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Jaroslov Drobny sets tone in Hamburg and Bremen's derby of dysfunction | Raphael Honigstein

Once they were northern powerhouses but the shambolic defending in the 2-2 draw highlghted just how far the two sides have fallen“Drobo, Drobo,” the khal – sorry, the call – went from the stands. Hamburg fans took care to acknowledge a former favourite, goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny, on his return to the Volksparkstadion in the green and white of Werder Bremen. Before crossing the Nord-Derby divide this summer, the 37-year-old had spent the previous six years with die Rothosen, mostly left to his own devices by an array of bumbling defenders, forced to pick hundreds of balls out of his net with the dignified desolation of a man scouring piles of discarded betting slips for a forgotten winner.On Saturday, though, Drobny...

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Sinking Hamburg wield the axe again but problems come from up on high | Raphael Honigstein

Based in a big, wealthy city, supported by millions and dripping in history, the northerners should be a force but meddling at the top is dragging them downHis team courageously, stubbornly, managed to hold off the visiting champions until a Joshua Kimmich strike in the 88th minute but for Bruno Labbadia, the game was up long before. The Hamburger SV coach knew full well that he had been cynically cast in the role of the patsy on Saturday afternoon, heaved on to the bench by the club manager Dietmar Beiersdorfer in order to fall down a final time and thus smooth the passage for the appointment of his successor, Markus Gisdol.Labbadia, a man high on genuine passion and a bit...

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