We live in a time where money has become the most important thing in life, which of course has not missed football, which can reasonably be said to be a mirror of society. However, in a world where the rich rule, the poor survive on a daily basis, and those in the middle are less and less, here is one example from Germany that is a great refreshment. German transport tycoon Klaus-Michael Kühne has invested €18,75 million in the Bundesliga club Hamburg to bring back the name of the stadium in “Volksparkstadion” (National Park), as it was called until 2001.
And this at a time when the club is in the biggest crisis since its inception, twice “narrowly” avoid relegation and according to the unofficial owes about €100 million, and can earn as much as possible from the sale of stadium name. For example, Etihad Ejrvejz paid million to Manchester City paid 400 million in order that stadium carries its name, and Real Madrid will change the name of “Santiago Bernabeu”.
In the last 14 years, the Volkparkstadion has had three different names. The AOL-Arena was the first, followed by the HSH Nordbank Arena and most recently, the Imtech Arena. Before these naming deals, the stadium had been called Volksparkstadion since 1953.
Hamburg SV is 127 years old and is the only German club that never in the history of the national competition is not dropped from the Bundesliga. It is one of the most successful German teams, who was the champion of Europe (1983), won the Cup Winners’ Cup (1977) and six times was the best club in the country. In addition, Hamburg won three national Cup, two UEFA Intertoto Cup, and played the final of the UEFA Cup in 1982, where he was defeated by Sweden’s Gothenburg (4: 0).
Glorious history did not prevent the popular “dinosaurs” that in recent years fall into the worst crisis since its inception, and it all started in the 2008/09 season, when they dropped the title at the finish of the championship.
