By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Grief and frustration couldn't be bigger than in Hamburg at present. Fans of one of Germany's most famous football clubs are said to entirely have lost their faith after the side, located in the country's north, failed to gain promotion to the Bundesliga.
After 55 unbroken years in Germany's top flight, on May 12, 2008, Hamburger SV were relegated for the first time, after having been the only side never to have dropped out of the Bundesliga since the league was formed in 1963.
Fans, club legends and pundits fear the six-time German champions and 1983 European Cup winners are in danger of continuing their downward trend and being stuck in the second division for years.
Some fear the side could follow in the unfortunate footsteps of other once-proud clubs such as 1860 Munich or 1. FC Kaiserslautern, both of whom have disappeared into Germany's lower leagues, with financial difficulties making a return to the top-flight unlikely.
"We all thought a year ago that relegation was nothing to be happy about, but that it could help to restructure the club. We never thought things could get worse, but they did," club legend and former German international Uli Stein lamented. Former Chinese Super League coach Felix Magath, who scored the winning goal in the 1983 European Cup final, said he was shocked but not surprised because too many mistakes had been made by the clubs' leaders.
Glory days are a thing of the past, as inconsistent management has increased the problems over the years. Many say the club has missed the chance to install a management structure capable of addressing the challenges of modern football. The latest attempt to turn change things for the better with 38-year-old coach Hannes Wolf and 48-year-old sporting director Ralf Becker, seems to have failed.
Wolf will most likely be sacked after Hamburg's dead-rubber match against Duisburg this Sunday. Becker is also in danger of losing his job, having failed to provide convincing answers regarding a new coach.
Police spoke about the concern of rioting this weekend, as the atmosphere around the club has been described as a state of frustration, fatalism and a broad sense of anger.
Unforgotten are the riots of one year ago when the club got relegated. Authorities are said to be increasing the number of police forces significantly in order to keep the situation under control.
Significant budget cuts seem inevitable. Media reports speak about a decline from 30 million euros to below 20. Rumors talk about Bruno Labbadia or Dieter Hecking as new coaches tasked with building a new team.
Many say Hamburg should once again rely on the support of billionaire and shareholder Klaus-Michael Kuhne, a local businessman. The 81-year-old has previously tried to influence the club's decisions on several occasions.
Kuhne now says only a complete re-start can create new optimism. "I told the board weeks ago to change the coach, but nobody listened. It doesn't surprise me that we failed to return to the Bundesliga," he said. "It will be a hard nut to crack as we face tough competitors in the second division."
