HSV coach slams Mahdavikia's woeful play against Freiburg

IRNA - Hamburg coach Thomas Doll harshly criticized Iranian forward Mehdi Mahdavikia for his dismal performance during his team's 1-1 draw against lowly SC Freiburg on Saturday.

"I expect more of him. Mehdi was never capable of taking on the man-to-man duels or securing the ball," the daily Hamburger Morgenpost quoted Doll as saying on Monday.

"But it is something else to play in the Bundesliga or to play against a team that is 118th in the FIFA world rankings," added the trainer, referring to Mahdavikia's recent superb play against North Korea in the Asian World Cup qualifier.

The 28-year-old right winger cited jet lag and fatigue as the main reasons for his bad play in Freiburg.

Mahdavikia went on to say that it was difficult to always come off the reserve bench in the last 20 minutes of the game.

A reserve player for almost eight months, the former Persepolis striker has repeatedly expressed deep frustration over his substitute role.

Meanwhile, the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper did not rule out that Mahdavikia whose current contract runs through 2007, would transfer to another club at the end of this season.