The city duel in the women’s DFB Cup at Millerntor will set a Hamburg record. According to FC St. Pauli, they have already sold 17,000 tickets for tonight’s game against HSV.
The previous record in the Hanseatic city dates back to October 2011, when 12,183 spectators – also at the Millerntor – watched the DFB women’s international friendly match against Sweden (1-0). “We are pleased that there is so much interest and hope for a great derby,” former St. Pauli players Ilijana Kljajic and Francis Wernecke are quoted on the Kiezkicker homepage.
Regardless of the final result, the game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m., will “go down in the history books of our department: it will be the first time a team from our department will play in the Millerntor Stadium.”
There is also anticipation at HSV: “The fact that we are playing in front of such a backdrop is of course an absolute highlight and will be one of the greatest highlights of the entire career for many of our players,” said HSV captain Sarah Stöckmann in an interview on the club website . It makes her proud “that we get such a platform. At the same time, we also hope to be able to experience more moments like this,” she said. “One thing is clear: floodlights, city derby – there is little better.”
Derby shows the need for a medium-sized stadium in Hamburg
“The audience response underlines the need in Hamburg for a medium-sized stadium,” said Christian Okun, President of the Hamburg Football Association. There has been discussion about such an arena in the Hanseatic city for a long time. Okun will not be in the stadium today because the long-established HFV annual reception is taking place parallel to the game. At the event, among other things, the HSV footballers were to be honored for their promotion.
In the opinion of club boss Oke Göttlich, expanding the commitment to the FC St. Pauli women’s team like other clubs is a major structural challenge. “We can’t just take money away from our core business and put it into women’s football. That’s not even possible formally,” the 47-year-old told the “Hamburger Morgenpost”.
“Nobody has anything against our women playing as high as possible – but it has to be structurally possible. FC St. Pauli can only develop step by step with the current infrastructure,” he added.
St. Pauli is a clear outsider
The regional league team, which is coached by former long-time St. Pauli professional Jan-Philipp Kalla, is a clear outsider in the cup duel. The HSV women recently celebrated promotion to the 2nd league after 25 wins from 26 games. Last season, HSV won twice (5:0 and 2:1) and has never lost against St. Pauli in five regional league games (four wins, one draw).
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Hamburg Journal | Sep 7, 2023 | 19:30 o’clock
