For the first time in 13 years: HSV are number one in the north! | OneFootball

The Volkspark witnessed a truly emotional end to the season on Sunday. With an impressive 3-2 home win over SC Freiburg, HSV said goodbye to their fans while writing several special stories at once.

Luka Vuskovic was given a warm send-off to loud applause in what was likely his final home game. Otto Stange celebrated his Bundesliga starting debut. Fabio Baldé scored his first goal in the top flight, and talents Louis Lemke and Shafiq Nandja made their first-ever competitive appearances for the senior team.

But another, almost historic piece of news nearly went unnoticed: HSV will definitely finish the season as northern Germany’s best club. For the first time in 13 years!

Thanks to the win over Freiburg and Werder Bremen’s simultaneous defeat to TSG Hoffenheim, the Hamburg side can no longer be caught by their arch-rivals. Sitting 11th in the table, the Rothosen hold a five-point lead over Bremen, who are only in 15th place, heading into the final matchday. Things look even worse for VfL Wolfsburg and FC St. Pauli, who will even face each other on the final matchday in a direct battle for the relegation playoff spot.

Photo: Getty Images

HSV as good as they last were in the Van der Vaart era

HSV, meanwhile, travel to Bayer Leverkusen completely free of worries. It has been clear since the 2-1 away win in Frankfurt that the team would have nothing to do with the relegation battle. The fact that the Hanseatic club have now also finished ahead of all their northern rivals gives the season even greater significance.

Only the Diamond – by HSV fans for HSV fans

The last time HSV finished ahead of Werder Bremen was in the 2015/16 season. Back then, however, they were not the best northern club overall because Wolfsburg had an even better campaign. The last time the Hamburg side truly stood above all their northern German rivals was in the 2012/13 season. That year, returning star Rafael van der Vaart and breakout talent Heung-min Son led HSV to seventh place.

After that came difficult years near the bottom of the table, culminating in the club’s first-ever Bundesliga relegation in 2018. The traditional club then spent seven long years in the 2. Bundesliga. But now HSV are back. And straight away, they are once again number one in the north.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.