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Toni Leistner (front) was supposed to give HSV stability, but he was injured for a long time
Photo: nordphoto GmbH / Treese / imago images / Nordphoto
After all, it wasn't as embarrassing this time as it was last year.
In the previous season, Hamburger SV had lost the leap to the relegation spot on the last day of the second division.
The direct competitor, Heidenheim, had lost 3-0 and the way to third place was clear for HSV.
But the north club was also defeated, 1: 5 against Sandhausen, which was somewhere in the middle of the table and no longer needed the points.
Now the decision was made one match day earlier, against VfL Osnabrück, who are fighting against relegation.
“Who wants it more?” Is a popular saying in football, and it would have suited this game too.
The result: HSV lost 2: 3 - and he will miss his return to the Bundesliga again.
He will play in the second division for a fourth year.
"We don't deserve it," was the conclusion of Horst Hrubesch, who took over the job of ex-trainer Daniel Thioune around two weeks ago.
Too late, some say.
But maybe it wouldn't have mattered if Hrubesch had come two or three game days earlier.
Maybe even then the ascent would not have worked out.
In its three second division years so far, HSV has relied on almost every type of coach that can be signed.
He had an experienced coach like Dieter Hecking on the sidelines.
He tried it with the DFB coach of the year 2018, Hannes Wolf, and with a young and passionate coach like Thioune.
With Christian Titz, formerly a successful junior coach at HSV, another trainer was allowed to try his luck.
The result was always the same: no ascent.
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Papa Hrubesch: Consolation for the 21 year old Meißner
Photo: osnapix / Titgemeyer / imago images / osnapix
So why should it have gone differently under Hrubesch, 70, Hamburg club icon, with a little more start-up time?
And that brings you to the question of what is actually going wrong at HSV.
Hrubesch was often called a father figure by former players, he is a coach who stands up for his players, builds them up.
After the Osnabrück bankruptcy, he comforted the young Robin Meißner, who left no stone unturned.
When the Olympic team coached by Hrubesch missed the gold medal against Brazil in 2016, he said: “Do you see me crying?
I've been laughing all the time!
We're going out of this great game as winners. "
Hrubesch can accept defeat if it seems acceptable to him.
You make yourself comfortable too quickly
You should know this classification in order to better understand your words after the Osnabrück bankruptcy. “That wasn't 100 percent. Everyone knew that he had to give it. Nobody needs to talk their way out of the number, "said Hrubesch on the NDR, and:" I'm actually someone who always stands for his players and does for his players and I just expect to be paid back. That you simply ask yourself: Is that really all? "
100 percent, repay - that may all sound phrased, but sometimes football doesn't seem like a science.
Sometimes the truth lies in the field, in the attitude.
A defeat against Osnabrück can happen.
But HSV also lost in the second half of the season against Würzburg and Sandhausen, also teams from the last third, he gave a 0: 3 out of hand in Hanover.
Slips were the order of the day at HSV.
It seems like HSV is getting comfortable too quickly.
The 5: 2 success in the first Hrubesch game was followed by euphoria - and immediately afterwards the end of the dreams of promotion;
seven points against the top teams from Kiel, Heidenheim and Bochum in three consecutive games in March was followed by a series of five games without a win.
After the first half of the season he was first in the table with 36 points, in the current second half of the table he is only in eleventh place, the trend was similar in the two previous years.
These recurring break-ins are difficult to understand.
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Jonas Boldt is also under criticism
Photo: TEAM2 via www.imago-images.de/ imago images / Team 2
HSV's budget is still one of the highest in the second division, and the club can still pay the best salaries and hire the strongest players.
And that brings you to sports director Michael Mutzel and sports director Jonas Boldt, who have been responsible for the squad composition and decide on the coaching position since 2019.
He was disappointed with the missed promotion, said Boldt, but also: "I feel tremendous support, both on the board of directors as well as in the club and in the city." At first, that doesn't sound like the error culture that HSV should actually need after this season .
As disappointing as the performance of the players from February onwards may have been - the sporting management has not particularly distinguished itself with its transfers and coaching obligations.
The broken axle
Ex-Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich was not always a safety bringer, striker Simon Terodde only scored in four games in the second half of the season, the stabilizers Toni Leistner and Klaus Gjasula only played around half of the possible games. They should form an axis, the ascent axis. This axis broke during the season and will now disintegrate. Terodde's departure towards Schalke is already certain.
A new upheaval awaits HSV, a new coach will come again, Hrubesch can take his well-deserved retirement (but who knows for sure).
Currently, ten players have expiring contracts in the coming season, almost all of them are current regular players.
These are not the best prerequisites for swearing a team into another battle for promotion.
However, it would also be a good moment to initiate a long-term process with new staff.
On the other hand, these moments have often happened at HSV - without lasting success.
With Schalke 04, another ex-heavyweight comes into the lower house, who absolutely wants to return, maybe Werder Bremen will follow.
But, at least, HSV has rarely had problems against the stronger teams recently.