Fewer and fewer chosen ones

Even though the German league was founded in 1963 and is therefore just 54 years old, only one long-standing German team, Hamburg S.V., had managed to remain in the top tier. Its fans, the third biggest following in Germany, were so proud of this exclusive feat that a huge digital clock at the Volkspark Stadion (Imtech Arena), that can hold a crowd of over 50,000, showed Hamburg’s record run in the Bundesliga.  That was longer than that of any of its German rivals, but which, unfortunately, came to an end on 12 May 2018 with these numbers on its panel: 54 years, 261 days, 41 minutes and 36 seconds.

Since the respective founding of the five major European leagues in England, Spain, Italy, Germany in France, it is true that the vast majority of the continent’s most prestigious and successful clubs have spent time in a lower division. Those include such powerful clubs as Bayern or Borussia, Manchester United or Chelsea, Juventus or Milan, Olympique or PSG…. which do not belong to the increasingly more select group of teams that have always played in the top tier of their respective home competitions. Athletic being one of those four exclusive teams enriches the club’s history and that is even more so given its unique philosophy that makes it stand out from other top football teams.

Hamburg S.V’s achievements include a European Cup (1983) after beating 1-0, with Felix Magath scoring, Juventus of Turin, whose team included Platini, Boniek, Zoff, Bettega, Gentile, Scirea and Paolo Rossi. It has also won six Bundesliga titles, three Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup.