Diamond sparkles for Dons boss

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Faced with World Cup winner Luca Toni and Germany striker Lukas Podolski, as well as his international team-mate Miroslav Klose in the second half, Diamond showed no sign of nerves.

"I thought he was fabulous," said Calderwood after his side lost their last-32 clash 7-3 on aggregate. "He has really grown up and Zander was by far the best player on the field."

The 22-year-old prevented Toni, the UEFA Cup and Bundesliga's top goalscorer, from putting his name on the scoresheet with a mature and accomplished display at the back.

The Italy international was withdrawn midway through the second half, and Diamond acknowledged that as a personal success.

"I don't think he liked how physical I was and they took him off in the second half, which is saying something" he said.

While Toni may not go down as the best player Diamond has played against - and he accused the Italian of "lacking professionalism" in his conduct - Barry Nicholson will never forget the test Mark van Bommel gave him.

The Dutchman scored the fifth goal of the game when he finally managed to wriggle away from Nicholson's close attentions in the 85th minute.

"I was very impressed with Van Bommel," said Nicholson, who had earmarked his direct rival in the midfield as the one to watch on the eve of the game. "He is probably one of the best players I have played against, but it is all about learning.

"We had a lot of young lads out there and we can all learn from a match like this. It was a great experience for the team."