FC St. Pauli return from the international break as league leaders. But this one has shown: The Hamburg team is still a long way from the end of the road.

It was only a test match, 90 minutes that are basically not to be set too high, but nevertheless left an impression on Luca-Milan Zander. “You could see that we simply still have steps ahead of us,” said the FC St. Pauli right-back about the duel with SC Freiburg (0:3).

During the international break, the leader of the 2nd division had travelled to the Breisgau for the opening of Freiburg’s new stadium and suffered a clear defeat. “At some point we want to be in a position to look even better against such opponents,” Zander stressed at a media roundtable this Tuesday, but also admitted “that we played in a constellation in which we don’t usually play together”.

19 points from the first nine games: That is the record that coach Timo Schultz’s team has when they play together in their usual constellation. Just before the international break, St. Pauli got going. Three wins with 10:2 goals have fuelled fans’ hopes that there is clearly more in it this season than last year’s tenth place.

“It’s nice that we’ve earned some kind of respect. “

LUCA-MILAN ZANDER

“It’s nice that we’ve earned some kind of respect,” says Zander, but immediately assures: “There’s no one with us who jumps and dances around in the dressing room just because we’re first at the moment.” So, while enjoying the lead in the standings, the team must also sharpen its senses in order to secure the next victory in Heidenheim on Saturday.

In January, St. Pauli won a spectacular match on the Ostalb 4:3 – but it was the first victory in the Voith Arena after six previous defeats.