German Bundesliga news: Hamburger SV are back in the top tier of German football
After six seasons in the second tier, fallen giants Hamburger SV have finally secured promotion back to the German Bundesliga on the penultimate matchday.
This brings an end to a 2,555 day hiatus and brings an euphoric delight to fans of the German football staple.
Sports News Blitz writer Annika Böttcher chronicles their story from oblivion to redemption.
The descent into relegation
On May 12th, 2018, the famous Bundesliga clock at Hamburger SV stopped ticking.
It had counted 54 years, 261 days, 0 hours, 36 minutes and 2 seconds, marking the club’s entire time in the Bundesliga since their inception.
Hamburg were once known as the Bundesliga’s ever-present team and a true symbol of top-flight German football.
But it all came to a tear jerking conclusion on Matchday 34 in 2018, after a 2–1 defeat to the then consistent league contemporaries, Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The scenes that followed were unforgettable.
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Angry fans threw pyrotechnics onto the pitch shortly before the final whistle.
Police officers had stormed the field, and for a few minutes, it wasn’t clear if the match would reach the full-time whistle.
That day marked more than just a loss, it marked the end of an era.
What followed were six painful years in the second division, as the club struggled to find its way back to where it once belonged.
The spring curse of Hamburg
For a long time, many fans believed that spring brought a curse upon Hamburger SV.
When the first flowers began to bloom, so too did Hamburgs’s opponents.
The numbers seem to support the superstition - over the past two years, the club managed just one win in the entire month of March.
On average, they collected only 1.35 points per game in March - and April was even worse, with just 1.30 points.
The exact months that are absolutely crucial in any promotion race.
Time and again, they dropped vital points - points that could have secured a long-awaited return to the top flight.
And this year, after losing their opening match in March, it looked like the curse might strike again.
For a moment, it felt as though the northern giants had once more forgotten how to play football when it mattered most.
Managerial mayhem
The role of Head Coach at Hamburg is a red-hot seat.
Since relegation in 2018, the club has gone through seven different managers - most of whom didn’t even last a full season.
From Dieter Hecking to Steffen Baumgart, no one managed to bring order to the chaos.
This season was no different - Baumgart was sacked in November 2024 and replaced by Merlin Polzin - a decision that turned out to be a stroke of luck.
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Since Polzin’s appointment, HSV have lost just three matches.
It’s a footballing Cinderella story, and somehow it feels right that it was Polzin, of all people, who finally led them back to the Bundesliga.
A lifelong football fan who once stood in the stands, but whose playing career was cut short as a result of Arthritis.
He arrived at the club as an assistant coach in 2020 and, unusually, survived the many managerial changes that followed.
Meant only to be an interim solution, Polzin has now become Hamburg’s unlikely hero, the quiet constant in years of instability.
The promotion that slipped away
The most painful moment of Hamburg's six seasons in the second division likely came on the final day of the 2022/23 season.
They went into the last matchday just one point behind second-placed Heidenheim, needing a win and a bit of luck, to get promoted directly.
Hamburg did their part, beating Sandhausen with confidence.
At the same time, Heidenheim were losing to Regensburg.
For a short while, all signs pointed to promotion.
The final whistle blew in Sandhausen, and the celebrations began.
Fans stormed the pitch, players hugged, and tears of joy were cried.
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But the joy didn’t last.
The match in Heidenheim was still going and in a stunning late twist, Heidenheim scored two goals to turn their game around.
Just ten minutes after celebrating promotion, the fans were heartbroken once again.
Finishing third meant a play-off against the 16th-placed Bundesliga side.
But by then, the team looked drained.
Hamburg lost quietly, and another chance to return to the top flight faded into further hopes and dreams.
Exhilarant return to the top flight
This year… It finally happened.
Hamburg celebrated promotion on the penultimate matchday with a 6-1 win over Ulm.
When the final whistle blew, fans rushed onto the pitch and the celebrations ensued.
“No more second division” is now the motto in Hamburg, after a season many thought would end in disappointment again.
The campaign started with uncertainty and instability, but the mid-season change of coach proved to be exactly what the club needed.
Results improved and the dream became reality.
Whether Hamburg can stay in the Bundesliga and avoid another drop-off remains to be seen.
But for now, after six long years of frustration, heartbreak, and near-misses, Hamburg are celebrating.
The wait is over.
The second division is behind them and hope has been revived back at the Volksparkstadion.
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