On July 1977 Kevin keegan moved from Liverpool to hamburg for £500,000 making him the most expensive British player in 1977. He was quickly nicknamed the “SAVIOUR” of Hamburg upon his arrival at the club.
He made his debut for Hamburg on the 26th of july 1977 in a pre-season friendly against Barca. Barca players made fun of hamburg jersey (then pink) but hamburg had the last laugh with keegan scoring in their 6-0 victory over Barca and keegan also scored against his former club Liverpool.
An unhappy first few months at the club gave way to a more successful season. Although the club finished tenth in the league in 1977–78, Keegan's 12 goals helped him pick up a personal honour, the France FootballEuropean Footballer of the Year award for 1978.
The 1978–79 season saw a vast improvement on the club's 1978 finish. New manager Branko Zebec imposed a tough training regime, and Keegan's increasing grasp of the German language, coupled with the newly imposed discipline meant that Hamburg finished as league champions for the first time in nineteen years. The club's success also translated into individual recognition for Keegan, who picked up the European Footballer of the Year award for a second consecutive year, as well as the nickname Mighty Mouse from the fans, after the cartoon superhero.
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