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.
