PFDC - HAMBURG, The following is a translation of an interview done with Mehdi Mahdavikia by Iran Varzeshi newspaper.

It was very strange, the Hamburg manager used all his three subs against Bayern but there was no sign of Mehdi Mahdavikia. His presence on the bench reminds him of the days when the Hamburg No.7 would ease past the left flank of Bayern and past Lizarazu. We have been waiting for a while and it seems like Mehdi is glued to the Hamburg bench but there are rumours that he will return to the first team this week unless….

What happened in Munich? Why did u lose like this?

I really don’t know, we lost by three goals and it wasn’t a good game for us. We conceded three and we could have conceded many more.

So what was Hamburg Doing?

Our team was terrible, we didn’t even have any proper scoring opportunities.

It seems like your goalie was MVP of the match even though he conceded three?

Our goalkeeper played very well in this game, but overall it was a very bad result for us. We have started the second half of the season poorly, I hope we can at least end it on a better note.

Many people thought that you would return to the starting line up but you didn’t even play for 1 minute!

During our last friendly match against Bremen, I realised that there is no chance for me against Bayern. Jarolim played on the left wing and Benjamin on the right, from that I realised that I wasn’t going to play, but I didn’t think that I wouldn’t even come on as a sub.

In the first half of the season, you were always Dohl’s first man to come on but this time..!

Bayern didn’t play well in the first half of the season and neither were we. In the second half, it looks like they have improved and we’ve gotten worse! We also conceded easy goals. The coach made three changes but I sat on the bench till the end, for time being this seems to be the case!

Why?

There are many answers to that. During this game, all the three changes were strange to us. At the start of the second half, our new defender who we signed from Bayern got injured and Benjamin came on instead of him on the right. Then Takahara was replaced by our portugese midfielder. Our left-back was also replaced but me…

Now this games over, do you have any hopes of returning in the next game?

I don’t make the decisions and it’s not up to me. Everything depends on our coach but because Jarolim has five bookings, I have a better chance of playing.

And what if you were again not picked for the team?

I cant do anything but to train. If I don’t play against Meinz next week, that would show that the coach doesn’t even have faith in me as a reserve winger. That was the case against Bremen but…

You are obviously angry about this but you haven’t said anything, why?

I have to respect the coach’s decisions even if something goes wrong!

What if it continues like this for a long time? Would you leave Hamburg?

I have a contract with Hamburg until 2007

You do know that Chrstian Rahn is on his way to Cologne because of being benched?

Yes I know. Over the past two years, me and Rahn were fixed players but this year, the coach’s new system has proven to be pricey for us. Dohl has used new tactics since becoming manager and he doesn’t use wide wingers therefore Rahn and I were left on the bench.

Did you meet up with Vahid in Munich?

Yes I did. The game was at a late time therefore our team stayed overnight and I got permission to leave for 2 hours. Vahid and I went to an Iranian restaurant and ate dinner together

A dinner filled with complaints though however!?

[laughing] maybe, well last season both Vahid and I had very good seasons, but this year it’s the exact opposite. I didn’t play this game and Vahid wasn’t even on the list of the 18 players.

Are you going to play Against Bosnia?

So far I’m not sure. I have to see how things go but there is a chance that I would make it.