No Bundesliga promotion and many unanswered questions – DW – 06/05/2023

Five years of suffering from Hamburger SV’s point of view continue. In the Bundesliga relegation against VfB Stuttgart, HSV once again failed to get promoted back to the first division. After Hamburg had clearly lost the first leg in Stuttgart 0:3, the second leg in their own stadium also ended in a 1:3 (1:0) defeat.

“Of course it’s brutally disappointing,” said a clearly devastated HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes after the game on the Sky microphone. “I think the whole of Hamburg believed in it today, you could tell from the first second, but in the end the second half broke our necks.”

What’s next at HSV?

After the disappointment has been processed, the club has to ask itself questions about the future: Is sports director Jonas Boldt staying? Can coach Tim Walter, who has now failed twice in the relegation with HSV, make another attempt to make it up? Or do you make a cut and hire a new coach? “I really don’t care today,” Walter defended against questions about his future in an interview. He still has a contract until 2024. “I get along really well with Jonas and we’ve really built something here and everything else doesn’t interest me.” The tendency is for both to stay, after all the club only extended the contracts with Boldt and Walter during the winter break.

However, it is questionable whether the squad, which is quite powerful by second division standards, can be kept together despite the failure. Goalscorer Sonny Kittel, with HSV since 2019, may leave the club. “My contract is running out, that’s a fact,” said the striker at Sky. “We haven’t spoken yet. Everyone who knows me knows that I feel good in Hamburg, but let’s see what happens.”

Kittel’s fellow striker Robert Glatzel, with 19 goals this season behind Tim Kleindienst from newly promoted 1. FC Heidenheim, is the second best scorer in the league, is associated with Werder Bremen. He has an exit clause in his contract. This also applies to the Dutch U21 international Ludoveit Reis.

Schalke and Hertha as strong competition

Promotion to the Bundesliga will certainly not be any easier next season than it has been this season. With SV Darmstadt 98 and Heidenheim, two clubs have been promoted that did not necessarily have promotion as their goal. For them, however, FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC are two clubs that have been relegated and will do everything in their power to get promoted again immediately.

On the other hand, HSV needn’t worry about the support from their fans. As in the first leg, which was disappointing from a sporting point of view, the supporters cheered their team on in the second leg – even after the goals conceded it was finally clear that promotion would not work again. Even after the final whistle, the team and coach Walter celebrated for minutes.

“There is no time for mourning,” said Heuer Fernandes, who, however, could not hold back the tears himself. “What we are as a team for a unit, that’s great. And we will continue.” Walter also underlined this: “The big goal is not there, but we are not giving up,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of my team and my staff. It’s really unbelievable what kind of character the guys go to work with. I’m Hamburg through and through, so I’m happy today, although it’s difficult for me and I’m extremely sad. “

great past

HSV was once one of the best and most successful German football clubs. The club of club legend Uwe Seeler, who died in 2022, was German champion six times (1923, 1928, 1960, 1979, 1982, 1983) and three DFB Cup winners (1963, 1976, 1987). In 1977 the “Red Pants” won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and in 1983 the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Since the 1980s, however, the club has not been able to repeat its great times and has not won a title since winning the 1987 cup.

In the 2009/2010 season, HSV last took part in a European Cup competition: in the Europa League they were eliminated in the semifinals by FC Fulham. After 2012, Hamburg only managed to finish the Bundesliga season in the top half of the table once. HSV only saved itself twice in the relegation before finally being relegated to the 2nd division for the first time in 2018. At that time, the Hamburgers were the last remaining founding member of the Bundesliga that had never been relegated since the league started in the summer of 1963.

HSV’s previous attempts to return to the first division have all failed. After relegation, the team finished fourth three times in a row – partly because they gave away points in the final spurt of the season and gave up a good starting position. In 2022, HSV reached the relegation in third place, but could not prevail against Hertha BSC – like now against VfB Stuttgart.

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Hamburger SV – VfB Stuttgart 1:3 (1:0) / first leg 3:0 for VfB Stuttgart

Gates: 1: 0 Kittel (6th), 1: 1 Millot (48th), 1: 2 Millot (64th), 1: 3 Silas (90th + 7th)

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