Hamburger SV endured their worst ever Bundesliga campaign with the club coming close to ending their proud record of having featured in every Bundesliga season since its inception. Hamburg started off with hopes of challenging for a European qualification spot but the season quickly unraveled for Die Rothosen, winning just once in their opening seven games. Hamburg seemed to have carried over their defensive problems from last season and were leaking goals and a 2-6 drubbing by Borussia Dortmund ended Thorsten Fink's stay at the club. Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk was appointed as Fink's replacement and there was a brief revival in form with Hamburg collecting eight points from van Marwijk's first four games in charge of the club. However the honeymoon period was quickly over for van Marwijk and a seven-match losing streak at either side of the winter break confirmed that Hamburg were fighting for their survival in the league. A 2-4 defeat to bottom placed Eintracht Braunschweig saw Hamburg change their coach for a third time with Mirko Slomka replacing van Marwijk and the former Hannover 96 coach guided his side to a shock 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. However Hamburg failed to kick off from that performance and though they did manage to beat Bayer Leverkusen and complete the double over Nurnberg, a major injury crisis coupled with a five-match losing streak almost ended their stay in the Bundesliga and only poor performances from Nurnberg and Braunschweig ensured that they had a second chance after finishing in the relegation play-off spot. Hamburg's form did not improve in the play-offs as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Greuther Furth in the first leg and they managed to secure their survival on the away goals rule after playing out a 1-1 draw in the return leg. While the team needs a major overhaul if they are to avoid another poor season next time around, lack of funds will severely limit Slomka's rebuilding process in the summer and the Hamburg coach will need to sell before he can get any new players. Pierre-Michel Lasogga top scored for Hamburg with 13 goals from 20 games, including the crucial away goal in Furth, but the striker will be returning back to Hertha Berlin in the summer while Hakan Calhanoglu's future is also in doubt with a number of big clubs interested in the midfielder. However enough quality exists in the squad for Slomka to work with and adding a defender and a striker should help the Hamburg coach ensure a vastly different season next time around.
