Mathijsen lowers Hamburg's sights

After joining Hamburger SV from AZ Alkmaar in August, Joris Mathijsen flew to Spain to watch his team scrape into the UEFA Champions League group stage on away goals against CA Osasuna. Two months on that remains the highpoint of a wretched European campaign.

Adrift
The 4-1 defeat at FC Porto on Matchday 3 left Hamburg bottom of Group G without a point, having already lost against Arsenal FC and PFC CSKA Moskva. Even if they overcome Porto at home on Wednesday they will still be one point adrift of third place, while it was only a week ago that Hamburg finally secured their first Bundesliga win of 2006/07, a 2-1 triumph at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. That was not what Mathijsen thought would happen when he was signed to replace Chelsea FC-bound Dutch international team-mate Khalid Boulahrouz.

UEFA Cup goal
"I came with other expectations," Mathijsen told uefa.com. "Everybody started with other expectations, now we know we have to work hard." Already he admits that progress in this competition is unlikely. "The UEFA Champions League is probably over for us," the 26-year-old added. "Of course there are three games left but results have gone against us. We have to concentrate on the Bundesliga now. The UEFA Cup is all we can reach. It's our goal now but it will still be difficult. If we win our two home games [against Porto and CSKA] we can finish third."

Defensive shortfall
Hamburg's cause has not been helped by a defensive injury crisis that has cost them the likes of Vincent Kompany, Bastian Reinhardt, Timothée Atouba and Guy Demel, forcing numerous changes in the backline with Mathijsen switching between left-back and the centre. "It is difficult - especially in defence," he said. "If you want a solid defence you need to play with four guys who know each other. We need games together so if you have to change every week then it makes it very difficult. But that is football, you can have injuries and players can get suspended. We have many good defenders but if you change every week it isn't good for anybody."

Luck missing
However, it is not only absent personnel who are to blame. "It's too easy to blame that," Mathijsen said. "We have drawn games we should have won and made mistakes we don't make normally. It is not only the injuries. Luck has not been on our side all season, we have to change that, work harder. If everybody is OK we have a great team." Mathijsen is still enjoying his first spell outside his native Netherlands. "It has been beautiful, they are a great club," he said. "The fans are fabulous - they keep supporting us every game, so the club itself is great, but in football you want to win."