Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst from the Oberliga Hamburg.
Football fever and celebrating with Lotto King Karl
There is a well known song in Germany by Lotto King Karl with the lyrics “in the centre of town, in the centre of town, in the centre of Barmbek”. The famous musician is a Barmbek boy and is not just closely linked to the town but also to his local football club. When HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst beat SC Condor 2-0 in the Hamburg Cup final last May, the musician celebrated together with the team.
He is not the only prominent figure from the district near Hamburg. The club itself has produced its own stars. The most famous? World Cup hero Andreas Brehme. He first started kicking a ball around here at the age of five. 15 years later he turned professional and moved to 1. FC Saarbrücken. The rest, as they say, is history: Kaiserslautern, Bayer, Inter Milan, World Champion 1990 – and it was thanks to Brehme’s penalty in the final against Maradona’s Argentina.
Kay Harries also used to play for the youth teams at BU and has been an advisor for 30 years. He can still remember the boy who would go on to become a World Cup winner: “He was a flamboyant player. He would play for the juniors on Saturday and then play for the men’s first team on Sunday. He left his mark everywhere.” Barmbek-Uhlenhorst has definitely made a name for itself as a producer of young talent. Joachim Philipkowski also played here in his youth and would go on to make 154 Bundesliga appearances.
"Freiburg is more beatable than Bayern"
Things have been quieter for the first team in the last decade. After a short foray into the 2. Bundesliga in 1974/75, the team from Barmbek found itself in financial difficulties. During the 1980s the team dropped down as low as the district league. But Barmbek have been back in the fifth-division Oberliga Hamburg since 2012. The DFB Cup match against SC Freiburg on 9th August will be a highlight in the recent history of the club.
“Of course we were all hoping for another club,” says Andre Tholen honestly. “But Freiburg is a friendly club and definitely more beatable than Bayern München,” adds the smirking goalkeeper. Manager Frank Pieper-von-Valtier, who was the assistant coach of Hamburg’s second team six-and-a-half years ago, is slightly more reserved in his comments: “we want to enjoy the 90 minutes and get the most out of it. Of course that could be progressing to the second round. But at the very least we don’t want to embarrass ourselves.” BU are taking part in the DFB Cup for the fifth time, with their last appearance in the 1975/76 edition when they reached the second round for the first time.
HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst can look back on a successful last season. Not just because of their cup success, but also because of their strong performance in the league. Having spent the previous two seasons in midtable obscurity but last year secured a solid third place. “This is the best team that I’ve been a part of here in six years. The squad has a lot more depth than in previous years,” says midfielder Jon Hoeft. The showpiece is the defence. Tholen explains, “We are a good defensive unit and stay compact. There will be no change in the Cup match against Freiburg, we have to remain assured. In any case, we are not known for our attractive attacking play.”
Old stadium to be torn down and new one built – thanks to Cup money
Barmbek-Uhlenhorst has an eventful few days before the game. A good week before the Cup game, on 31st July to be precise, the Oberliga kicks off with a home game. The strange thing is that it will be the final ever game at Wilhelm-Rupprecht-Platz. The stadium was built in 1925 but will be torn down to be replace by apartments. Over 2000 spectators are expected to watch the final home game. Lotto King Karl will also be in attendance, and he will probably take the mic. At the same time the building work on the new, state-funded stadium (capacity of roughly 1000) is progressing at full speed.
“Of course a part of the money we receive from the Cup will go towards it. The stadium will hopefully be finished in January or February,” says Harries. That means that BU are homeless for the next few months. League games will be held at the Borgweg-Stadion in Hamburg’s Stadtpark. The Cup game against Freiburg will be at the Edmund-Plambeck-Stadion in Norderstedt, a medium-sized city just outside the city limits of Hamburg. The modern stadium has a capacity of 5068 spectators.
Ticket sales have been going well. 2100 tickets were sold after only a few days. Manager Pieper-von-Valtier reckons 3000-4000 people will come and watch the match. He believes without a doubt that the atmosphere will be outstanding: “we have a faithful fan base. Our Barmbek Pöbel (a fan group) is amazing.” SC Freiburg will have to prepare themselves for a cauldron.
[mmc/clm]
Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst from the Oberliga Hamburg.
Football fever and celebrating with Lotto King Karl
There is a well known song in Germany by Lotto King Karl with the lyrics “in the centre of town, in the centre of town, in the centre of Barmbek”. The famous musician is a Barmbek boy and is not just closely linked to the town but also to his local football club. When HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst beat SC Condor 2-0 in the Hamburg Cup final last May, the musician celebrated together with the team.
He is not the only prominent figure from the district near Hamburg. The club itself has produced its own stars. The most famous? World Cup hero Andreas Brehme. He first started kicking a ball around here at the age of five. 15 years later he turned professional and moved to 1. FC Saarbrücken. The rest, as they say, is history: Kaiserslautern, Bayer, Inter Milan, World Champion 1990 – and it was thanks to Brehme’s penalty in the final against Maradona’s Argentina.
Kay Harries also used to play for the youth teams at BU and has been an advisor for 30 years. He can still remember the boy who would go on to become a World Cup winner: “He was a flamboyant player. He would play for the juniors on Saturday and then play for the men’s first team on Sunday. He left his mark everywhere.” Barmbek-Uhlenhorst has definitely made a name for itself as a producer of young talent. Joachim Philipkowski also played here in his youth and would go on to make 154 Bundesliga appearances.
"Freiburg is more beatable than Bayern"
Things have been quieter for the first team in the last decade. After a short foray into the 2. Bundesliga in 1974/75, the team from Barmbek found itself in financial difficulties. During the 1980s the team dropped down as low as the district league. But Barmbek have been back in the fifth-division Oberliga Hamburg since 2012. The DFB Cup match against SC Freiburg on 9th August will be a highlight in the recent history of the club.
“Of course we were all hoping for another club,” says Andre Tholen honestly. “But Freiburg is a friendly club and definitely more beatable than Bayern München,” adds the smirking goalkeeper. Manager Frank Pieper-von-Valtier, who was the assistant coach of Hamburg’s second team six-and-a-half years ago, is slightly more reserved in his comments: “we want to enjoy the 90 minutes and get the most out of it. Of course that could be progressing to the second round. But at the very least we don’t want to embarrass ourselves.” BU are taking part in the DFB Cup for the fifth time, with their last appearance in the 1975/76 edition when they reached the second round for the first time.
HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst can look back on a successful last season. Not just because of their cup success, but also because of their strong performance in the league. Having spent the previous two seasons in midtable obscurity but last year secured a solid third place. “This is the best team that I’ve been a part of here in six years. The squad has a lot more depth than in previous years,” says midfielder Jon Hoeft. The showpiece is the defence. Tholen explains, “We are a good defensive unit and stay compact. There will be no change in the Cup match against Freiburg, we have to remain assured. In any case, we are not known for our attractive attacking play.”
Old stadium to be torn down and new one built – thanks to Cup money
Barmbek-Uhlenhorst has an eventful few days before the game. A good week before the Cup game, on 31st July to be precise, the Oberliga kicks off with a home game. The strange thing is that it will be the final ever game at Wilhelm-Rupprecht-Platz. The stadium was built in 1925 but will be torn down to be replace by apartments. Over 2000 spectators are expected to watch the final home game. Lotto King Karl will also be in attendance, and he will probably take the mic. At the same time the building work on the new, state-funded stadium (capacity of roughly 1000) is progressing at full speed.
“Of course a part of the money we receive from the Cup will go towards it. The stadium will hopefully be finished in January or February,” says Harries. That means that BU are homeless for the next few months. League games will be held at the Borgweg-Stadion in Hamburg’s Stadtpark. The Cup game against Freiburg will be at the Edmund-Plambeck-Stadion in Norderstedt, a medium-sized city just outside the city limits of Hamburg. The modern stadium has a capacity of 5068 spectators.
Ticket sales have been going well. 2100 tickets were sold after only a few days. Manager Pieper-von-Valtier reckons 3000-4000 people will come and watch the match. He believes without a doubt that the atmosphere will be outstanding: “we have a faithful fan base. Our Barmbek Pöbel (a fan group) is amazing.” SC Freiburg will have to prepare themselves for a cauldron.
