Hamburg, the German soccer dinosaur, sealed his first relegation in almost 55 years of the championship by finishing second to last on the closing date of the Bundesliga.

Hamburg was winning their home game against Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 when the match was interrupted in the last minutes by protests from fans who threw flares onto the field.

The victory would not have been enough to maintain their category. The second to last, Wolfsburg, won their match against Cologne 4-1 and secured the possibility of playing for promotion for the second consecutive season.

Hamburg prided itself on being the only team that never lost its category since the foundation of the Bundesliga in 1963.

The three-time league champion in the 1970s and 1980s and winner of the European Cup in 1983 was twice on the brink of the precipice in the last five years, but managed to survive until this season, in which they say goodbye to the first division. They will follow in the footsteps of bottom-placed Cologne, whose relegation was sealed last week.