Ruud van Nistelrooy was delighted to have marked his full Hamburg
debut with a goal last night to take the north German club one step
closer to their dream Europa League final in their own stadium
thanks to a 3-1 win over Anderlecht.
The Dutchman lasted the whole 90 minutes after only having
previously made a handful of substitute appearances following his
move from Real Madrid and he savoured the occasion.
"This is the kind of game a footballer lives for," he said.
"To play in a European knockout match under the floodlights
is something special, particularly when you are making your debut
in the starting XI.
"I have worked hard for this in recent weeks and now my
patience has been rewarded and I could help my team with my goal.
"It was frustrating that my second goal was ruled out for
offside, but we can still be generally happy with our performance."
The only blot on an otherwise perfect night for Van
Nistelrooy and his team-mates was conceding an away goal which
leaves the Belgians with a glimmer of hope for the second leg next
week.
"Anderlecht will give everything in the second leg, that's
for certain," added Van Nistelrooy on his club's website.
"We have got to work with full concentration in Belgium to
complete our passage to the quarter-finals and move a step closer
to the final in our own stadium."
Thursday's game not only marked the first start of Van
Nistelrooy, but watching on from the stands was the injured Paolo
Guerrero, who has been receiving treatment for a serious knee
injury back home in Peru and had already missed four flights back
to Germany, allegedly due to a fear of flying.
He will now continue his recovery in Germany and hope to make
his return before the end of the season.
