of things are coming together at the moment”
The league lead before the international break may only be a snapshot – it is primarily the result of an impressive development under Hürzeler. “A lot of things are coming together at the moment. I’m incredibly proud of this team, of every single one of them,” said Australian leader Irvine.
In the inner-city duel with the competition from Volkspark, seven kilometers from Millerntor, FC St. Pauli is currently just ahead. HSV had also astonished with brilliant performances at the start of the season, but got out of step with the failures against the newly promoted teams in Elversberg and Osnabrück (1:2 each) and the unsatisfactory 1:1 at SV Wehen Wiesbaden. A small consolation: HSV is just two points behind the neighborhood club.
Sports director Andreas Bornemann and Hürzeler are responsible for development at FC St. Pauli. Last December, 52-year-old Bornemann released club icon Timo Schultz as head coach. A decision that was not well received by large parts of the fan community. At the same time, the manager promoted Hürzeler, who was only 29 years old at the time, from assistant to head coach.
The risk with Hürzeler pays off
The risk paid off. Hürzeler’s previous second division record: He lost two of 26 games this year – most recently in April with a 3-4 defeat against HSV. He turned relegation into a candidate for promotion. Bornemann, however, managed to sign players who fit perfectly with FC St. Pauli.
Hürzeler’s special achievement is to have raised the players to a new level. “You can’t say that we have a first and second row. We are now at the same level. Anyone can play there,” said striker Eggestein. “At the same time, we manage to have positive competition.”
The Nuremberg game was just one example of this: Hürzeler brought on Etienne Ameneyido and Connor Metcalfe in the final phase. First Ameneyido scored, then he set up Metcalfe’s goal. Eggestein: “You can see that we’re working really well as a team at the moment.”
dpa
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