Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart (l.) reserved special praise for defender Cleber (r.) after the Brazilian defender scored his first league goal to help HSV beat Mainz
Hamburg captain Rafael van der Vaart (l.) reserved special praise for defender Cleber (r.) after the Brazilian defender scored his first league goal to help HSV beat Mainz

Van der Vaart: 'Cleber's arrived at Hamburg now'

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Hamburg - Rafael van der Vaart says Cleber Reis has announced himself at the Red Shorts after the Brazilian defender scored his first goal for the club in their 2-1 win over 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Matchday 14.

Hamburger SV

The 05ers, however, were at a loss to explain such a meek performance that left them six matches without a win. bundesliga.com rounds up the best of the post-match reaction from the Imtech Arena...

Rafael van der Vaart: It was a great goal from Cleber and an important goal, and he showed he's arrived in Hamburg now. I'm always a little bit nervous before a penalty but I knew where I was going to put it and I'm relieved it went in. My family was in the stands and my celebration was for them. Mainz are a good team and to win at home again was very important for us.

Nicolai Müller: It was good to see my old team-mates but it was a really important game for us and one that we needed to win. We didn't let them into the game and controlled things until the final stages. We've won three at home in a row and we only lost against Frankfurt in the last minute here so this is a good run for us.

Cleber Reis: I always celebrate that way so people see my number. It was my first goal in the Bundesliga and we won an important game, so I'm delighted.

1. FSV Mainz 05


Sami Allagui: We didn't do enough today if you look at the pattern of the game. Lots of clubs were preparing for a relegation battle at the start of the season, but we still have points to play for between now and the end of the year. It's frustrating to lose the game but the fans were still positive at the end.

Johannes Geis: We started the game badly and conceded a poor goal, and after that we didn't have the fight we needed to get back into the game. We got a goal back and then had a chance with Shinji [Okazaki] at the end but it wasn't to be. We were confident going into the game and the coach had us fired up, but we didn't give it everything when we got out on to the pitch. We're in a tough situation but we'll only get out of it by sticking together.