DAVE PAGE reflects on a German stalwart struggling to keep their head above water…

DAVE PAGE
ONE of football’s great little quirks is the clock that sits proudly in Hamburger SV’s Volksparkstadion, forever counting the time that this giant of German football has remained in the nation’s top division without being relegated.
Since the Bundesliga’s inaugural season in 1963, they are the only team never to have dropped out, a proud tradition that has spawned their nickname, ‘The Dinosaur’.
Originally a reference to their longevity, this label becomes ...