Hamburger Sport-Verein, one of the German football giants, a six time Bundesliga winner, a 1983 European champion will remain in Bundesliga 2 for another, 4th year in a row. Der Dino had a great chance to come back to Bundesliga, where they belong by all parameters (history, fan base, trophies, stadium), after a surprise 1-0 win in Berlin a few days ago, but it turned out to be a fake result. In front of a packed Volksparkstadion (57000), HSV did absolutely nothing and rightfully lost the game from Hertha, led by former HSV legend Felix Magath: Hamburger – Hertha 0-2.#Bundesliga safety 🔒@HerthaBSC_EN survive the relegation play-off with a 2-1 aggregate victory over @HSV_English, confirming their place in the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign 🤍💙✅ pic.twitter.com/L5AH7uCZij— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) May 23, 2022 When the young Dutch midfielder Ludovit Reis scored a spectacular goal in Berlin and caught third choice keeper Oliver Christensen by surprise, everybody saw it as an opportunity for Der Dino to finally come back to the Germany’s elite club. But apart from that goal in the first leg, HSV did nothing in 180 minutes of this playoff, while Hertha managed to score two goals and will celebrate Marvin Plattenhardt as the hero of the match (one assist, one goal).
It once again showed that this strange Bundesliga playoff system favors the Bundesliga teams. In Germany, two teams are automatically relegated/promoted after the end of the season, but then, the 16th placed in Bundesliga and the 3rd in Bundesliga 2 are playing a two game playoff. And usually, the 16th placed clubs is stronger and wins the tie. Since the reintroduction of this system in 2008, only three times out of 14 have the Bundesliga 2 teams managed to win and advance to the German elite, including tonight’s game. Obviously, the competition is not fair to the Bundesliga 2 teams.
Apart from the goal, nothing special was seen in the first 45 minutes of the match. A first corner of the match brought an advantage to the guests. Plattenhardt’s excellent corner kick was picked up by captain Dedrick Boyata, who fired a header right into the net for the lead. Hamburger managed to squeeze out of Hertha’s grasp, but even had more possession, but in the chances/goals department they produced nothing. In fact, Hertha could have scored the second goal after half an hour, but Tousart’s shot was saved by home keeper Fernandes.Hertha started better the second half and after a cheeky attempt to score by Marvin Plattenhardt, the same player basically decided the match in the 63rd minute after a beautiful free kick which ended at the top right corner of Fernandes’ goal: 0-2. HSV tried to do somehow score and send the game into overtime, but there was not a single player in home team who could make a difference and take responsibility in the attack. And the fans knew that too. After the second goal, the camera caught the desperation in their eyes already, even thou it was only 63rd minute. They just knew this was the end, and they were right. Former European champion stays in Bundesliga 2 for the 4th straight season.