How Ernst Happel Took Hamburg to the Top of Europe
Ernst Happel's Hamburger SV was one of the defining European sides of the early 1980s, combining tactical discipline, physical strength and several outstanding individual talents. After years of progress under the management of Branko Zebec and with Kevin Keegan as their star, the German club entered a new era under Happel and soon reached the highest point in its history. This story has several unique aspects, starting with the fact that Hamburger SV never reached that European peak again, not to mention that some of the names associated with this team are among the most important in football history.
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A Club at a Turning Point
1980 was a very eventful year that, in a way, marked a turning point in Hamburger SV's history. They had been one of the best clubs in Germany and Europe (Bundesliga champions in 1979 and runners-up in both the German league and the European Cup in 1980), led by Kevin Keegan on the pitch and Branko Zebec on the bench. However, in mid-1980, after the defeat in the final against Nottingham Forest, the English star left the club (along with several of his teammates), and that December the Yugoslavian coach also departed.In addition, the legendary Franz Beckenbauer decided to return to Germany after a four-year stint in the American league, the NASL, and chose Hamburger SV for his comeback. The 1980-81 season ended with Aleksandar Ristic, previously Zebec's assistant, as manager. Despite all the changes during the campaign, Hamburger finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga.
Happel Arrives and Makes an Immediate Impact
Hamburger SV had become accustomed to being a team that consistently fought for the top spots in the Bundesliga and played in European competitions, so for the 1981-82 season they wanted to bring in a manager who could match their ambitions and thus went after Ernst Happel. The Austrian was a born winner who had won numerous trophies as a coach in the Netherlands and Belgium, especially with Feyenoord and Club Brugge, including a European Cup title with Feyenoord.Happel's philosophy remained largely the same: to build disciplined and well-drilled teams focused on a more direct and practical style of play. This idea was quickly embraced by the team, and the results began to show from that very first season. In the DFB-Pokal, the team reached the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Nürnberg, who would go on to lose to Bayern Munich in the final. In the Bundesliga, Hamburger was a dominant force, scoring 95 goals in 34 matches, 27 of which were scored by Horst Hrubesch, the top scorer of that Bundesliga season.
Domestic Dominance and European Frustration
Hrubesch was one of the remaining players from Zebec's team, though he performed at a higher level under Happel. Hamburger won the Bundesliga title for the second time in their history, under that name, as it was their fifth German championship overall if the era prior to 1963 (when the Bundesliga was established) is considered. Interestingly, in January 1982, Hamburger SV began a run of unbeaten Bundesliga matches against Borussia Dortmund that would end a year later, completing a record of 36 matches that would not be surpassed until 2013 by Bayern Munich.And as if their domestic success wasn't enough, Hamburger reached the UEFA Cup final (now the Europa League) after defeating teams like Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen. Their opponent in the decisive round was the surprising IFK Göteborg, managed by Sven-Göran Eriksson. In the first leg (the final was played over two legs at that time), the Swedish team won 1-0 with a goal from Tord Holmgren in the 87th minute. For Hamburger, the result was relatively acceptable since the return leg was in Germany. Despite this, the Swedish team pulled off another upset, winning 3-0 at the Volksparkstadion and denying them the chance to win another European title.
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The Road Back to the European Cup Final
For the new season, Happel opted to keep the same core group of players from his first year, with one of the few departures being Beckenbauer, who returned to the New York Cosmos, although the Kaiser had not been such an important piece in the team due to injuries that greatly limited his time on the pitch. However, names like Felix Magath, Horst Hrubesch, Manfred Kaltz, Uli Stein, and Ditmar Jakobs remained fundamental to the starting eleven, just as they had been the previous season. The Austrian manager nevertheless changed the tactical formation from a 4-4-2 to a kind of 3-4-3, using almost the same players in the starting lineup, something that highlights Happel's tactical ability.Hamburger won the Bundesliga title for the second season in a row, this time in a closer contest, finishing level on points with Nottingham Forest but ahead on goal difference. The 1981-82 national championship gave Hamburger SV the opportunity to play in the European Cup, beginning their campaign against Dynamo Berlin of East Germany, whom they defeated 3-1 on aggregate. They then faced and beat Olympiacos, Dynamo Kyiv, and Real Sociedad, with Hamburger SV securing their place in another European Cup final.
Magath's Strike and Hamburg's European Peak
The final obstacle between Happel's team and Europe's biggest club trophy was Juventus, featuring Platini, Zoff, Scirea, Boniek, and Rossi, with Trapattoni on the bench. Regardless of who won, it would break a streak of five consecutive European Cups won by English clubs. Six of the players in Hamburger's starting eleven against the Italian team had played in the 1980 final, which they lost to Nottingham Forest. Juventus started by pressing the Germans, but in the 9th minute, Felix Magath made a brilliant run towards the box, feinted a shot, created space for himself and unleashed an effort that nestled into the top left corner of Zoff's goal.Surprisingly, after the goal, Hamburger grew in confidence and posed a threat to the Italian team, who managed to hold firm, even clearing a shot from Manfred Kaltz off the goal line. Incidentally, Kaltz had a duel with Cabrini that night that was one of the highlights of the final. The Italians began to mount a comeback, but they ran into goalkeeper Stein, who made two prodigious saves, one from Platini and another from Cabrini, preserving the 1-0 lead and allowing the Germans to be crowned European champions for the first time.
Happel became the first manager to win the European Cup with two different clubs, having done so in 1970 with Feyenoord. Interestingly, it was the sixth consecutive 1-0 final in the competition, which speaks volumes about the parity that existed in football at the time. The European Cup took Hamburger SV to the pinnacle of European football and its own history, as the club capped its most successful era to date with that victory. It's worth noting that they would later be unable to become world champions, losing the Intercontinental Cup to Renato Gaúcho's Grêmio in extra time. Happel remained with the German club until 1987, winning "only" one more title, the DFB-Pokal in his final season, and left as he had arrived: on a high note.