Hamburg's Full Pension: HSV and Copenhagen Mark 25-Year Friendship

In the sold‑out Volksparkstadion in Hamburg thousands of fans cheer as the story of 2005/2006 comes alive again – an evening when the friendship between Die Rothosen and the Danish club Copenhagen was sealed.

Back then the two teams met in the first round of the UEFA Cup, a place in the group stage at stake. The Danish supporters wanted an elaborate choreography for the first leg in Hamburg, but the tape ran out. Empathetically, HSV fans stepped in and helped. In the return leg the Copenhagen side returned the gesture by supporting the large German travelling contingent. Despite a dramatic second leg in which Rafael van der Vaart secured the 2‑1 aggregate for Hamburg with a penalty in stoppage time, the newly forged friendship endured.