Who are your favourite foreign clubs?

[bezer57]

Armenia Bielefeld
Trabzonspor

 

[Citizen52]

I forgot to mention Deportivo Wanka last time.

 

[ForzaMancini]

Sampdoria, Espanyol, Dortmund.

 

[Interpolantics]

I always liked Juventus,Celtic(first jersey,I'm Irish)and Ajax.

 

[Ruhr]

They are a catholic and left wing idealistic club.

wow... just wow..

St. Pauli is a district of Hamburg. The club's reputation has nothing to do with religion. It comes more from the clubs somewhat alternative management and it's crowd which consists of many (far) lefts/punks. They are also known for having a very special atmosphere for such a small club and St. Pauli having the nation's most prominent red light disctrict probably also has something to do with their fame.

To add a bit more to what was already written:

Until 1985 or so St.Pauli was just a normal club with a pretty normal fanbase, clearly beeing the second club behind HSV.

At that time the punk scene (which was and is still pretty big in Hamburg) decided to watch some football as well. HSV was no option as they had a lot of trouble with right wing nazi fans back in the 80´s.

So the punks picked St.Pauli as their club. Over the years the old "normal" fanbase of St.Pauli got replaced by punks and people prefering a bit more alternative lifestyle than the HSV supporters.
Same as the fanbase changed, the whole disctrict changed as well, going from a middle class disctrict where the harbor workes used to live, to a district where punks, artists, pimps, whores etc. used to gather.

Hence St.Pauli as a club still has this whole left wing/alternative/socialist feel attached to them.

The friendship to Celtic was the result of many Scots living in Hamburg as dock workers. Some of them (Rangers) befriended HSV and the Celts picked St.Pauli.

Religion didnt really play a role in that friendship.

St.Pauli fans are antiracist as you might have guessed, against homophobia and are heavily engaged in all sort of projects. One of them is to buy season tickets and loan them to immigrant kids for single games, who would otherwise not have a chance to see any football due to the costs involved.

However a lot of football fans despise St.Pauli because they have the tendency to always show off the moral high ground on which they are walking.

You either love them or hate them pretty much...When they got promoted to the 1st division couple years back the German media was wanking themself silly over "the rebel´s choice" club that St. Pauli is.

It wasn´t only Punks. St.Pauli (the district) was a rotten place in the 1980s. Many empty houses. Investors and house owners were just waiting to tear the whole thing down. Then punks and anarchists started the house occupying movement and lived there for free. House owners and police tried to get them out, which ended in famous street fights. That made St. Pauli a popular place for left radicals all over germany. And some of them started watching FC St. Pauli matches. In the beginning it was a strange mix of people from the neighbourhood, anarchists and a conservative club management. That changed when a homosexual St. Pauli theater owner became club president and started clever merchandising with that antiracist image of the fans. So they became the mother of all left clubs in germany.

It is said, that the guy, who first brought a pirate flag to their matches in the 1980s, isn´t watching St.Pauli anymore, because he thinks, it is to capitalistic these days. (Watching Altona 93 now, i think). He should have claimed copyright for that flag, could have made a fortune.

here on of their chants:
We are ticks ( a term used by german neonazis for the left)
anti-social ticks
we sleep under bridges
or at the railway mission

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSpFrmv23fg[/youtube]

 

[mcmanus]

I don't think St. Pauli is anything to do with religion. It's more like an alternative football club to support. Like an indie club if you know what I mean.

They are a catholic and left wing idealistic club.

Left wing maybe but other than a friendship with Celtic, there is no Catholic element to the club whatsoever.

No religious shite, left thinking ..... St. Pauli for me.

Oh and I was once bought a Panathinikos top when a kid in Crete.

 

[JacksonJones]

 

[BlueBilly]

1860 Munich
La U (Chile)
Fiorentina

 

[NorwegianTruBlue]

yep anderlecht, but also hamburg who has given us heroes like Vinny, NDJ and a Jerome Boateng who could had become really good.

 

[BerksBlue]

The friendship to Celtic was the result of many Scots living in Hamburg as dock workers. Some of them (Rangers) befriended HSV and the Celts picked St.Pauli.

You sure about that?

Religion didnt really play a role in that friendship.

Agree, it was more politics, mainly the IRA as like Celtic fans the St Pauli fans saw them as right on left wing freedom fighters.

An old ManU/Celtic fanzine called Our Day Will Come, an IRA motto btw, wanked themselves silly over St Pauli and a 'friendship' developed. Celtic played HSV in Europe which sealed the friendship a game infamous for it 'Provos on Tour' banner. Of course as per usual a HSV/Rangers 'friendship' also developed after this helped by the signing of Jorg Albertz by Rangers from HSV.

The attitude of 'if you don't support St Pauli you are a Nazi' is why they are hated.