Germany’s football league system, the Bundesliga, holds the best attendance records in European football. The fans are as passionate and loud as any in the world. And this season, the decibel count will rise higher still because of one little side from Hamburg. Yes, St Pauli – the club from the town’s red-light district – have been promoted after an eight-year absence from the German top flight.

In 2006, St Pauli were in the German third division, where the average league attendance was roughly 2,000 – yet the club’s Millerntor-Stadion regularly pulled in crowds of 15,000. So what was so special about this small side, which always seemed to be in the shadow of its neighbour, SV Hamburg?

Principally, the club’s cult status derives from the extent to which it has represented the underdog. Initially the fanbase consisted of local dock workers, but this changed in the 1960s when immigrants arrived, followed soon after by students, leading to an eclectic mix of cultures.

The left-wing politics for which the club is now renowned first came to light during the 1980s when the Hafenstraße area of St Pauli was up for redevelopment. The local government was attempting to evict residents so the building could undergo demolition and reconstruction instead of repairs (subsequently found to be the cheaper option by an official report). In a massive protest, students, intellectuals and other political activists squatted on the property and their left-wing politics were gradually embraced by the growing, local fanbase of a previously conservative club. The skull and crossbones flag flown by protesting punks even became the unofficial emblem of the club.

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