Dortmund must win in Athens, insists Hummels

Published: 18 Oct 2011 - 15:39:33

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Dortmund must win in Athens, insists Hummels

Borussia Dortmund must win at Olympiakos Piraeus in Greece on Wednesday to keep their Champions League hopes alive with defender Mats Hummels insisting this is their last chance.

Having opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal and a 3-0 defeat at Marseille, Dortmund are third in Group F and badly need a win in Greece to keep their hopes alive of reaching the knock-out stages.

The Germans host Olympiakos on November 2, then play Arsenal a fortnight later in London before hosting Marseille on December 6 in their final group game and must pick up their first win of the campaign to boost their chances of progressing from the group stages.

"We must win at Piraeus to keep our chances alive," said Hummels after his side won 2-0 at Werder Bremen in the German league last Friday to go third in the Bundesliga and six points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

"We have a great team when we are at our best," said Hummels while his centre-back partner Neven Subotic said it will take a good performance from Dortmund to get a win at the Karaiskakis stadium in Athens.

Coach Jurgen Klopp is expecting a hostile reception from the Greek crowd in Athens, because of the financial situation and the game sold out in just 45 minutes.

"This is like an international match, the political situation is superimposed on the sport," said Klopp, with Germany at the forefront of moves to help struggling eurozone nations like Greece.

"I think the Greeks are not just terribly happy about the German population at the moment."