Pre-Season Preview: St. Pauli

For manager Holger Stanislawski, this season will be one that he will surely never forget. Stanislawski has never before managed a Bundesliga side, and so the pressure will be on him to show what he is made of. Since 2008, though, he has been at the helm of St. Pauli as manager. Before that, he was the chairman of the club. Years earlier, he spent nearly his entire career playing for the club. It will certainly be good news that one of Germany’s most celebrated kult clubs is being run by one of it’s biggest fans heading into one of the biggest seasons in the club’s history.

Key Players

It’s hard to see which of the existing St. Pauli players will prove their worth to the club in Germany’s top flight. Before promotion, the club had very little in terms of competitive, first-choice Bundesliga stars. Some of the club’s squad have even been with the team since their spell in Germany’s third division. But, perhaps that experience will prove vital for the side from Hamburg.

Fabio Morena is St. Pauli’s captain and defensive stalwart. Playing at center-half, he will be in charge of marking some of the greatest strikers Europe has to offer. He will have to face Wolfsburg’s Grafite, Bayern Munich’s Ivica Olic, Werder Bremen’s Claudio Pizarro, Schalke’s Raul, Hamburg’s Ruud van Nistelrooy and many others. Certainly, this will be a daunting task for the St. Pauli man. Even so, he will do his best to help his side survive what will be an exciting season for St. Pauli.

Newcomers

St. Pauli have done a great job of securing loan deals and buying players with enough class to ensure their safety this year. The signing of Gerald Asamoah, in particular, will turn out to be an inspired signing by St. Pauli. Asamoah’s strength and determination, as well as his experience, will be vital for St. Pauli going forward. Asamoah’s a player that’s been there and done that. He doesn’t need an invitation to get on the score sheet. He will go in and get the job done, whatever the odds. I believe St. Pauli fans will come to love him this season.

Another great signing for the club, although on a loan deal, is Carlos Zambrano from Schalke. The young Peruvian defender is able to play in the center of defence as well as in the midfield, and his positional sense and speed in the tackle will be a great asset for St. Pauli. While he has made very few appearances for Schalke, he has been compared to Brazil’s Lucio for his style of play. He will come of age with St. Pauli this season.

Expectations

I think they can stay up. I really do. I think they’re a better side than some of the Bundesliga’s strugglers, and I think that they’ll edge the relegation dogfight and survive. And, if they can survive, they’ll only get stronger every season. St. Pauli will remain one of Germany’s most prominent kult clubs, and now they can go on to be one of the Bundesliga’s most regular members as well.