Everyone knows that now the Bundesliga is dominated by the football club Bayern Munich. But in the history of German football there were clubs that the Bavarians themselves were afraid of, but in modern football they no longer claim big victories, at least for now.
Kaiserslautern is a four-time German champion, two-time winner of the German Cup, and three-time winner of the Intertoto Cup. Now weaving in the middle of the table of the third Bundesliga. The Red Devils were a powerful fighting unit in the last century, and in the 90s they became one of the main sensations and surprises in the history of German football.
After winning the silver salad bowl in the 90/91 season, the Reds spent several more turbulent seasons in the elite, after which they were relegated to the second division in 1996, but did not stay there for long. A year later, Kaiser moved up in class to the status of the winner of the second Bundesliga.
The Red Devils were predicted to fight for survival, but instead they sensationally managed to win the championship, beating Bayern Munich by two points. It was in that team that the star of young Michael Ballack gradually began to light up.
A year later, Otto Rehhagel’s gang also made some noise in the Champions League, where they won a difficult group with Benfica, PSV and HJK. In the quarter-finals, the current champion was blocked by the same Bayern, who brutally avenged the “red-whites”, defeating them with a total score of 6:0.
With the end of the 20th century, a glorious period in the history of the club also ended. The team either relegated to the second division or reverted to the elite, but could not gain a foothold in the major leagues and fell into the third league in strength, where it now plays.
Hamburg is one of the oldest and titled clubs in Germany, the only team that has never been relegated to the second division (until 2018). But after this year, she could not return to the ethos of German football.
Hamburg is one of the most titled and famous teams in Germany. In the second half of the twentieth century, Hamburg was one of the strongest teams not only in Germany, but also in Europe. Then happened the most “bread” years in club history.
Following the last three, at the moment, championships (in 1979, 1982, 1983), triumphs in the Cup Winners’ Cup and the European Cup followed. In the quarter-finals of the KECH winning draw, Hamburg managed to cope with Dynamo Kyiv thanks to a hat-trick by Lars Bastrup in the first leg. In the final match, Juventus itself fell with Dino Zoff, Michel Platini, Zbigniew Boniek and others in the squad.
The only goal, by the way, was scored by Felix Magath. The same Felix Magat, who in the future will receive the nickname “Iron Felix”. In this century, two victories in the Intertoto Cup (2005, 2007) and once in the German League Cup (2003) can be distinguished from the high-profile successes of the club.
Despite modest achievements, the “dinosaurs” remained a stable participant in European competitions and a fairly strong team that could ruin anyone’s nerves. Everything changed in the first half of the tenth. Since the 2011/2012 campaign, when Hamburg finished 15th, the Ports have managed only once to place in the first half of the table (7th year later).
The club gradually stagnated more and more. Twice the “red pants” managed to escape only in transitional matches. Greuther Furth was passed thanks to an away goal from Pierre-Michel Lasoggi in the second leg, and a real drama happened to Karlsruhe.
After a home 1-1 ex-team of Oliver Kahn took the lead in the 78th minute thanks to the efforts of Reingold Yabo, but Marcelo Diaz managed to equalize in stoppage time. Everything was decided by the goal of Nikolai Muller in the endgame of the second extra-time. With such problems, relegation was a matter of time.