Bundesliga relegation: frying pans, space attacks and HSV again and again

curse or blessing? – When it comes to the question of the relegation games, the opinion of football fans in Germany differs. Some love the drama of the finals about promotion and relegation, others see it as a distortion of competition. Because between 1991 and 2008, the third in the second division was automatically promoted to the Bundesliga, and the third in the Bundesliga was automatically relegated. Since the introduction of relegation in 2009, however, the second division team has mostly been at a disadvantage. With 1. FC Nuremberg (2009), Fortund Düsseldorf (2012) and Union Berlin (2019), only three second division teams have prevailed. Hamburger SV could be the fourth second division team after the first leg success in Berlin. A draw against Hertha is enough for that at home in the Volksparkstadion.

Speaking of HSV: The Hamburgers are something of a relegation specialist. The Hamburgers have played five games since the reintroduction of relegation in 2009, and they haven’t lost a single one. That was enough for a difficult relegation twice in the Bundesliga before the descent of the Bundesliga dinosaur was fixed in 2018. Their own inability always stood in the way of the announced immediate re-promotion, and HSV finished fourth in the second division three years in a row. Only in 2022 did they make it to the relegation place behind Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen. Incidentally, no other team in the first or second division has had to go into relegation more often than HSV. For the third time, the North Germans are in the relegation, otherwise only 1.FC Nürnberg was represented so often in the finals. The good omen for the Hamburg fans in 2022: With Hertha BSC Berlin, an opponent awaits who has never won a relegation game. The old lady was involved in the scandal against Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2012, which was about to be canceled after massive riots.