Hamburg Fans Celebrate League Promotion, Only to Miss Out Moments Later

• Hamburg thought they were back in the Bundesliga after five years
• However, a late Heidenheim goal secured promotion the other way
• Hamburg need to beat Stuttgart to ensure their place next season

Hamburg fans invaded the pitch on Sunday to celebrate what was, at that point, a direct promotion to the Bundesliga and a return to the top flight of German football after relegation in the 2017/18 season.

Despite doing what was required on their part, securing an away win against Sandhausen, automatic promotion depended on what happened in the game between Heidenheim and Jahn Regensburg.

Up to the 90th minute, Heidenheim were down 2-1 away to Jahn Regensburg, but with goals in the third and ninth minute of stoppage time, they managed to turn the scoreline around and go up as Bundesliga 2 champions.

Hamburg therefore finished third in the German second division but still have a chance at promotion.

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In order to do so, they will have to be victorious in the playoff against Stuttgart, who are in 16th place in the Bundesliga. The winner will play in the German top flight next season.

How Bundesliga promotion/relegation works

German professional football employs a distinctive method to determine the clubs to be promoted to and relegated from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 respectively, as reported by Transfermrkt.

While in many European leagues, the top three teams are automatically promoted and the bottom three are relegated, Germany’s top two tiers only have two automatic movers between the divisions.

A two-legged play-off system is used to determine whether a third club stays up or goes down.

The Bundesliga relegation playoff

The Bundesliga’s playoff differs from more conventional fixtures that often feature four teams contesting a semi-final and a final. In Germany, the teams who finished 16th in the Bundesliga and third in Bundesliga 2 battle for their places.

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According to Bundesliga.com, the first leg is played at the home of the Bundesliga side and the second leg is played at the home of the Bundesliga 2 team, with the winner over two legs earning top flight status for the next term.

This promotion and relegation battle no longer uses the 'away goals rule' as of 2021/2022. Instead, in the case of a tie over the two legs, there will be two 15-minute periods of extra time and a penalty shootout if required.

The playoff was re-introduced to the Bundesliga in 2008/09, after previously being used between 1981 (the introduction of a single-division Bundesliga 2) and 1991 (the integration of East German clubs following reunification).

Bayern star continues remarkable career

Earlier Sports Brief reported that Bayern Munich pipped Borussia Dortmund to win the Bundesliga on Saturday, with both the club and winger, Kingsley Coman winning their 11th league titles in a row.

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He has now won eight successive league titles for Bayern since joining in 2015, with 11 in total during his career.

What makes this stat remarkable is his winning a league title during every single season of his career, with the first coming back in 2012/13 as a 16-year-old, making just a single appearance for PSG.