Rise of FC St. Pauli
Lots of well-known congratulations – and an open question of character
As of: 3:28 p.m. Reading time: 3 minutes
After a short night of partying, Fabian Hürzeler turns his attention to the season finale next Sunday. For the coach and players of FC St. Pauli one thing is clear: “We want to become champions.” There is a special greeting from Udo Lindenberg.
Monday was a day of congratulations for FC St. Pauli, emails arrived on the club server from all areas of society, some also congratulated publicly – like musician and honorary citizen Udo Lindenberg. But more on that later.
After promotion, St. Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler’s focus is on ongoing game operations. And here’s winning the championship in the 2nd Bundesliga: “It’s different if your resume says promoted team or second division champion,” said the 31-year-old on Monday during a media round in the Millerntorstadion, where the Kiezkickers are playing had previously completed their return to the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over VfL Osnabrück.
The season finale next Sunday (3:30 p.m./Sky) is also a “character question” for Hürzeler. Should FC St. Pauli be 16th in the table? If Wiesbaden loses, it would mean the relegation of their arch-rivals FC Hansa Rostock. For the Hanseatic coach, one thing is certain: “We want to become champions.”
The night after the climb was short for the 31-year-old: “I had a medical round at 8:30 a.m., but I slept a little beforehand.” When asked what his first thought was after waking up, Hürzeler replied : “How do we play against Wiesbaden?” Preparation for the season finale begins on Wednesday.
Sports director Andreas Bornemann also looked to the future. “We have had planning security since yesterday,” said the 52-year-old. “We can build on a good foundation and take the next steps now. The Bundesliga is a different level. We know what’s coming, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Club president Oke Göttlich emphasized the core brand of FC St. Pauli: “We are a club with a statement, a message.” In contrast to clubs with outsourced professional departments and money from investors, they also want to “be successful as a member-run club.” But Göttlich also knows: “We don’t play with the instruments like other clubs that play in the Bundesliga financial concert.”
In the short term, the club boss has his sights set on the promotion party on Whit Monday, which was announced as a “demonstration for democracy and club culture”. With a view to the possible championship trophy, the 48-year-old said with a smile and in the way you would expect from a St. Pauli official: “We hope that we get something handed to us. Maybe we’ll melt it down and make it a 50+1 trophy.”
Everyone was also happy about the greeting from the Hotel Atlantic, and with it back to Udo Lindenberg. He congratulated the club on Facebook on Sunday. He referred to his 1976 song “Bodo Ballermann”. The rewritten lyrics were accompanied by a picture in the style of “Likörelle” – paintings by Lindenberg, for which he uses special color mixtures of liqueur and acrylic paint.
