Promotion was the best thing that could have happened to HSV! | OneFootball

After a seven-year absence, HSV returned to the Bundesliga and found its footing increasingly well over the past six months.

During this time, HSV as a whole entity, including management, the team, and even fans, seemed to have settled for the 2. Bundesliga in recent years. They consistently played at the top, winning far more games than they lost, remaining unbeaten at home for a year at one point, and facing opponents like Schalke and Hertha instead of Hoffenheim or Augsburg, which sounded much more appealing than in the top tier. The Volksparkstadion was regularly packed even against teams like Sandhausen, Fürth, or Paderborn.

Initially, there was still grief or great frustration over the missed promotions, but over time, these were acknowledged with more or less a shrug, accompanied by statements like "Then next year" or even worse: "The second league is more fun anyway." Even when the worst-case scenario occurred, with city rival FC St. Pauli surpassing them and getting promoted to the Bundesliga while HSV once again finished fourth, the fundamental attitude seemed to change little.

HSV's promotion euphoria threatened to fade quickly

New momentum only returned when the team, under Merlin Polzin in early 2025, sometimes shone brilliantly and took the lead in the standings. By early April, the lead over the not particularly convincing competition was already six points. Then HSV fell back into old patterns, losing supposedly easy home games against Braunschweig or Karlsruhe. The big trembling began. The club and its environment did not want to be the laughing stock of the entire football nation again.

With all their might, they convincingly won the crucial away game in Darmstadt 4-0. A week later, perhaps the best atmosphere ever at the Volksparkstadion emerged. Inspired by this, the HSV swept Ulm off the field with a 6-1 victory and celebrated their Bundesliga promotion on the seventh attempt. Fans stormed the pitch with joy and celebrated a huge party with the team. The celebrations lasted for weeks and culminated in a reception at the town hall with a subsequent truck parade through the city, where around 80,000 people took to the streets.

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The return to the top tier also impressed the sponsors. Billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne, who had previously distanced himself, immediately secured the naming rights to the Volksparkstadion, paying around four million euros per season. Additionally, Sparda-Bank acquired 7.5 percent of the shares in the AG & Co. KGaA, investing 30 million euros. These moves showed that the term "sleeping giant" applies to HSV.

Nevertheless, after a seven-year absence, they have to be financially modest compared to the competition. Therefore, squad planning initially proved difficult. Coach Polzin had to conduct preparations with a far from complete team. All test matches against strong opponents were lost, some significantly. In the DFB-Pokal, they almost faced elimination against the amateur club Pirmasens. The promotion euphoria threatened to fade even before the season began.

Highlights abound at the Volkspark

The scenario of providing beautiful images to the Bundesliga but not being competitive on the field and being relegated again seemed realistic. FC Schalke 04 experienced something similar in the 2022/23 season, initially sinking deep into the second division's no man's land. After a very disappointing performance in the lost city derby against St. Pauli (0-2), there were claims that HSV was now just a good second division team and had done itself no favors by getting promoted.

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Meanwhile, sports director Stefan Kuntz and his close confidant Claus Costa worked hard behind the scenes and strengthened the squad shortly before the transfer window closed with Luka Vuskovic, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Fábio Vieira – names that are truly not typical for a newly promoted team. The trio immediately helped HSV. Polzin now had a Bundesliga-capable team that was especially able to challenge any opponent in home games.

Thus, one special moment followed another at the Volkspark: starting with Königsdörffer's last-minute equalizer against Dortmund, the 2-1 winning goal with a man down against Stuttgart, and the derby victory over Werder Bremen (3-2). Incidentally, the last home victory over the disliked rival was in April 2016. An entire generation of fans experienced these feelings of joy for the first time. Meanwhile, more seasoned supporters received compensation for many years full of failures, bad luck, and mishaps.

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The 1-1 draw at the end of the year against Eintracht Frankfurt was rather unspectacular but further underscored the positive development. HSV, in 13th place, has – apart from the poor away performances – arrived on almost all levels in the Bundesliga, possesses very good chances of staying up, and regularly brings joy to its fans. Therefore, it can undoubtedly be stated: The promotion was the best thing that could have happened to the club.

Photo: Getty Images

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