Club

The historic bond between HSV and Dynamo Kyiv

In 1983, HSV faced the club from the current Ukrainian capital on the way to the biggest triumph in the club’s history. A hat-trick hero and one singular defeat formed the story of the road to Athens.

Dynamo Kyiv will take on Italian side Lazio at the Volksparkstadion in their opening match of the new Europa League season next Wednesday (25th September, kick-off 21:00 CEST). The prestigious Ukrainian club, who will play their European ‘home games’ in Hamburg due to the war in their own country, are returning to the HSV stadium for the first time in over 40 years.

The last time the Volkspark hosted Dynamo Kyiv was in 1983, on 16th March to be precise, in a European Cup quarter-final second leg. In front of 35,000 fans, the visitors emerged victorious thanks to goals from Bessonov (52’) and Yevtushenko (82’) with a temporary equaliser arriving through Jimmy Hartwig (62’, pictured above). The game went down in history for two reasons. Firstly, it was the 100th European Cup match ever played at the Volksparkstadion and secondly, HSV were to suffer their only defeat on the way to the greatest triumph in the club’s history. What’s more, it was HSV’s only defeat in 23 competitive home matches in the 1982/83 season (17 in the Bundesliga, 4 EC, 2 DFB-Pokal).

Bastrup the hat-trick hero of Tbilisi

The fact that this historic 2-1 home defeat in a magical season was rendered immaterial was thanks to a certain Lars Bastrup (pictured). The Danish centre-forward had practically single-handedly secured HSV’s 3-0 away win in the quarter-final first leg 14 days earlier. Due to poor winter weather conditions, the match took place 1,500 kilometres away from Kyiv as the crow flies in what is now the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. Bastrup was on fire, netting a hat-trick (6’, 52’, 71’). An outstanding individual performance booked a place in the semi-finals with just half the battle fought, although HSV did have to endure not only being outplayed in the second leg, as already mentioned, but also the nervy moments provided by the visitors striking the woodwork on several occasions.

The Rothosen defeated Real Sociedad in the semi-final (1-1 A, 2-1 H) and sensationally beat Juventus’s star-studded line-up 1-0 in the final in Athens to make history. Once again, Bastrup was in the spotlight, however this time after suffering a double fracture in his jaw just under an hour into the final and had to ‘drink from a sippy cup’ during the later celebrations, as keeper Uli Stein later recalled. An oft-quoted and oft-told story with regard to the 1983 triumph and the Danish centre-forward. Nevertheless it was Bastrup, who had earned the nickname ‘Mr European Cup’ at HSV thanks to his crucial goals on the continental stage, was the one to pave the way for the greatest possible triumph. He also ensured that Dynamo Kyiv remain forever as a fond HSV memory.