van der Vaart: 'Incredible to avoid relegation in my last game'
Karlsruhe - It was not a night for the faint-hearted at the Wildparkstadion as 120 minutes were needed to determine who would be secure Bundesliga status in the 2015/16 season.
In the end it was Hamburger SV who preserved their top-flight status after a dramatic 2-1 victoryin the promotion/relegation play-off second leg away to Karlsruher SC. bundesliga.com has the reaction from a memorable night in the south of Germany...
Hamburger SV
Rafael van der Vaart: "It was incredible today! We knew it would be tight, but not so tight. To avoid relegation in my last game for the club - I don't know how we did it, but it's an amazing feeling. It's important for the whole club and the whole city. I'm just delighted that we've stayed up! Marcelo [Diaz, who scored Hamburg's equaliser] nicked the free-kick, I was meant to take it! (laughing)."
Nicolai Müller: "I'm delighted for us and the team, we never gave up and we're in the Bundesliga next year! It's such a relief now. I've been carrying a heavy rucksack around with me, but that fell in the space of ten seconds tonight."
Rene Adler: "I'd rather not go through a game like this often, even if it did work out well for us in the end. I think I aged three years tonight. It was a victory for our team spirit. I still need to come back down to earth after this. It's indescribable."
Pierre-Michel Lasogga: "We gave our all after going behind. We were a dead side but fought back. We could’ve been 4-1 up at full time after missing three or four clearcut chances before getting the equaliser. It was a chaotic season, we had four coaches but the last one was our talisman. I hope we can be more successful next season and finish further up the table."
Bruno Labbadia, head coach: "I can’t put my feelings into words! I love the city, I love this club! I knew saving Hamburg would be a huge task when taking over when the club were bottom of the standings. I’m extremely proud of the team and with the way they’ve worked in the last six weeks."
Karlsruher SC
Rouwen Hennings: "We gave everything today, and we were on the winning path up to 90 minutes. The fans were right behind us and we had a fantastic season, but now we've all got to try to come to terms with this outcome."
Markus Kauczinski, head coach: "I'm really sorry for the lads after all their efforts. Football can be decided by such small things, and we just didn't have that bit of luck tonight. We know who the better team is on paper, but we had a chance and we're very proud of what we've done this year."
