Home games in the Volkspark, farewell to the captain: This is how HSV plans for the Bundesliga

The HSV women's team is back in the Bundesliga and brings a lot with it: full-time professionalism, the Volksparkstadion, and the hope of a record attendance. The longtime captain has fallen victim to professionalization.

After their 14th win of the season, all hell broke loose: With a 3-0 win against SC Freiburg II, Hamburger SV returned to the Bundesliga after 13 years – as the third team promoted alongside 1. FC Nürnberg and Union Berlin. One day after the men's team was promoted, the women's team completed a historic double promotion .

"It was an incredibly intense, very exciting, and emotional season with all kinds of ups and downs," Hamburg's women's soccer coordinator Saskia Breuer told kicker. HSV has only been in a promotion spot on seven matchdays and has never finished first or second. However, they have the best defense in the league (15 goals conceded in 25 games) and haven't lost a single away game.

But HSV also endured a long dry spell: In 2012, the then board of directors deregistered the women's team due to lack of profitability. A fall to the Verbandsliga (Association League) followed. Only in recent years has women's football at HSV begun to recover, thanks in part to Marwin Bolz .

The 27-year-old spent four years at HSV, initially as assistant coach to Lewe Timm, and for the past two as head coach. Under Bolz, the club made the leap from the 3rd to the 1st division, and most recently led his team to the semifinals of the DFB Cup. And yet, HSV will not be entering the new season with Bolz . "We reached a mutual agreement with Marwin. He's done a great job here and has also developed very well himself. And yet, it's good for the club to bring in a breath of fresh air and open up new perspectives," explains Breuer.

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Longtime captain Sarah Stöckmann (at HSV since 2019) has also fallen victim to professionalization . "Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made along this path, which aren't so pleasant," says Breuer, who has been with HSV since summer 2024 and works closely with former national coach Horst Hrubesch.

Brazilian Liese Brancao will take over as head coach in the new season. The 43-year-old previously led SKN St. Pölten to the group stage of the Champions League three times in a row, winning seven Austrian championship titles and seven cup wins. "Liese took over Pölten at the same juncture where we are now. What sets her apart is the development of young players," explains Breuer. And that's exactly what HSV needs right now.

Further decisions regarding the squad are to follow, with Nina Räcke from RB Leipzig being the first external signing . In general, however, Hamburg intends to continue relying on its own talent. "We've proven over the past few years that we train well here. But we're also aware that we need to improve in certain areas," Breuer notes. The fact that, thanks to the help of sponsors, no HSV player will have to work full-time in the future should be an additional incentive for new signings. "We made this decision independent of league ties. This means they're all professionals and can devote themselves entirely to the club during the week. We can then finally train during the day, too."

In the new season, the Hamburg team will also play their home games at the Volksparkstadion – also because the arena meets the requirements for TV broadcasts. While the 57,000 spectators seen in the DFB Cup semifinal against Werder Bremen ( 1:3 after extra time ) will be rare, Breuer is still hoping for a Bundesliga record of 5,000 to 6,000 visitors: "We're definitely experiencing that enthusiasm. The two cup games at the Volksparkstadion helped us become even more visible. I firmly believe we can achieve a good average attendance."

And how do you plan to make the leap into the first division? "We're taking the positive momentum with us. Not everything is perfect yet, but we're making our own progress. Now we're on the rise – and we definitely don't want to look back," announces Breuer, for whom staying in the league is the top priority. But: "The goal is always to achieve the best possible result. We'll see where that ends."