Hamburg fans honour Kevin Keegan ahead of Mainz encounter
Prior to kick-off on Matchday 2 in what was Hamburg’s first Bundesliga home match of the 2026/27 campaign, a stunning tifo to honour the late, HSV club great Kevin Keegan was unveiled at the Volksparkstadion.
The Englishman, who spent three seasons on the Red Shorts’ books between 1977 and 1980, passed away recently on 20 July, aged just 75. As such, the Hamburg fans wanted to pay their respects to the much-adored club legend - who earned the nickname ‘Mighty Mouse’ during his time in Germany for his small stature but prowess in the air - on their first competitive return to their home ground since his passing.
Keegan arrived at HSV from Liverpool in the summer of 1977 as an already-established superstar having already won three league titles, two UEFA Cups and the European Cup with the Reds. But in Hamburg, he went from strength to strength, earning the love of the Red Shorts' faithful.
In 90 total competitive appearances for Hamburg, Keegan netted 32 times, producing countless unforgettable moments along the way. ‘King Kev’ helped the Hanseatic side win the Meisterschale in the 1978/79 campaign – the club’s first in 19 years – in addition to reaching the final of the European Cup in 1980, where the Red Shorts were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest.
Furthermore, the iconic attacker won the prestigious European Footballer of the Year award (now the Ballon d’Or) in consecutive years in 1978 and 1979, becoming only the fourth player after legends Alfredo di Stéfano, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff to earn the accolade multiple times (now one of ten), the only Englishman to have won the award more than once, and to date, the only Hamburg player to have ever received the honour.
His spell in the north of Germany may have only been brief, but Keegan left behind him a lasting legacy which has endured at the club, not only for his achievements, but for the way he carried himself both on and off the pitch.
Former Hamburg teammate Horst Hrubesch once said of him: “Keegy was the kind of player any team would still love to have today. He always put the team first and had a way of lifting everyone around him.” Needless to say, that sentiment was shared by each and every HSV fan inside the Volksparkstadion on Sunday.
