Hamburger SV managed to maintain their proud record of never being relegated from the Bundesliga after another late comeback that saw them secure their survival in the league through the relegation playoffs for a second successive season. Having ended last season on a disappointing note, Hamburg were keen to avoid another poor season and made significant investments during the summer as Pierre-Michel Lasogga's loan was converted into a permanent move while Nicolai Muller, Valon Behrami, Cleber, Johan Djourou and Matthias Ostrzolek also arrived at the club. The season though got off to a difficult start for Hamburg who were made to work hard for their DFB Cup win over Energie Cottbus, only prevailing after a penalty shootout. Things did not improve as the league campaign kicked off, with Hamburg needing to wait until their seventh match to register their first win of the season. While they did secure victories at regular intervals, inconsistent performances meant that Hamburg were in and out of the relegation zone as the season headed into the winter break. By then Mirko Slomka had been relieved of his position and had been replaced by Josef Zinnnbauer. Back to back victories over Paderborn and Hannover 96 raised hopes of a revival but an 0-8 demolition by Bayern Munchen triggered a dismal run of just two points from nine games. Hamburg's disappointing defeat to Hertha BSC proved to be the last straw for the board who sacked Zinnbauer after just six months though they took their time in appointing Bruno Labbadia who took over only in mid-April. Labbadia's first match in charge ended in a narrow defeat to Werder Bremen but an good run of form in the final five games, which resulted in Hamburg collecting 10 points, spearheaded by a couple of excellent displays by Rene Adler ensured that Hamburg was going to finish the season outside the bottom two though they needed to navigate through the relegation playoffs in order to secure their survival. However it almost proved to be in vain for Hamburg as they could only manage a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the playoffs against Karlsruher and came within minutes of being relegated after going 0-1 down in the second leg only for Marcelo Diaz snatching an injury time equalizer and pushing the game into extra time where Muller's goal ensured that Hamburg will be playing in the Bundesliga for another season. Labbadia will be relieved to have masterminded a great escape for Hamburg but will be aware that he has a major rebuilding job to do in the summer to ensure a far more comfortable season next time around. Rafael van der Vaart, Marcell Jansen, Ivo Ilicevic and Gojko Kacar have all left the club and, while Lewis Holtby's loan from Tottenham Hotspur has been made permanent, Labbadia will be aware that significant investments are needed, especially in the attack with Hamburg having ended the season with the worst offensive record after scoring just 25 goals.
