HSV at Bayern again - from rival to whipping boy

Many years ago, HSV regularly competed with Bayern for the championship. Many years ago, they became the Munich team's whipping boy. Things could have turned out differently on several occasions. Should have.

FC Bayern Munich will play against Hamburger SV on Saturday (September 13, 2025, starting at 6:20 p.m. on the audio stream ). It's only natural that the old stories will be dredged up again.

HSV will certainly enjoy these very old stories. Matches between Bayern and Hamburg were once classic Bundesliga matches, although they weren't called that back then.

On matchday 29 of the 1981/82 season, there was an epic duel. Bayern led 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium, while HSV won 4-3 and ultimately became champions.

Back then, the classic match was called the North-South Summit, and it was indeed often a summit meeting, as the two teams regularly fought over the championship in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Currently, almost everyone knows that FC Bayern ( 6-0 against Leipzig , 3-2 at FC Augsburg ) will be German champions again, and many people know that HSV ( 0-0 in Gladbach , 0-2 against St. Pauli ) will be relegated.

But at least the northern team is back in the Bundesliga. They waited seven years for promotion.

The stories of how the glorious HSV regularly looked like a small city rival against the more glorious FC Bayern, who get beaten every year in a warm-up match, are now quite old.

0:6, 0:8, 0:5, 0:8 were the results from Hamburg's perspective in the last four matches against Bayern in Munich.

Or: The record champions have won their last eight Bundesliga matches with a goal difference of 50 to 3. That's humiliating for a club that still boasts many championship and even European Cup wins.

At some point, however, the gradual decline set in, the battle against relegation, which was won for a long time, albeit sometimes with great difficulty. In 2018, the team actually dropped down a league.

HSV should have brought in this or that player. They should have been a bit more patient. They should have had more sporting expertise in their management.

Among the old stories are many from the realm of hypotheses. If only, if only, bicycle chain, as the football philosophical saying goes.

A very old story that directly concerns FC Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV dates back to the autumn of 1978. Uli Hoeneß, the 1974 World Cup winner, wanted to leave Munich because he was rarely playing for them.

Günter Netzer, World Cup winner in 1974 and manager of HSV in the fall of 1978, negotiated a contract. A signature and a medical examination were missing.

Doctor Ulrich Mann, the Hamburg team doctor, wanted to know more about the situation because he had seen during the first check that Hoeneß's knee was damaged.

Hoeneß viewed this as harassment, portrayed himself as the victim, and portrayed Netzer as the villain. Instead of joining HSV, Hoeneß moved to 1. FC Nürnberg, played little there, and quickly returned to FC Bayern as manager.

HSV's culpability was very limited in the Hoeneß case. The next case is different.

In 2008, Hamburg were looking for a coach, as they often do. Jürgen Klopp had caught their eye at 1. FSV Mainz 05. They wanted to know more about him and sent a scout to Mainz who was more of a detective.

The Observer reported in Hamburg that Klopp was unpunctual, smoked, and wore ripped jeans. He was outraged that the Hamburg team was rubbing their hands in the last two points. He refused to accept any further calls.

Three years later, Hamburg were looking for a sporting director, and Matthias Sammer was considered the first choice. Negotiations went well, but Sammer ultimately declined.

Hamburg therefore turned to Christoph Daum, who had already been on the list, but not as their first choice. The championship-winning coach, who died in 2024, viewed this as a sign of disrespect and refused to negotiate.

A file folder with the HSV diamond as a sticker in Daum's estate still bears witness to the futile effort.

If only, if only, bicycle chain, and so on. Hamburger SV is light years away from FC Bayern Munich these days. But at least they can play for championship points in the arena again and potentially suffer another beating.

• football
• Bundesliga
• Hamburger SV
• FC Bayern Munich