FC St. Pauli

FC St Pauli

Full name	Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V.
Nickname(s)	Freibeuter der Liga (Buccaneers of the League)
Founded	15 May 1910 (1910-05-15)
Ground	Millerntor-Stadion
Ground Capacity	29,546
President	Oke Göttlich
Manager	Ewald Lienen
League	2. Bundesliga
2014–15	15th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours colours

Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli, is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg.

The football department is part of a larger sports club that also has departments in rugby (FC St. Pauli Rugby), baseball, bowling, boxing (FC St. Pauli Boxen), chess, cycling, handball, roller derby (Harbour Girls Hamburg), skittles, softball and table tennis. Until the end of 2013 the club also had a department in American Football, but it was dissovoled because it lacked the youth team required in order to hold a men's team. FC St. Pauli has 22,000 members as of 1 July 2015.

The men's professional football team dropped down to the Regionalliga in 2003, at that time the third highest football division in Germany and remained there for four years. In 2007, they won promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga and in 2010, they were promoted to the Bundesliga. Since the 2011–12 season, they have played in 2. Bundesliga, which is the second highest division in Germany.

FC St Pauli has a cross-town rivalry with Hamburger SV, the matches between the two are known as the Hamburger Stadtderby or simply Derby. The club also has a rivalry with Hansa Rostock. While the footballers have enjoyed only modest success on the field, the club is widely recognised for its distinctive culture and has a large popular following as one of the country's "Kult" clubs. FC St. Pauli supporters are highly identified with left-wing politics and have a long-standing friendship with the supporters of Celtic Football Club from Scotland.

History

Early years

The club began its existence in 1899 as a loose, informal group of football enthusiasts within the Hamburg-St.Pauli Turn-Verein 1862. This group did not play its first match until 1907, when they faced a similar side assembled from the local Aegir swimming club. Officially established on 15 May 1910, the club played as St. Pauli TV in the Kreisliga Groß-Hamburg (Alsterkreis) until 1924, when a separate football side called St. Pauli was formed. The team played as an undistinguished lower-to-mid table side until making their first appearance in 1934 in the top-flight Gauliga Nordmark, one of sixteen premier level divisions created in the re-organization of German football that took place under the Third Reich. They were immediately relegated, but returned to the top flight in 1936. Relegated again in 1940, St. Pauli re-appeared in the Gauliga Hamburg in 1942, and played there until the end of World War II.

Post-war football

After the war, the club resumed play in the Oberliga Nord in 1947. A second-place finish in the 1947–48 season led St. Pauli to its first appearance in the national championship rounds. They advanced as far as the semi-finals, where they were knocked out 2–3 by eventual champions 1. FC Nuremberg. The club continued to play well throughout the early 1950s, but were unable to overtake rivals Hamburger SV, finishing in second place in five of the next seven seasons, and going out in the early rounds in each of their championship-round appearances from 1949 to 1951. In the late fifties and into the early 1960s, St. Pauli were overtaken by rivals such as Werder Bremen and VfL Osnabrück, but finished fourth a number of times.

Promotion to the Bundesliga

In 1963 the Bundesliga, West Germany's new top-flight professional league, was formed. Hamburg, Werder Bremen, and Eintracht Braunschweig joined the new circuit as the top-finishers from the Oberliga Nord, while St. Pauli found themselves in the second-tier Regionalliga Nord.

Nearly a decade and a half of frustration followed. St. Pauli won their division in 1964, but finished bottom of their group in the promotion play-off round. They took their next Regionalliga Nord title in 1966 and, while they performed far better in the play-offs, still failed to advance to the top-flight, losing out to Rot-Weiss Essen on goal difference, having conceded two more goals. Division championships in 1972 and 1973, and runner-up finishes in 1971 and 1974, were each followed by promotion-round play-off disappointment.

The success of the Bundesliga, and the growth of professional football in West Germany, led to the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. St. Pauli was part of the new second-tier professional circuit in the 2. Bundesliga Nord and in 1977, they finally advanced to the top flight as winners of their division. The team survived just one season at the highest level in the Bundesliga.

The club's return to the 2. Bundesliga Nord was also short-lived. On the verge on bankruptcy in 1979, they were denied a license for the following season and were sent down to the Oberliga Nord (III). Strong performances that set the team atop that division in 1981 and 1983 were marred by poor financial health. By 1984, the club had recovered sufficiently to return to the 2. Bundesliga, overtaking Werder Bremen's amateur side who, despite finishing two points ahead of St. Pauli, were ineligible for promotion.

"Kult" phenomenon

The Skull and crossbones symbol on a supporter flag.

It was in the mid-1980s that St. Pauli's transition from a traditional club into a "Kult" club began. The club was also able to turn the location of its ground in the dock area part of town, near Hamburg's famous Reeperbahn — centre of the city's night life and its red-light district — to its advantage. An alternative fan scene emerged, built around left-leaning politics, social activism and the event and party atmosphere of the club's matches. Supporters adopted the skull and crossbones as their own unofficial emblem. St. Pauli became the first team in Germany to officially ban right-wing nationalist activities and displays in its stadium in an era when fascist-inspired football hooliganism threatened the game across Europe. In 1981, the team was averaging crowds of only 1,600 spectators: by the late 1990s they were frequently selling out their entire 20,000-capacity ground.

The Skull and Crossbones symbol had always been associated with St Pauli (the city quarter) in one way or another. Hamburg fostered the most famous pirate of Germany, Klaus Störtebeker and the symbol had been used by the house occupants at Hafenstrasse; but the one who should be credited with finally bringing the symbol to the terraces is probably Doc Mabuse, the singer of a Hamburg punk band. As the legend tells, he first grabbed the flag from a stall while passing drunk through the Dom on his way to the Millerntor-Stadion.

In the early 1990s, the media in Germany recognized the Kult-image of the club, focusing on the punk part of the fan-base in TV broadcasts of the matches. By this time, the media also started to establish nicknames like "Freibeuter der Liga" ("Buccaneers of the League"") as well as "das Freudenhaus der Liga" ("Brothel of the League", literally "House of Joy").

St. Pauli moved in and out of the Bundesliga over the course of the next dozen years: The club were narrowly relegated to the Oberliga in the 1984–85 season, but won the 1985–86 championship and returned to 2. Bundesliga. Two increasingly strong years followed, resulting in promotion and three seasons in 1. Bundesliga, during 1988–91. Four seasons followed in 2. Bundesliga, and then another two in 1. Bundesliga 1995–97, before returning to 2. Bundesliga.

Into the new millennium

The new South Tribune of the Millerntor-Stadion, seen from Budapester Straße.

Until 2010, their most recent appearance in the top flight had been a single-season cameo in 2001–02. A win against FC Bayern Munich, the reigning World Club Cup winners, led to the popular Weltpokalsiegerbesieger (World Club Champion beaters) shirts. However, the team finished last in the league, partly because the management did not trust the team which surprisingly won the promotion in 2001, but rather spent the additional money from Bundesliga TV contracts and advertisements on expensive but disappointing players. After the relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, only a skeleton of the successful 2001 team remained; the season 2002–03 ended up in chaos, with the team fighting relegation (ultimately in vain) from the very beginning, various coaches departing and other problems internal to the club.

With the club almost bankrupt again and the less-lucrative Regionaliga Nord (III) looming, the club began its fund-raising activities, the so-called Retteraktion. They printed t-shirts with the club's crest surrounded by the word Retter (rescuer/saviour) and more than 140,000 were sold within six weeks. They also organized a benefit game, against Bayern Munich, to try to help rescue the club.

The club has also been active in terms of charity and in 2005 the club, the team and the fans initiated the Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli campaign, which collects money for water-dispensers for schools in Cuba, for clean water in Rwanda et cetera.

During the 2005–06 season, the team enjoyed unprecedented success in the DFB Cup, with wins over Burghausen, Bochum and, significantly, Bundegsliga sides Hertha Berlin and, in the quarter-finals on 25 January 2006, Werder Bremen. Their 3–1 victory in front of a sell-out Millerntor crowd, and their subsequent place in the DFB Cup semi-final, netted the club approximately €1 million in TV and sponsorship money, going a long way to saving the club from immediate financial ruin.

St. Pauli finally went out of the cup to Bayern Munich on 12 April, going down 3–0 with a goal from Owen Hargreaves and two from Claudio Pizarro. Coincidentally Bayern Munich were also St. Pauli's opponents and dispatchers, in the first round of the following season's cup.

After success in the 2006–07 season, the team was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. After defeating Greuther Fürth in the 2009–10 season the team secured promotion back to the Bundesliga for the 2010–11 season. On 16 February 2011, during the 2010–11 season and for the first time since 1977, St Pauli defeated their bitter cross-city rivals Hamburger SV away at the Volksparkstadion courtesy of a Gerald Asamoah goal. However, the team finished the season last in the league going back to the 2. Bundesliga.

Since then the club has been playing in the 2. Bundesliga, finishing fourth in 2012 but declining in results since then.

Honours

League

• Stadtliga Hamburg (I)
  • Champions: 1947
• Regionalliga Nord (II)
  • Champions (4): 1964, 1966, 1972, 1973
• 2. Bundesliga Nord (II)
  • Champions: 1977
• 2. Bundesliga (II)
  • Runners-up (3): 1987-88, 1994-95, 2009-10
• Oberliga Nord (III)
  • Champions (3): 1981, 1983, 1986
• Regionalliga Nord (III)
  • Champions: 2007

Cup

• Hamburger Pokal
  • Winners: 1986, 2004, 2005, 2006

Reserve team

• Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein (IV)
  • Champions: 1995, 1999, 2003
• Oberliga Hamburg (V)
  • Champions: 2011
• Hamburger Pokal
  • Winners: 1998, 2001, 2008

Recent seasons

The club's recent seasons:

Year	Division	Position
1999–2000	2. Bundesliga (II)	13th
2000–01	2. Bundesliga	3rd (promoted)
2001–02	Bundesliga (I)	18th (relegated)
2002–03	2. Bundesliga (II)	17th (relegated)
2003–04	Regionalliga Nord (III)	8th
2004–05	Regionalliga Nord	7th
2005–06	Regionalliga Nord	6th
2006–07	Regionalliga Nord	1st (promoted)
2007–08	2. Bundesliga (II)	9th
2008–09	2. Bundesliga	8th
2009–10	2. Bundesliga	2nd (promoted)
2010–11	Bundesliga	18th (relegated)
2011–12	2. Bundesliga	4th
2012–13	2. Bundesliga	10th
2013–14	2. Bundesliga	8th
2014–15	2. Bundesliga	15th

Supporters

The flag used by the St. Pauli supporters.

St. Pauli enjoys a certain fame for the left-leaning character of its supporters: most of the team's fans regard themselves as anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-homophobic and anti-sexist, and this has on occasion brought them into conflict with neo-Nazis and hooligans at away games. The organization has adopted an outspoken stance against racism, fascism, sexism, and homophobia and has embodied this position in its constitution. Team supporters traditionally participate in demonstrations in the Hamburg district of St. Pauli, including those over squatting or low-income housing, such as the Hafenstraße and Bambule. The centre of fan activity is the Fanladen St. Pauli.

St Pauli fans currently have a strong relationship with the fans of Ternana, Hapoel Tel Aviv and the fans of Celtic F.C. in particular, and in the past they had a friendship with the fans of Bohemians 1905. The group Ultrá Sankt Pauli also has a special friendship with the group Schickeria München, from the ultras scene of Bayern Munich. The banner of the Schickeria München is occasionally displayed at the Millerntor Stadion, and a flag of the Ultrá Sankt Pauli - sporting a picture of Che Guevara - is occasionally displayed at the Allianz Arena.

The club prides itself on having the largest number of female fans in all of German football. In 2002, advertisements for the men's magazine Maxim were removed from the team's stadium, in response to fans' protests over the adverts' sexist depictions of women.

St. Pauli is also a worldwide symbol for punk and related subcultures. The Skull and crossbones logo and the team's brown and white football jerseys have often been worn by international artists such as the bands Asian Dub Foundation, Gaslight Anthem and Panteon Rococo. The KMFDM frontman and Hamburg native Sascha Konietzko is a recognisable St. Pauli fan, at one point placing a huge picture of a fist smashing a swastika on his band's main page, with the caption "St. Pauli Fans gegen Rechts!" ("St. Pauli fans against the Right") underneath it. Another notable supporter and sponsor is Andrew Eldritch, lead singer of band The Sisters of Mercy. On his 2006 "Sisters Bite The Silver Bullet"- tour, Eldritch wore the famous skull and crossbones shirt. Georg Holm, the bassist of the Icelandic post rock band Sigur Rós, has performed at several festivals wearing a St. Pauli t-shirt. Alex Rosamilia, the guitarist for The Gaslight Anthem, frequently wears a St. Pauli hat and hoodie. Editors guitarist and synthesiser player Chris Urbanowicz frequently wears the skull and crossbones t-shirt. Dave Doughman, the singer for Dayton, Ohio's Swearing at Motorists, who has been spotted in concert with the skull and crossbones on his guitar and amplifier, moved to St. Pauli in 2010. Bad Religion played a charity match against St. Pauli's third team in 2000. German musicians that are fans include: Fettes Brot, Die Ärzte singer/drummer/songwriter Bela B., Kettcar, Tomte and many other bands, most of them underground.

The ska punk group Kollmarlibre are avowed supporters of FC St. Pauli.

Several bands has also made music directly related to St. Pauli: The Norwegian punk rock band Turbonegro recorded a special version of their song "I Got Erection" with re-worked German lyrics for St. Pauli. In 2009, Italian Ska Combat-Folk Punk band Talco from Marghera, Venice wrote the song "St Pauli". The team has since used the song as an anthem and Talco has played a number of concerts at Millerntor-Stadion. Glasgow band The Wakes have also played the Millerntor, having written "The Pirates of the League" about the club. Also the British band Art Brut has written a song about the club called "St Pauli", which is featured on their album It's A Bit Complicated. In 2010 FC St. Pauli celebrated its 100th anniversary. For the occasion the Fan club 18auf12 recorded the song: "Happy Birthday St.Pauli, One Hundred Beers for You" (Words and music by Henning Knorr and Christoph Brüx).
The Canadian punk rock band "The Pagans of Northumberland" recorded a song in 2014 called simply "St Pauli" for their first 7" detailing their love of the club and it's supporters around the world.

When the team plays in Germany's second football division, their home fixtures at the Millerntor use to average greater attendances than any other team and often exceeded turnouts for second division teams. As of the 2011–12 season, St. Pauli is the only team that has close to one hundred percent in average home attendance.

St. Pauli have more holders of season tickets than many Bundesliga teams. One study recently estimated that the team has roughly 11 million fans throughout Germany, making the club one of the most widely recognised German sides. The number of official fan clubs passed 500 in year 2011 which is an increase of 300 over just three years.

Club culture

St. Pauli opens its home matches with "Hells Bells" by AC/DC, and after every home goal "Song 2" by Blur is played.

The former club president Corny Littmann, long active in German theatre and head of the Schmidt Theater on the Reeperbahn, is openly gay.

St. Pauli have made pre-season appearances at Wacken Open Air, a heavy metal festival, several times.

The club hosted the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup, a tournament made up of unrecognised national football teams like Greenland, Tibet and Zanzibar. They participated as the "Republic of St. Pauli".

In 2008 Nike commemorated the club with two exclusive Dunk shoes, both released in limited quantities. The High Dunk (featuring a black colorway, and the skull and crossbones symbol) was released to all countries throughout Europe, with only 500 pairs produced. The Low Dunk (featuring a smooth white colorway, and holding the team's logo impregnated in the side panel leather) was released only to shops in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, with only 150 pairs produced.

Fundamental Principles

St. Pauli were the first club in Germany to integrate a set of Fundamental Principles (Leitlinien) to dictate how the club is run. The Fundamental Principles were passed by an overwhelming majority at the St Pauli Congress in 2009 and they go beyond solely football.

The first five Principles states that:

– "In its totality, consisting of members, staff, fans and honorary officers, St. Pauli FC is a part of the society by which it is surrounded and so is affected both directly and indirectly by social changes in the political, cultural and social spheres."

– "St. Pauli FC is conscious of the social responsibility this implies, and represents the interests of its members, staff, fans and honorary officers in matters not just restricted to the sphere of sport."

– "St. Pauli FC is the club of a particular city district, and it is to this that it owes its identity. This gives it a social and political responsibility in relation to the district and the people who live there."

– "St. Pauli FC aims to put across a certain feeling for life and symbolises sporting authenticity. This makes it possible for people to identify with the club independently of any sporting successes it may achieve. Essential features of the club that encourage this sense of identification are to be honoured, promoted and preserved."

– "Tolerance and respect in mutual human relations are important pillars of the St. Pauli philosophy."

Stadium

The home venue of the FC St Pauli is the Millerntor-Stadion. Work on the stadium began in 1961, but its completion was delayed until 1963 as there was initially no drainage system in place, making the pitch unplayable after rain. It originally held 32,000 supporters, but the capacity was later reduced for safety reasons.

In 1970, the stadium was renamed Wilhelm Koch-Stadium, in honour of a former club president, but this name became highly controversial when it was discovered that Wilhelm Koch had been a member of the Nazi Party during the war. After protests by fans, the name was changed back to Millerntor-Stadion in 1999.

A total redevelopment began in 2006. The final phase of the redevelopment work ended with the completion of the new north stand in July 2015. The stadium is since then permitted for a capacity of 29,546 spectators of which 16,940 are standing and 12,606 are seated.

The Stadium is located next to the Heiligengeistfeld, and is overlooked by the infamous Flak Tower IV to the north and a building of the Deutsche Telekom to the south. It can easily be reached with the Hamburg U-Bahn line U3 (St. Pauli Station and Feldstrasse Station).

Players

Current squad

As of 18 November 2015
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Philipp Heerwagen 3 DF Lasse Sobiech 4 DF Philipp Ziereis 5 DF Joël Keller 7 DF Bernd Nehrig 8 MF Jeremy Dudziak 9 FW Fafà Picault 10 MF Christopher Buchtmann 11 MF Marc Rzatkowski 12 FW John Verhoek 13 MF Ryo Miyaichi 15 DF Daniel Buballa 16 DF Marc Hornschuh 17 DF Davidson Eden 18 FW Lennart Thy

No. Position Player 19 MF Enis Alushi 22 MF Yannick Deichmann 24 FW Nico Empen 25 MF Dennis Rosin 26 DF Sören Gonther (captain) 27 DF Jan-Philipp Kalla 28 MF Waldemar Sobota (on loan from Club Brugge) 29 MF Sebastian Maier 30 GK Robin Himmelmann 31 MF Maurice Litka 33 GK Svend Brodersen 34 DF Andrej Startsev 36 MF Okan Kurt 37 MF Kyoung-Rok Choi

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 14 FW Ante Budimir (on loan to Crotone)

For recent transfers, see List transfers summer 2015

Notable players

International players

The following international players have also played for St. Pauli:

• Yakubu Adamu
• Moudachirou Amadou
• Gerald Asamoah
• Zlatan Bajramović
• Deniz Barış
• Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault
• Alfred Beck
• Morten Berre
• Mourad Bounoua
• Paul Caligiuri
• Armando Cooper
• Cory Gibbs
• Marc Gouiffe à Goufan
• Joe Gyau
• Heino Hansen
• Ari Hjelm

• Junior Hoilett
• Uğur İnceman
• Henry Isaac
• Ivan Klasnić
• Ivo Knoflíček
• Ján Kocian
• Max Kruse
• Alireza Mansourian
• Michael Mason
• Frantz Mathieu
• Artur Maxhuni
• Michél Mazingu-Dinzey
• Karl Miller
• Kazuo Ozaki
• Tore Pedersen
• Miguel Francisco Pereira

• Nikolai Pisarev
• Andriy Polunin
• Ingo Porges
• Christian Rahn
• Yuri Savichev
• Helmut Schön
• Feiz Shamsin
• Rocky Siberie
• Ive Sulentic
• Charles Takyi
• Jean-Clotaire Tsoumou-Madza
• Niels Tune-Hansen
• Chen Yang
• Carlos Zambrano
• Hysen Zmijani

Greatest ever team

In 2010, as part of the club's celebration of its 100th anniversary, fans voted the following players as the best in the club's history:

• Klaus Thomforde
• André Trulsen
• Walter Frosch
• Karl Miller
• Dirk Dammann
• Michél Mazingu-Dinzey
• Thomas Meggle
• Jürgen Gronau
• Harald Stender
• Peter Osterhoff
• Franz Gerber

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Ewald Lienen
Assistant coach	Abder Ramdane
Goalkeeping coach	Mathias Hain
Fitness coach	Dr Pedro Gonzalez

Head coach history

• Otto Westphal (1963–64)
• Kurt Krause (1964–65)
• Erwin Türk (1970–71)
• Edgar Preuß (1971–72)
• Karl-Heinz Mülhausen (1972–74)
• Kurt Krause (1974–76)
• Diethelm Ferner (1976–78)
• Sepp Piontek (1978–79)
• Michael Lorkowski (1982–86)
• Willi Reimann (1986–87)
• Helmut Schulte (1987–91)
• Horst Wohlers (1991–92)
• Josef Eichkorn (1992)
• Michael Lorkowski (1992)
• Josef Eichkorn (1992–94)
• Uli Maslo (1994–97)

• Klaus-Peter Nemet (1997)
• Eckhard Krautzun (1997)
• Gerhard Kleppinger (1997–99)
• Willi Reimann (1999–00)
• Dietmar Demuth (2000–02)
• Joachim Philipkowski (2002)
• Franz Gerber (2002–04)
• Andreas Bergmann (2004–06)
• Holger Stanislawski (2006–07)
• André Trulsen (2007–08)
• Holger Stanislawski (2008–11)
• André Schubert (2011–12)
• Michael Frontzeck (2012–13)
• Roland Vrabec (2013–14)
• Thomas Meggle (2014)
• Ewald Lienen (2014–present)

Other sports

Main article: FC St. Pauli Rugby

The St. Pauli rugby section has several teams, both in the men's and women's leagues.

The men's rugby department has not been as successful as its female counterpart, reaching the German final only once, in 1964. In 2008–09, St. Pauli was the only club to have a team in both the rugby and football 2nd Bundesliga. In 2008–09, the men's team finished fourth in the second division.

The women's team have won the German rugby union championship 8 times (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005–8) and the sevens championship 3 times (2000, 2001 and 2002). Several of their players play in the national squad.

St. Pauli has a blind football team which plays in the Blindenfussball Bundesliga.

Notable presidents

• 1990-2000: Heinz Weisener
• 2002–2010: Corny Littmann

External links

• Official website
• Punk, Politics & Football article on FC St Pauli by N by Norwegian