The 2. Bundesliga is the graveyard of champions. Of the 18 teams currently competing in the German second tier, 11 of them were once national champions: Fortuna Düsseldorf, Greuther Fürth, Schalke, Hannover, Hertha Berlin, Hamburg, Kaiserslautern, Nuremberg, Eintracht Braunschweig, Holstein Kiel and Karlsruhe.
Since the Bundesliga’s inception in 1963, four of the teams mentioned above have claimed the trophy at least once, with Hamburg’s three Bundesliga titles making them the most successful.
This collection of teams who once stood at the top of the pile at one stage or another indicates that the 2. Bundesliga must be the most stacked second tier in Europe, especially in terms of domestic and European honours won by the teams within the division.
Why is it such a difficult league to emerge from? The most recent team to endure the perils of dropping out of the Bundesliga are Schalke, suffering relegation last season after years of mismanagement. They currently find themselves battling relegation to the third tier, proving it is no easy task achieving promotion at the first time of asking.
Just ask Hamburg, who have been trying, to no avail, since the 2018/19 campaign. The longer they go without promotion, the harder it will get for the club with 95,000 members.
Hamburg’s descent from European heavyweights to the second tier
The greatest era for the club came during the 1970s and 1980s as Hamburg reached the pinnacle both domestically and in Europe.
Coach Kuno Klötzer was the catalyst for this period of dominance. He led Hamburg to the 1976 DFB Pokal while winning the European Cup Winner’s Cup a year later, laying the foundations for bigger glories to come.
Over the next six years, Hamburg would win three Bundesliga titles (1979, 1982 and 1983) and the coveted European Cup in 1983, defeating Juventus in the final having finished runners up three years earlier against Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
The German side were at their peak, but they would never have it so good after that, winning just one more domestic cup (1987) in the 20th century.
The early noughties saw Hamburg enjoy several Champions League campaigns along with experiencing some stability in the Bundesliga.
Between 2002/03 and 2012/13, Hamburg finished in the top half of the league table ten times out of 11, but things soon started to go awry.
From 2013/14 to 2016/17, their highest finish was tenth in the Bundesliga, with the nadir coming during the 2017/18 campaign. A 17th place finish saw them drop out of the Bundesliga for the first time since its inception in 1963. The former European heavyweights have been stuck in purgatory ever since.
Hamburg’s struggles in the 2. Bundesliga
Since falling into the abyss, Hamburg have yet to finish outside the top four in the second tier. While this may sound like impressive consistency, the problem lies with the fact they have never achieved promotion.
A third place finish during the 2021/22 season ensured a playoff spot, yet they were defeated by Hertha Berlin 2-1 on aggregate. This was the closest they had come to returning back to the promised land, but the pain on missing out was nothing compared to the dramatic events that occurred on the final matchday of last season.
Hamburg thought they had secured promotion back to the top tier after a 1-0 win over SV Sandhausen, supporters beginning to storm the field to celebrate once the final whistle sounded.
Heidenheim – who occupied the last promotion spot ahead of the final round – were losing at Regensburg, but they had 11 minutes of added time to secure three points.
They equalised in the third minute of added time thanks to a penalty before scoring the winner with just seconds remaining, much to the chagrin of Hamburg and their supporters who had been looking forward to ties against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund only minutes earlier.
HSV ended up slipping to a playoff defeat against Stuttgart, condemning them to sixth season in the second tier.
Hamburg can still play a part in the 2023/24 promotion battle
Four wins across their opening five league fixtures meant Hamburg were intent on putting their recent failures behind them. The first half of the season saw them lose just four times in the league, but since Christmas, Hamburg’s form has once again tailed off when it mattered most.
Since the resumption of domestic matters after the winter break, HSV have won only five games in the 2. Bundesliga, losing five and drawing three, slipping to fourth place in the league table.
Making matters even worse is the fact their arch rivals, FC St. Pauli are currently leading the way, two points clear of second place Holstein Keil.
A crucial 4-0 win over Braunschweig thanks to goals from Robert Glatzel, Bakery Jatta and Ludovit Reis mean they still occupy fourth spot in the table, four points adrift of Düsseldorf, who sit in the all-important playoff spot.
Schalke did Hamburg a favour by securing a draw which prevented Düsseldorf from keeping a six point advantage in the battle for third, but they will need another few favours if they are to have any chance of securing promotion this season.
With three games left in the regular season, fate is out of Hamburg’s hands.
HSV do have a chance to close the gap to just one point tonight as they face arch rivals St. Pauli at the Volksprakstadion in what is arguably the most important match of the season.
Steffen Baumgart’s side may have the more impressive history, but across 11 derby matches since 2018, Hamburg have won just three times, most recently with a dramatic 4-3 win in April last year.
The 52-year-old coach will be hoping for a repeat of that result on Friday evening as three points could give their chances of finishing third a massive shot in the arm. But defeat could prove the ultimate embarrassment, with St. Pauli guaranteed promotion at the home of their city rivals.
Hamburg are the epitome of a fallen giant. And tonight’s result could make or break their season.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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