TALKING CELTIC
AIN GERMANY WITH CELTIC NDREAS Hinkel’s current role as manager of VfB Stuttgart II in his native Germany prevents him from taking in many of Celtic’s games these days.
He will, though, be an interested onlooker when his former club play Bayern Munich in a Champions League game in the Allianz Arena tomorrow evening and is even hopeful of witnessing an upset.
The one-time right-back, who spent three seasons as a player at Parkhead between 2006 and 2008, appreciates it will not be easy for Brendan Rodgers’s side to even record a draw.
Bayern can, despite not enjoying, by their own high standards, the best of seasons, field the likes of Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Thiago, Arjen Robben, Kingsley Coman, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.
Their opponents have also been given a lift by the return of their revered former manager Jupp Heynckes following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti earlier this month.
Hinkel, who won the Uefa Cup and Super Cup during his time with Sevilla in Spain, believes they are capable of prevailing in the Champions League for a sixth time despite their 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in their last Group B match.
However, he feels Celtic can still capitalise on the defensive disarray which contributed to the downfall of Ancelotti and get a result – provided they take a cautious approach to the outing.
“I don’t watch atch many Celtic games because e I am involved in matches myself with Stuttgart,” he e said. “But I still keep in touch ouch with several people who work at Celtic throughgh Facebook and get most of my information about whathat is happening at the e club through them..
“I am lookking forward to watching their game against Bayern. I am interested in seeing how Celt Celtic play year. Carlo Ancelotti took over, now. Scott Brown but he played in a different style. and JameseyJamese For“It wasn’t as attractive to rest are th the only watch, they didn’t dominate to two players who I the same degree and I don’t know fro from my know if the players were fit time at the club. It enough either. is a totally differentdi “Yes, he won the Bundesliga, team. but that’s not enough for Bay“Bayer “Bayern Muern Munich. They want to do nich ha have had well in the Champions League prob problems and in the German Cup as well. sinc since they “They want to win, but they los lo s t Pe p want to win in style, playing Gu Guardiola good football. to Man“That wasn’t the case under c chester Ancelotti. Fans didn’t underC City last stand what his philosophy was.
“They have brought back Jupp Heynckes who did a great job before. They won the treble in his last season there in 2012/13.
“I think they want to show they can play football again after Ancelotti. They have still got a lot of quality. They have a really good team. It will be difficult for Celtic.
“Heynckes has only been in charge for one game, against Freiburg on Saturday, since returning. So it will also be hard for Celtic to know how to approach the match because the new manager has just taken over. How will they approach the game? It will be difficult to say.”
HINKEL, who played in defence for Germany 21 times in his career, believes Bayern are fallible at the back and is confident Celtic, who will field either Moussa Dembele or Leigh Griffiths along with Scott Sinclair up front, can score goals on the counter and at set-pieces.
“They conceded too many goals under Ancelotti,” he said. “When Heynckes was there before they didn’t do that. Last week he made an interesting point. He said that in the last