1978–79 Hamburger SV season
# 1978–79 Hamburger SV season

The 1978–79 Hamburger SV season was the 32nd season in the club's history and the 16th consecutive season playing in the Bundesliga.

## Season summary

### Bundesliga

Despite personal success for star player Kevin Keegan, who won the Ballon d'Or in 1978, the previous season saw mixed results as Hamburg finished ninth in the Bundesliga. Before the 1978–79 season started, Yugoslavian Branko Zebec was appointed manager of HSV. He had previously guided Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title in 1968–69.

In the summer, new additions to the team were also brought in including Horst Hrubesch, who arrived from Rot-Weiss Essen for £450,000, Jimmy Hartwig, one of Germany’s first non-white players, was signed from 1860 Munich and Bernd Wehmeyer arrived from Hannover 96.

Zebec managed the club to its first ever Bundesliga title in 1978–79, one point ahead of closest challengers VfB Stuttgart, and the club's fourth German championship overall and first since 1960. The team was led by Kevin Keegan along with young, rising German talent including Felix Magath, Horst Hrubesch, and Manfred Kaltz. Keegan was top scorer for HSV, with 17 goals, and was awarded the Ballon d'Or for a second successive year.

Keegan's first goal of the season came in a 5–0 demolition of Borussia Dortmund on 4 November 1978. Hrubesch also needed a bedding-in period and didn’t find the back of the net for his new club until his sixth game but would eventually add 13 goals, benefiting from cross delivered by right-back Manfred Kaltz.

1. FC Kaiserslautern made the early running in the Bundesliga, but HSV closed the gap to one point just before Christmas with a 1–0 victory at Bayern Munich and a 3–1 success against Arminia Bielefeld, a match that saw Keegan score a hat-trick. After 17 rounds, the halfway stage, Kaiserslautern, Hamburg and VfB Stuttgart were separated by just two points. After the winter break, Hamburg appeared to be off the pace and earned one point from their first three games. By the start of April 1979 and in the midst of a 12 match unbeaten run, a 3–0 win against Kaiserslautern paired with a 1–4 home defeat by Stuttgart at the hands of FC Köln, put HSV in position to win their first Bundesliga title. Hamburg lost to Bayern on the final day of the season but had built a three point lead going into the matchday and were crowned champions with 49 points.

### DFB-Pokal

HSV also competed in this season's edition of the DFB-Pokal, losing in the first round to Arminia Bielefeld on 5 August 1978.

## Squad

* Hamburger SV
* Goalkeeper: Rudolf Kargus (34).
* Defenders: Manfred Kaltz (34 / 6); Peter Nogly (captain; 34 / 1); Ivan Buljan (32 / 5); Peter Hidien (31 / 3); Hans-Jürgen Ripp (8); Uwe Beginski (1).
* Midfielders: Kevin Keegan (34 / 17); Jimmy Hartwig (34 / 10); Caspar Memering (34 / 4); Horst Bertl (24 / 5); Felix Magath (captain; 21 / 4).
* Forwards: Horst Hrubesch (34 / 13); Willi Reimann (26 / 5); Bernd Wehmeyer (19 / 2); Hans-Günther Plücken (7 / 1).
* (league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
* Manager: Branko Zebec .
* On the roster but did not play in a Bundesliga match: Jürgen Stars; Bernd Gorski; Andreas Karow; Thomas Bliemeister.

## Competitions

### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Bundesliga | 12 August 1978 | 9 June 1979 | Matchday 1 | Winners | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 78 | 32 | +46 | 061.76 |
| DFB-Pokal | 5 August 1978 | 5 August 1978 | First round | First round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 35 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 79 | 34 | +45 | 060.00 |

Source: World Football

### Bundesliga

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Hamburger SV (C) | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 78 | 32 | +46 | 49 | Qualification to European Cup first round |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 73 | 34 | +39 | 48 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 62 | 47 | +15 | 43 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Bayern Munich | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 69 | 46 | +23 | 40 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 49 | +1 | 39 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first round |

* ↑ Borussia Mönchengladbach won the 1978–79 UEFA Cup and thereby automatically qualified as defending champions.

**Matches**

Hamburg's score comes first

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 1978 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | H | 3–0 | 59,000 | Reimann, Nogly, Kaltz (pen) |
| 19 August 1978 | Werder Bremen | A | 1–1 | 28,000 | Reimann |
| 26 August 1978 | VfL Bochum | H | 1–1 | 32,000 | Hartwig |
| 2 September 1978 | VfB Stuttgart | A | 0–1 | 50,000 | |
| 9 September 1978 | Hertha BSC | H | 4–1 | 26,000 | Magath, Betl, Hartwig (2) |
| 16 September 1978 | FC Köln | A | 3–1 | 44,000 | Hartwig, Hidien, Hrubesch |
| 30 September 1978 | SV Darmstadt 98 | H | 2–1 | 21,000 | Betl, Hartwig |
| 6 October 1978 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | A | 1–2 | 34,000 | Hrubesch |
| 14 October 1978 | Nürnberg | H | 4–1 | 25,000 | Hrubesch, Kaltz (pen), Reimann, Hartwig |
| 21 October 1978 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | A | 2–0 | 29,000 | Kaltz (pen), Reimann |
| 28 October 1978 | Eintracht Braunschweig | A | 0–1 | 33,600 | |
| 4 November 1978 | Borussia Dortmund | H | 5–0 | 33,000 | Betl, Hrubesch, Reimann, Keegan, Wehmeyer |
| 10 November 1978 | MSV Duisburg | A | 2–0 | 20,000 | Hrubesch (2) |
| 18 November 1978 | Schalke 04 | H | 4–2 | 61,500 | Keegan (2), Hrubesch, Betl |
| 25 November 1978 | Eintracht Frankfurt | A | 0–0 | 50,000 | |
| 16 December 1978 | Bayern Munich | A | 1–0 | 56,000 | Memering |
| 23 December 1978 | Arminia Bielefeld | H | 3–1 | 40,000 | Keegan (3) |
| 3 February 1979 | VfB Stuttgart | H | 1–1 | 58,000 | Buljan |
| 9 February 1979 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | A | 3–4 | 28,500 | Buljan, Hrubesch (2) |
| 3 March 1979 | VfL Bochum | A | 1–2 | 33,000 | Hrubesch |
| 10 March 1979 | Hertha BSC | A | 3–1 | 22,600 | Keegan (2), Memering |
| 14 March 1979 | Werder Bremen | H | 2–2 | 40,000 | Kaltz (pen), Hartwig |
| 24 March 1979 | SV Darmstadt 98 | A | 2–1 | 22,000 | Kalb (own goal), Hartwig |
| 4 April 1979 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | H | 3–0 | 60,500 | Hidien, Keegan, Magath |
| 7 April 1979 | 1. FC Nürnberg | H | 3–3 | 25,000 | Buljan, Hrubesch, Hidien |
| 14 April 1979 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | H | 2–1 | 36,000 | Hrubesch, Kaltz (pen) |
| 18 April 1979 | Eintracht Braunschweig | H | 2–0 | 35,000 | Keegan, Hartwig |
| 21 April 1979 | Borussia Dortmund | A | 3–1 | 36,100 | Wehmeyer, Memering, Plücken |
| 5 May 1979 | MSV Duisburg | H | 3–0 | 25,000 | Keegan, Jakobs (own goal), Magath |
| 8 May 1979 | FC Köln | H | 6–0 | 62,000 | Memering, Hartwig, Keegan (2), Kaltz (pen), Magath |
| 12 May 1979 | Schalke 04 | A | 3–1 | 50,000 | Keegan (2), Buljan |
| 19 May 1979 | Eintracht Frankfurt | H | 4–0 | 46,000 | Buljan, Hrubesch, Keegan, Betl |
| 2 June 1979 | Arminia Bielefeld | A | 0–0 | 34,900 | |
| 9 June 1979 | Bayern Munich | H | 1–2 | 61,500 | Keegan |

### DFB Pokal

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 5 August 1978 | Arminia Bielefeld | A | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | 22,000 | Wehmeyer |
