The question of who is number one in the football north hardly arises for a Hamburger: HSV towers over its rival because it has made history. Six-time German champion, European Cup winner, the eternal dinosaur – that’s more than tradition. Names like Uwe Seeler, Horst Hrubesch, Kevin Keegan and Felix Magath represent an era that other clubs can only marvel at.
And yet it’s not just about titles. Football lives from passion, not from number games. This heart beats in Hamburg like hardly anywhere else. Seven years of the second division, relegation dramas and setbacks could have broken fans. Instead, loyalty has grown: record membership numbers, sold-out Volksparkstadion, increasing TV ratings – the HSV has appeal far beyond Hamburg, as far as Asia and South America.
Werder Bremen may have been more stable recently – respectable, solid, but rarely exciting. Solid is another word for boring. Radiance? None.
What defines HSV is this magnetic attraction, the emotional force of a city that lives for its club. Heidi Kabel already knew: “But everyone can’t do that because they have to be from Hamburg.” Anyone who has ever been to the Volkspark will feel what that means. And the northern comparison hasn’t been as beautiful as it is now for a long time.
Finally the old power struggle is being played out on the pitch again – black-white-blue against green-white, heart against reason, fascination against routine.