Hamburger SV’s poor relations brought a unique and attractive attitude to the German top flight, complete with a ritualistic playing of AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” before home games, Jolly Roger corner flags, a beer and wurst-delivering train in the stands, and even stripper poles in some of the private boxes.
For all their seductive bells and whistles, one question remained: were St Pauli, more known for fan culture than their sporting results, beyond their depth in the Bundesliga?
Following a decent first half of the campaign, Holger Stanislawski’s team has indeed been found lacking. With a first team that includes a part-time police officer (Fabian Boll) and several loaned mercenaries, St Pauli have been thinned by injuries all year, and were even forced to call up Hauke Bruckner, a trainee in the club’s media department, to add squad depth in late February.
Five straight losses entering Friday’s match with Schalke had fans and players alike on edge. A disaster was brewing, but just needed a spark.
That slight bit of inertia was overcome midway through the second half of the Schalke match. With the score at 0-1 to the visitors, Max Kruse’s free-kick bounced just in front of Boll’s outstretched foot, fooling Manuel Neuer as it looped into the top-left corner of the net. As the home fans roared with delight and relief, linesman Thorsten Schiffner raised his flag for offside on Boll, nullifying the goal. Moments later, a swift and deadly Schalke counterattack was punctuated by Julian Draxler, who with his first Bundesliga goal made the score 2-0, effectively condemning the hosts to a sixth consecutive defeat. Cruel and unusual.
The sharp turnaround from apparently level to 0-2 down was met initially with a sense of dejection, but the players’ sentiments rapidly took a turn for the ugly. Jan-Philipp Kalla was sent off after a hard tackle from behind on Jefferson Farfan, and in the 78th minute, Fin Bartels vented his frustration with a vicious kick to the Peruvian’s shins. The 23-year old was dismissed for his disgraceful challenge, which only served to further enrage the increasingly disorderly home crowd. The situation boiled over two minutes from full time when a fan threw a mug of beer at the referee Schiffner, striking him in the back of the neck. Head referee Deniz Aytekin promptly abandoned the match, and the officials left the pitch under umbrella cover.
While it is true that an individual perpetrated the attack on Schiffner, it would be a grave injustice to exonerate the club from any responsibility. St Pauli caught a tough break that was only exacerbated by Draxler’s goal, but their players reacted in a shockingly unprofessional manner that only gave heat to a brewing cauldron of frustration. Rather than blame themselves for being ripped apart by Farfan, the Buccaneers gave up and began to vent their vexation on their opponents. The fans channeled their players’ anger until finally, one idiot effectively doomed the club to relegation. And that is only the beginning of the damage.
Before the match, Stanislawski was unsure as to whether he’d remain St Pauli coach for another season. With Friday’s events, the decision was made for him; the fan might as well have thrown his beer mug at the coach himself. The club will likely receive a points deduction, and with 2. Bundesliga football beckoning once more, there will be little incentive for any marketable players not to follow Stanislawski out the door.
It’s a shame that such a senseless act has tarnished the image of what is a tight knit, well-behaved, unique club. For all the Jolly Rogers and the intimidating atmosphere at the Millerntor, St Pauli are a rare team, one that values purpose and image above all other things. In the 1980s, theirs were among the first fans in Europe to launch anti-racist and anti-homophobic campaigns. More recently, at the request of fans who were concerned with the club’s identity, management agreed to never sell the naming rights to the Millerntor-Stadion, despite the massive financial losses that have come with such a missed opportunity. It was through unity and self-belief, not an abundance of talent, that the Buccaneers made it to the first division. And now everything the club has stood for has been marred.
Their run of losses and lack of goals all season long have raised questions of whether St Pauli are Bundesliga material. If there was any doubt as to their sporting shortcomings, Friday’s match answered the question from a different perspective. With a display that defined amateurism, the club sabotaged their Bundesliga adventure.
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Abandoned Match Proves St Pauli Are Out Of Their Depth In The Bundesliga