FC St. Pauli

FC St. Pauli
Originally uploaded by HamburgCam.

The eyes of the world were on Hamburg this weekend for the ASEM conference.

But there was something else that moved us at least as much locally. The chronic underdog and almost always on "the brink of bankruptcy" second soccer team of Hamburg advanced to the second division of the german "Bundesliga"!!! The FC St. Pauli is for many Hamburger the team of hearts. Although not as successful as Hamburgs first team, the Hamburger Sport Verein (HSV), the FC St. Pauli has charm and determination. The fans are one of a kind and the stadium (Millerntor Stadium) as old and rotten as it is, has been called the "cathouse" of the Bundesliga. Many renown teams, such as the FC Bayern München, have lost in the past against St. Pauli in the Millerntor Stadium. It is said, that at St. Pauli different laws to soccer apply. The team has next to the official flag (shown on the photo) also the "Pirate - Skull and Bones" flag as symbol.

I am excited to see how the Pirates of the second Bundesliga will perform and stir up the next season :-)