MUELLER TIME
Chris: I used six-month wait for debut to swot up on team-mates but learned about boss from watching him on Sky
CHRIS MUELLER has swotted up on Hibs by watching every game since he signed a pre-contract back in July.
But it’s what the American forward learned about Shaun Maloney after tuning into a 12-year-old rerun of an Old Firm match last week that has him buzzing for life in Leith.
He might be short in stature but the man who spent the last three seasons playing in the home of Disney World with Orlando City is big on entertaining just like the former Celtic and Scotland winger.
Mueller hasn’t been short of top-level mentors in his career having played alongside former Portugal and Manchester United winger Nani at Orlando.
He just hopes he gets the chance to show off what he’s got in his locker on the big stage this evening when Hibs travel to take on Celtic.
Mueller said: “It has been a long wait since I initially signed my pre-contract.
“As soon as I agreed to sign I started to watch as many matches as I could, I was fully invested.
“I have watched every single game since I signed.
“It has helped me see what the team is about and see some of the guys.
“I’m really excited to work with Shaun, I have heard amazing things about him.
“I was actually watching Sky Sports on Thursday and there was an old Celtic against Rangers game from 2009 and he featured in it.
“Even with our playing styles, he was a bit shorter like me and kind of crafty on the ball, good agility and had the ability to create things, take people on one v one.
“So I am really looking forward to working with him and seeing what I can pull into my game.
“We kind of had the Chicago connection because he played there and I’m from Chicago as well.
“We had a laugh about that. Knowing he was a wide player I think he can be a big help to me.
“It was great to share the locker room with someone of Nani’s stature, who has won the biggest competitions in the world and in club football.
“We’re both wingers. Even seeing how he carried himself in the locker room, he was a leader during tough times and always set the standards.
“He had that winning mentality and that was something to learn from.”
Mueller accepts it’s a massive step uprooting and heading across the Atlantic.
But the twice-capped US international, who scored 22 times in 126 games for Orlando, reckons the best way to live the American dream is to leave his native country for Europe.
He said: “I don’t want to speak for everybody coming across from the States but my dream was always to play in Europe since I was a little kid.
“You can sign a new contract with a club in the States, make a lot more money and be content and comfortable. But guys who have big dreams and want to challenge themselves go to a new environment, get out of their comfort zones and see what they can accomplish.”
Mueller can’t wait to sample the atmosphere at Parkhead – even if he’s played in front of bigger crowds back home.
He said: “It’s one of the places that you dream about playing when you think of Scottish football.
“I played in front of big crowds as well in the States.
“The rivalry that was in Orlando and Atalanta – there could be about 80,000 people at that game.
“But I don’t know if the hostility and environment matches Celtic Park.
“The history and the culture of football is different over here. I was drafted to a team in the US founded in 2016. It’s not like you have that rich history. “It runs deep with the supporters here. “That’s what I wanted to ingrain myself in. To lift a trophy at Hampden would be a dream come true and European football is a goal I think isn’t far out of the reach of the club.” Harry Clarke is another new arrival at Hibs but could have to wait up to six weeks for a debut after he confirmed last night he had suffered a hamstring injury.