St. Pauli

FC St. Pauli is a German football club founded in 1910 in Hamburg area.

In their early years the team spent the majority of time rotating between lower divisions. The first run of the club in the top flight dates back to the 1977/78 season, though it turned to be a short-lived Bundesliga period as St. Pauli got the mitten from the top tier just after one season.

The 1980s saw considerable changes in the club: it gradually transferred from a traditional football club to the so-called ‘Kult’ club which focused on punk part of their fans. It’s a tidbit that St. Pauli start their home games with ‘Hells Bells’ by AC/DC and mark every home goal with ‘Song 2’ by Blur. The team have played several pre-season matches in the ranks of German heavy metal festival Wacken Open Air.

Though St. Pauli enjoys tremendous popularity among fans for its unique culture, the players themselves show modest results on the field. For the last twelve years the club only twice climbed up to the Fußball-Bundesliga: in the 2001/02 and 2010/11 seasons. As for the rest, the side competes either in the third or in the second tier. As of the 2012/13 season, the club played in the 2. Bundesliga.

FC St. Pauli hold their home matches at the famous Millerntor-Stadion. The stadium is widely recognized for its location near Reeperbahn area noted for its red-light district and city’s night life.