PSV in Van Nistelrooy's sights

Ruud van Nistelrooy has already scored twice in a Hamburger SV career spanning little more than 26 minutes and he will attempt to continue that streak against former club PSV Eindhoven on Thursday.

Hamburg's 33-year-old Dutchman, signed from Real Madrid CF in January, made his second short substitute appearance in Saturday's 3-1 Bundesliga win at VfB Stuttgart. He marked the occasion by notching two goals in the space of 90 seconds, issuing a reminder of the talent that took Van Nistelrooy to the top of the scoring charts in the Netherlands, England and Spain – beginning with a prolific spell at PSV from 1998 to 2001.

HSV's new man struck 62 goals in 67 league games for PSV, the side Hamburg face in the UEFA Europa League round of 32. Yet while his memories of Eindhoven – where he won two Eredivisie titles – remain fond, Thursday's first leg in Germany will be strictly business. "On the pitch it is no problem for me to fade out all those memories for 90 minutes," he said. "I am professional enough."

Still, the encounter with Fred Rutten's men will be an emotional one for the Netherlands forward, who has not come up against his old club since leaving for Manchester United FC in 2001. "It will be a very special day for me," he said. "PSV are my club. I had three gorgeous years there and this will be the first match I have played against them since leaving. I am very excited."

Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia may be reluctant to start with Van Nistelrooy, given he has been training with the reserves, but the No22 should get some playing time. Labbadia has been impressed by his latest recruit's calm demeanour amid the excitement surrounding his arrival, noting: "He is handling the situation very well, considering the incredible hype here in Hamburg."

Van Nistelrooy himself is itching for action. "Week on week I am getting stronger," said the one-time FC Den Bosch and SC Heerenveen attacker, who made just a solitary substitute outing for Madrid in the Liga this season. "I think I am fit enough to play 60 minutes and I hope to get as long as possible." He added of Thursday's assignment: "The most important thing is the team performance. We want to be in a good position for the game in Eindhoven [on 25 February] because PSV are very strong at home."

Having signed an 18-month contract, Van Nistelrooy is also looking ahead to 2010/11, with fourth-placed HSV eager to break into the all-important top three in the Bundesliga. "It should be the ambition of every team to play in the UEFA Champions League," he went on. "Of course I want to play in that competition with Hamburg next season."