Die Freibeuter der Liga (The Buccaneers of the League)

Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli, is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg.

In 2003-04 they dropped down to the Regionalliga, at that time the third football division in Germany and remained there for four years. In 2007, St. Pauli were promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga and in 2010, FC St. Pauli was promoted into the Bundesliga. For the 2013–14 season they are again playing in 2. Bundesliga which is the second highest division in Germany.

FC St. Pauli has a rivalry with Hamburg. While the footballers have enjoyed only modest success on the field, the club is widely recognised for its distinctive culture and has a large popular following as one of the country's "Kult" clubs. FC St. Pauli supporters are highly identified with left-wing politics and have a long-standing friendship with the supporters of Celtic Football Club from Scotland.

Until last season, their most recent appearance in the top flight had been a single-season cameo in 2001–02. A win against FC Bayern Munich, the reigning World Club Cup winners, led to the popular Weltpokalsiegerbesieger (World Club Champion beaters) shirts. However, the team finished last in the league, partly because the management did not trust the team which surprisingly won the promotion in 2001, but rather spent the additional money from Bundesliga TV contracts and advertisements on expensive but disappointing players.[original research?] After the relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, only a skeleton of the successful 2001 team remained; the season 2002–03 ended up in chaos, with the team fighting relegation (ultimately in vain) from the very beginning, various coaches departing and other problems internal to the club.

With the club almost bankrupt again and the less-lucrative Regionaliga Nord (III) looming, the club began its fund-raising activities, the so-called Retteraktion. They printed t-shirts with the club's crest surrounded by the word Retter (rescuer/saviour) and more than 140,000 were sold within six weeks. They also organized a benefit game, against Bayern Munich, to try to help rescue the club.

The club has also been active in terms of charity and in 2005 the club, the team and the fans initiated the Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli campaign, which collects money for water-dispensers for schools in Cuba, for clean water in Rwanda et cetera.

During the 2005–06 season, the team enjoyed unprecedented success in the DFB Cup, with wins over Burghausen, Bochum and, significantly, Bundegsliga sides Hertha Berlin and, in the quarter-finals on 25 January 2006, Werder Bremen. Their 3–1 victory in front of a sell-out Millerntor crowd, and their subsequent place in the DFB Cup semi-final, netted the club approximately €1 million in TV and sponsorship money, going a long way to saving the club from immediate financial ruin.

St. Pauli finally went out of the cup to Bayern Munich on 12 April, going down 3–0 with a goal from Owen Hargreaves and two from Claudio Pizarro. Coincidentally Bayern Munich were also St. Pauli's opponents and dispatchers, in the first round of the following season's cup.

After success in the 2006–07 season, the team was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

After defeating Greuther Fürth in the 2009–10 season the team secured promotion back to the 1. Bundesliga for the 2010–11 season.

On 16 February 2011, during the 2010–11 season and for the first time since 1977, St Pauli defeated their bitter cross-city rivals Hamburger SV away at the Volksparkstadion courtesy of a Gerald Asamoah goal. However, the team finished the season last in the league going back to the 2. Bundesliga.