The joy was great in the Volksparkstadion: Hamburg’s Robert Glatzel (right) and his colleagues in the game against FC Schalke 04 Photo: dpa
Will Hamburg finally get promoted back to the Bundesliga? Take it easy, it’s only the end of July. But the season opener against Schalke 04 tears many of the seats in the stadium. But one warns: After all, it is HSV.
It’s hard to imagine a football team being able to exude such an infectious energy for more than a few weeks, maybe months, and perhaps that’s why on Friday night it seemed like the audience wanted to savor the moment for an extra long time.
So while the fans of FC Schalke 04 cheered their “Royal Blues” despite the 3:5 defeat at the start of the second division, the ceremony in front of the north stand took place with such intensity as if something really big had just been achieved here – what in terms of Hamburger SV can only mean: promotion.