Van der Vaart keen for Dortmund test

Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart is keen for a crack at German champions Borussia Dortmund at the Imtech Arena in their next fixture.

Hamburg are yet to register a win so far this term, most recently losing 3-2 after going down to 10 men at Eintracht Frankfurt.

But Van der Vaart, Hamburg’s deadline day signing from Tottenham Hotspur, is hoping the clash with Dortmund on Saturday will provide his team with the perfect opportunity to turn their season around.

“Hopefully we will fire here at (our home) stadium. Borussia Dortmund are a very good team, but we can beat them and need not be afraid,” the 29-year-old told Sport1.

“When we play pressing (football) at home, the opponents hurt too. We need to do it together, and the lads do that very well.

“They have shown that they want to fight and be able to fight and that they can play good football.”