It must rank as one of the biggest bottle jobs in football history.
Back on March 10, Hamburg travelled to their local rivals St Pauli and thrashed them 4-0 to remain firmly on course for an immediate return to Bundesliga.
Little did they know it at that point, as they sat just one point behind second division leaders Cologne, but it would be the last time they tasted success in the league.
Hamburg look set to miss out on an immediate return to the Bundesliga after a collapse in form
Last Sunday's 4-1 loss at Paderborn ensured they will miss out on promotion barring a miracle
A Hamburg fan with a red rose in the away section at Paderborn as they lost yet again
Hamburg have dropped to fourth and need a 21-goal swing to overtake Union Berlin on Sunday
Eight matches, five defeats and three draws later, Hamburg have dramatically collapsed to fourth position and look set to miss out on promotion entirely.
Returning to the top-flight at the first attempt was everything to Hamburg.
Regarded as one of the traditional powerhouses of German football, a former European Cup winner and one of the country's oldest clubs, their badge of honour was that they were ever-presents in the Bundesliga since its foundation in 1963.
Until last May, this unbroken sequence of almost 55 years was marked by a clock in one corner of their impressive Volksparkstadion home.
There had been some near-misses in recent seasons, and even relegation play-offs, but that clock suddenly stopped amid rioting and recriminations when Hamburg played Borussia Monchengladbach on May 12 last year.
There are fears fan anger could boil over into more rioting at this Sunday's Duisburg game
Fans are furious that the team's form has collapsed in the past couple of months
On March 10, Hamburg won 4-0 at St Pauli and were just one point off the 2. Bundesliga summit.
Since then their form has collapsed:
March 16 Darmstadt (H) 2-3
March 30 Bochum (A) 0-0
April 8 Magdeburg (H) 1-2
April 15 Cologne (A) 1-1
April 20 Aue (H) 1-1
April 28 Union Berlin (A) 0-2
May 4 Ingolstadt (H) 0-3
May 12 Paderborn (A) 1-4
So given their history, it was of vital importance for Hamburg to bounce back at the first time of asking. Until March, things were going fine. Then it all went wrong.
A 4-1 defeat at Paderborn last Sunday rendered this weekend's final fixture at home to Duisburg a dead rubber.
Trailing third-placed Union Berlin by three points, they would need a 21-goal swing to move above them and reach the promotion play-offs.
There are
