Jol: Hamburg deserved place in Uefa Cup semi-finals

Friday 17 April 2009 11:35 BST
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Coach Martin Jol believes Hamburg deserved their place in the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup despite losing 2-1 at Manchester City last night.

The German side slipped to a second-leg defeat at Eastlands but booked their place in the last four by virtue a 4-3 aggregate scoreline.

Hamburg will now face Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen for a place in the final.

"We started off very well and the goal helped a lot," said Jol.

"Then we had a penalty given against us, which was a bit harsh.

"We knew if they got another goal it would be exciting again and that is what happened.

"But they did not score a third and that was great. I think over two legs we were the better side."

Meanwhile, midfielder Tim Borowski has admitted he is unhappy after failing to hold down a starting place at Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old Germany international swapped Werder Bremen for Bayern last summer but has yet to establish himself as a first-team regular at the Allianz Arena.

"I'm really upset with my current situation," said Borowski.

"I was in an excellent form before the winter break and I was one of our better performers. However, for some reason I've lost my spot in the starting eleven.

"I didn't come to Munich to warm the bench. Nevertheless, leaving the club isn't an option for me at the moment.

"I'm proud to be a Bayern Munich player and I want to prove my worth."

Elsewhere, Hannover chairman Martin Kind has admitted that his club are likely to lose the services of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke next summer.

The 31-year-old former Barcelona and Benfica keeper has been linked with Bayern Munich in recent weeks and Kind is realistic about the prospects of keeping hold of Enke.

He told Die Welt: "We would be open to talks and are aware that Robert could end up on Bayern's shortlist, although we have not been confronted with an enquiry from there yet.

"We will be tied to playing in the bottom half of the Bundesliga with our club and I know Robert Enke is wanting to feature in Europe.

"I feel Bayern will be forced to make decisions on their goalkeeping position."

VfB Stuttgart have warned potential suitors that they have no intention of allowing Germany defender Serdar Tasci to leave the club next summer.

The 21-year-old has become a regular in the national team squads of Joachim Low in recent times and is reported to be interesting the likes of AC Milan and Juventus.

However, Stuttgart's general manager Horst Heldt told Bild: "I know that several big teams are interested in Serdar.

"He's an excellent defender, so it makes sense that other teams are after him.

"Nevertheless, we're not letting go off him this summer and other teams can spare themselves the effort of contacting us. That's what we've told Serdar too."

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