Play-off final Hamburg vs. Hertha BSC Berlin 2nd leg

swabianfox

swabianfox

Rare Continental Breed
Those of you who follow German football a bit shall be reminded that tonight there is the second leg of a play-off between those two teams for the last Bundesliga slot in the coming season.

As a reminder, each year the team who comes 16th in the Bundesliga has to enter a two-legged play-off against whoever comes third in the 2. Bundesliga for the final Bundesliga slot.

This year, Hertha BSC came 16th in the Bundesliga, and Hamburger SV came third in the 2. Bundesliga. Both are old and traditional clubs with a big following and a long history.

Hamburg (6x German champions) was for quite some the only founding member of the Bundesliga that never got relegated (affectionately called 'Dino') but, due to poor management and a steady decline on the pitch, they finally dropped to 2. Bundesliga in 2018. They have since failed to get promoted again (they came 4th three seasons in a row!!), and this might be their chance tonight since they won the first leg in Berlin 1-0!!

Hertha BSC, on the other hand, are also a very big club with a big following who play in the Olympiastadion in Berlin but, despite their size and the size of the city they have largely been perennial underachievers, often fluctuating between the first and second tier. They don't have many titles to their name, at least not recently (two German championships in 1930 and 31), and I only vaguely remember a couple of German Cup finals in the 70s and a single CL appearance maybe 15 years ago. Relegation, nonetheless, would be a catastrophy, not only financially but also due to the fact this would also confirm their drop to no. 2 in Berlin behind Union Berlin from Köpenick who have now firmly established themselves in the top tier, have a legendary and extremely loyal fanbase and are managed very well!!

There is additional spice in the tie since the current Hertha BSC manager, Felix Magath, is a Hamburg legend and former long-term midfield general, scoring also the only goal in their 1-0 and only European Cup victory against Juventus Turin in 1983.

As I said, Hamburg won the first leg in Berlin 1-0. It's theirs to lose now but a lot is at stake tonight!!
 
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the score.

I’ve been to Berlin a few times but never to Hamburg. It is on the list to visit at some time.
 
Hertha is my German team, having lived in Berlin for a number of years back in the Cold War days. Lived right next to the Olympiastadion. Used to watch them every home game. Mostly in the 2.Budesliga. Sometimes only a 2 - 3 thousand of us in that huge stadium. Support is much better now!
As you say, perennial underachievers. Never fathomed out why. You would think that being the Capital's team (since it moved back from Bonn), they would have faired better.
Hoping for a miracle tonight, but pretty resigned to them going down.
 
Whitwickfox said:
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As you say, perennial underachievers. Never fathomed out why. You would think that being the Capital's team (since it moved back from Bonn), they would have faired better.
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Badly run for years - you could almost say it's in their blood to be badly run! And Berlin as a whole is not being run very well either (I've lived there from 2010 to early 2019). I remember Hertha did quite well about 15-20 years ago when they were very close to establish themselves as a regular top 5 side but then they dropped back again.

However, the same goes for Hamburger SV. Their drop to the 2nd tier had been coming for years, and I've just read they've burnt through 68 players, six managers and seven CEOs/directors during the last four years in 2. Bundesliga.

Not sure for whom losing tonight is worse.
 
CityFox said:
I'm a Dynamo Berlin follower.
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Perennial winners of the GDR Championships before reunification.

Dropped very low after East German political backing, funding and downright manipulation disappeared. Now regional league (4th tier) - and I've just read they've won their league and are now in a play-off final for a 3rd tier slot.
 
My team due to living close by back in the day is VFB Stuttgart. Another one who’ve been up and down in recent years.

This play off idea I love. Didn’t we used to do something similar years ago - 3rd in the championship play the 3rd from bottom of the PL?
 
LGFOX said:
My team due to living close by back in the day is VFB Stuttgart. Another one who’ve been up and down in recent years.
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"Der VfB" is another traditional club that doesn't make the most of their possibilities. Having said that, they won the German title three times since I started following football, and their last title in 2007 was a particularly great achievement against the 'run of play' of Bayern Munich's increasing dominance of German football (and spectacularly sealed by a 20y volley (in here from ca. 43s) from Thomas Hitzlsperger in their final home game against Cottbus). However, I remember that after each of their three Bundesliga titles they completely messed up the season after and never managed to establish themselves as regular title contenders.

Not sure what went wrong in the last ten years. There has been a lot of upheaval and instability at board level, too, with often abject failure at the very top of the club.
 
LGFOX said:
My team due to living close by back in the day is VFB Stuttgart. Another one who’ve been up and down in recent years.

This play off idea I love. Didn’t we used to do something similar years ago - 3rd in the championship play the 3rd from bottom of the PL?
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There were a couple of seasons of this I think. When we beat 'Boro last game of Pleat's first half season in charge it consigned them to a play-off with Chelsea but carnage ensued and if I recall correctly they decided that the format made violence more likely so decided to do away with it and change to a 4 team format all from the lower division.
 
LGFOX said:
This play off idea I love. Didn’t we used to do something similar years ago - 3rd in the championship play the 3rd from bottom of the PL?
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From memory I thought it was Charlton v Leeds.
I used my friend Google to confirm this.
After 2 legs it was level.
3rd game @ St Andrews which Charlton won 2-1 aet.
 
Stuttgart spent a load of money to redesign their ground a few years after the World Cup to get rid of the running track. I don’t know how much that cost them but the team hasn’t done a great deal since then.
 
foxesneverquit said:
From memory I thought it was Charlton v Leeds. I used my friend Google to confirm this.
After 2 legs it was level.
3rd game @ St Andrews which Charlton won 2-1 aet.
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What was also interesting (kind of) was that it was 4th from bottom vs 4th from top (4th v 4th to help reduce the size of the first division).
 
Half-time in Hamburg. Still 1-0 to Hertha, aggregate score 1-1.

Hertha seems to be very much the better side.
 
swabianfox said:
Those of you who follow German football a bit shall be reminded that tonight there is the second leg of a play-off between those two teams for the last Bundesliga slot in the coming season.

As a reminder, each year the team who comes 16th in the Bundesliga has to enter a two-legged play-off against whoever comes third in the 2. Bundesliga for the final Bundesliga slot.

This year, Hertha BSC came 16th in the Bundesliga, and Hamburger SV came third in the 2. Bundesliga. Both are old and traditional clubs with a big following and a long history.

Hamburg (6x German champions) was for quite some the only founding member of the Bundesliga that never got relegated (affectionately called 'Dino') but, due to poor management and a steady decline on the pitch, they finally dropped to 2. Bundesliga in 2018. They have since failed to get promoted again (they came 4th three seasons in a row!!), and this might be their chance tonight since they won the first leg in Berlin 1-0!!

Hertha BSC, on the other hand, are also a very big club with a big following who play in the Olympiastadion in Berlin but, despite their size and the size of the city they have largely been perennial underachievers, often fluctuating between the first and second tier. They don't have many titles to their name, at least not recently (two German championships in 1930 and 31), and I only vaguely remember a couple of German Cup finals in the 70s and a single CL appearance maybe 15 years ago. Relegation, nonetheless, would be a catastrophy, not only financially but also due to the fact this would also confirm their drop to no. 2 in Berlin behind Union Berlin from Köpenick who have now firmly established themselves in the top tier, have a legendary and extremely loyal fanbase and are managed very well!!

There is additional spice in the tie since the current Hertha BSC manager, Felix Magath, is a Hamburg legend and former long-term midfield general, scoring also the only goal in their 1-0 and only European Cup victory against Juventus Turin in 1983.

As I said, Hamburg won the first leg in Berlin 1-0. It's theirs to lose now but a lot is at stake tonight!!
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Thanks for the info Swabian, rooting for Hamburg as my sister and eldest brother were born there.👍
 
All over! Finishes 2-0 to Hertha who stay up, and Hamburg has to endure another season in 2. Bundesliga.

Hamburg seems to have been more active in the second half but they failed to carve out any decent chances, and eventually Hertha scored from a freekick.
 
swabianfox said:
All over! Finishes 2-0 to Hertha who stay up, and Hamburg has to endure another season in 2. Bundesliga.

Hamburg seems to have been more active in the second half but they failed to carve out any decent chances, and eventually Hertha scored from a freekick.
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Not that I am particularly invested in it but kind of pleased at that if only for the fact that I seem to recall Hertha playing at our place sometime early eighties at around the same time that Hamburg were being fucking useless in a European Cup Final. Also my German friends dislike Hamburg and have taken great delight in their recent struggles after so many close shaves with the drop.
 
buz_not_buzz said:
Not that I am particularly invested in it but kind of pleased at that if only for the fact that I seem to recall Hertha playing at our place sometime early eighties at around the same time that Hamburg were being fucking useless in a European Cup Final. Also my German friends dislike Hamburg and have taken great delight in their recent struggles after so many close shaves with the drop.
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at around the same time that Hamburg were being fucking useless in a European Cup Final.


Haha. Made me laugh that.

Are your friends St Pauli fans. Now they’re a real club.
 
LGFOX said:
Are your friends St Pauli fans. Now they’re a real club.
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Actually no, Eintracht Braunschweig. Not at all local (Hanover being the primary objects of mutual hatred despite the emergence of Wolfsburg over the last 25 years) but I have the impression from speaking with them that it was a more intense version of a lot of people's feelings in this country re:Everton this season (i.e. an impression that Hamburg were arrogant & felt entitled despite being appallingly managed as a club & having done very little of note for a number of decades).
 
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