Fabio Vieira is already a cult hero at HSV Hamburg after making his move from Arsenal permanent this summer.
Bergedorfer Zeitung report on the 26-year-old today. His shirt is absolutely flying off the shelves at the German club.
Fan excitement
The newspaper explains there were three moments of ‘loud excitement’ at the Volksparkstadion on Sunday and none of them were to do with goal-scoring chances.
Instead, the incident that caused a ‘murmur of anticipation’ among the fanbase was the arrival of a single player – Fabio Vieira. He sparked a ‘wave of euphoria’ and triggered cheers from the Hamburg crowd when he was substituted onto the pitch.
The ‘Vieira hype’ was palpable even before the game. A long queue formed at the jersey printing stand in the North Stand. That’s not unusual but the demand for Vieira’s name and number was particularly high.
By Wednesday, HSV had sold 2,500 shirts featuring Vieira’s name. That is almost twice as many as were sold for Luka Vuskovic at the same time last year.
Time to reward the faith
Like Vieira – who arrived late in the window from Arsenal – Vuskovic was signed at the last minute. Now the focus is all on the midfielder and he’s a clear fan favourite.
Of course, they already know what they’re getting from the midfielder after his impressive performances on loan from Arsenal last season.
Like Vuskovic, he was one of the key players last season. But unlike the defender – who returned to Tottenham after his loan spell – Vieira has returned. That, though, took patience as Arsenal initially wanted to sell for more.
Instead HSV waited, played the patience card and eventually got the Portuguese midfielder back on a deal that suited them and the player. Now he has to reward the faith, and the fans who are clamouring to get his name on their shirts.
