FIRST TEAM
08/25/2010

Next opponents: The cult club is back – and how!

The cult team from Hamburg is back in the Bundesliga.

Der Kultverein aus Hamburg ist zurück in der Bundesliga. After being stuck in the depths of the Regionalliga FC St. Pauli hare made a lightning quick advance to the top flight. Their first game at the weekend ended in an impressive victory. "It is quite amazing what has happened to us in the past few years", commented manager Holger Stanislawski, still in disbelief. "As soon as we took a look at the fixture list we started to believe it was actually reality!"

Holger Stanislawski is something of a success figure at FC St. Pauli. Starting off in the Regionalliga Nord, he was able to build a tough and competitive team and climbed through the leagues over three seasons. The former St. Pauli central defender took over the reigns of the club in Autumn of 2006 and his tenure has been a great success.

He has made five new signings this summer, most notably is arguably the 43-times capped international player Gerald Asamoah. The 32-year-old was welcomed with open arms at St. Pauli. "He is exactly the type of player we have been missing. He adds that extra bit of quality to our side", said Stanislawski. Moritz Volz arrived from FC Fulham, Carlos Zambrano has signed a loan deal from FC Schalke, while Fin Bartels has joined from Hansa Rostock. Stanislawski is now convinced that his team has enough quality to be competitive in the upper echelons of German football. "We are amazed at the quality of our squad. Those that got us promoted now have the chance to play at the top level, and we always knew that it was about bringing in quality - not quantity."

Above all St. Pauli were able to demonstrate one particular quality last season. They are offensively capable. The Kiez-kickers hit the back of the net 72 times last campaign, more than any other second division side. Having come back from a goal down in the opening Bundesliga game to win 3:1 they shown that they also have a lot of character. New signing Fin Bartels added: "We have demonstrated that we're 100 percent fit and that we have a great attitude and lots of quality". He scored the third goal on his debut with the club.Fabian Boll (83) and Richard Sukuta-Pasu (89) grabbed the first two to turn the game on its' head.

Download Now!
Print Page to top