Frankfurt, Germany. Thorsten was close to tears, and he wasn’t alone. “I’ve been watching Hamburg home and away for 34 years,” he said, his eyes staring out blankly across Eintracht Frankfurt’s Waldstadion. “I just can’t believe it.”
Around him in the away end, members of his HSV fan club had spent much of the preceding 90 minutes clapping each other on the shoulder or offering hugs as they watched their team collapse to a 3-0 defeat which takes their Bundesliga survival out of their hands.
Next week, on the final day of the season, Hamburg must beat Borussia Mönchengladbach at home whilst hoping that already-relegated Cologne can beat Wolfsburg.
Anything less and Hamburger SV, European Cup winners in 1983 and the only remaining Bundesliga founder member never to have been relegated, will be down.
After generously and unexpectedly buying The Sportsman a beer, Thorsten and his group tearfully apologised and left.
Dicing with death
It’s been coming. In recent years, Hamburg have diced with death on several occasions, surviving the dreaded relegation play-off twice or rescuing themselves on the final day.
The clock which hangs in the north-west corner of the club’s Volksparkstadion continues to proudly count up the years, months, days, hours and minutes of HSV’s Bundesliga membership – currently over 54 years.
“It’s become an important part of our identity,” explained HSV fan Marcel. “We don’t have any recent glory or success to sing about, so we hold on to the fact that we are the Bundesliga dinosaur.”
But at full-time in Frankfurt, the rival Eintracht ultras had a surprise in store, as they taunted the crestfallen travelling support with a new clock. “00 00 00:00:00.” Zero hour.
“That really hurt,” admitted Marcel.
#HSV must now beat Borussia Mönchengladbach next week and hope Cologne can beat Wolfsburg.
The #Eintracht #Frankfurt ultras reckon it's already over for #Hamburg and presented a new clock.
And yet the day had started positively for the 6,000-strong travelling support, several of whom told The Sportsman with confidence that they expected a third straight victory.
And why not? Since former reserve team coach Christian Titz took over in March and drafted half of Hamburg’s reserves into the first team, the “Red Shorts” have improved markedly, winning three and drawing one of their last six games going into Saturday.
“We’re finally playing football again,” said Niko, his friend Max adding: “It’s down to the younger players who are playing without fear.”
Down at the front of the away end, the HSV ultras expressed the new confidence running through the team by setting off several blue smoke bombs behind a banner demanding their team: “Kämpfen und siegen!” – fight and win!
VAR shatters early confidence
And Hamburg’s good recent form looked set to continue when Japanese youngster Tatsuya Ito slotted home after 25 minutes. In the away end, tension turned to ecstatic relief.
But it didn’t last, as the goal was controversially ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee (VAR). “Was he really offside?” confused fans asked desperately to anyone who could help. One had received a text message from home. “It was minimal, if at all,” he read out loud.
“The video assistant assured me that, based on the angles available to him in Cologne, he was in no doubt that it was offside,” referee Deniz Aytekin told Kicker magazine. Television replays remain inconclusive, adding predictable fuel to the Bundesliga’s VAR bonfire. Equally predictably, Frankfurt then took the lead five minutes later.
In the second half, Hamburg had the ball in the net again but Lewis Holtby was clearly offside when Douglas Santos’ long-range effort crashed back off the bar. Eight minutes later, Frankfurt doubled their lead - a cruel reminder of the fine lines in a relegation battle.
“F*** school and work, that does nothing for me,” the Hamburg fans sung as the clock ticked down to full-time and legendary Eintracht Frankfurt striker Alex Meier added a third goal. “Seven days I week, I only think you, HSV!”
And that loyalty will continue into next season, whatever league they’re in.
“Of course I’ll renew my season ticket,” said Marcel, sitting in the sun outside the away end, waiting for the police escort back to the train. “But it’s going to be difficult to celebrate goals against Sandhausen or Aue.”
Werder Bremen or St Pauli?
Other potential second-division opponents are more enticing though. Relegation would set up a first league derby with FC St. Pauli since February 2011, sparking a debate among the HSV fans over who they dislike more, their city neighbours or nearby Werder Bremen.
“Bremen are in the Bundesliga so they're more important,” opines one. “No, I hate St Pauli more!” replies another. Why, exactly?
“HSV and St. Pauli supporters are so different in their culture and their politics,” explains Marcel. “Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that all Hamburg fans are right wing and all St Pauli fans are left wing; there are many different views. But they’re our rivals from our city.”
Another positive aspect of relegation occurs to Marcel: “We’ve been in division one for so long that we’ve been to all the grounds! Now we have seven or eight new places to visit!”
One place they probably won't be visiting next season is Frankfurt – and the home fans knew it, serenading the departing HSV fans with the German equivalent of "we'll never play you again."
Will Hamburg bounce straight back next season?
“Yes,” says Marcel. “Although maybe that’s just my heart talking.”
