By Chris Wright
They were hanging over the precipice at one point but Hamburg just about managed to preserve their record of being the only team never to have been relegated from the Bundesliga by ousting Karlsruhe in the second leg of the promotion/relegation play-off last night.
With Thursday’s first leg ending 1-1, Hamburg duly found themselves 1-0 down on the night and staring relegation square in the face when Karlsruher’s Reinhold Yabo put his side ahead in the 79th minute.
However, a dramatic 90th minute equaliser – a superb curling freekick from Marcelo Diaz – pulled Hamburg back from the brink and ensured the tie would roll on into extra time.
It was then that came the game changing moment: striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga received a crucial buttock massage…
To think, all those years of physio training came down to that one moment.
It was no coincidence that Hamburg (who also found themselves in the relegation play-off last season) then went on to score again in the 115th minute to stave off the drop and ensure themselves a 53rd consecutive year in the German top flight.
Huzzah for the Arsch Doktor!