Hamburg launch their greatest Bundesliga escape attempt of all | Andy Brassell

Just a fortnight ago, HSV were staring squarely down the barrel of a first-ever relegation. Now they’re out to make history

Teetering on the edge of the precipice might be a near-annual occurrence but this time, they’re balancing on one leg, juggling and eating fire at the same time, all while wearing their most spangled leotard. Not for nothing are Hamburger SV known as Der Dino, the only ever-presents in the Bundesliga since it began in 1963 but even so, their latest escape attempt is stretching the boundaries of credibility.

Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Wolfsburg, themselves a storied name struggling to avoid a humiliating tumble out of the top flight, was simply “incomprehensible”, according to Hamburger Morgenpost. “Titz, Tore, Tiki-Taka,” was the far dizzier description from Bild. The Tore, the goals, are perhaps even the most surprising aspect of a genuinely arresting story, but while coach Christian Titz – their third of the season – and the manner of Hamburg’s upsurge in form both deserve note, it’s worth first taking stock of the fact that they’re in the conversation at all, rather than already being dead and buried.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/30/hamburg-launch-their-greatest-bundesliga-escape-attempt-of-all