Hinkel on high alert
Leipzig No 2 can’t wait to face his old rivals again
WHeN Rangers reached their last european final, Andreas Hinkel was a player in the Celtic team which halted their march to the league title.
Fourteen years later, the former right-back is assistant manager of Rb leipzig. And his current mission is to prevent the Ibrox side from appearing in this year’s europa league final in Seville on May 18.
A Celtic defender for three seasons, Hinkel played almost 100 games for the Premiership leaders, winning a league Cup and a championship medal when the Parkhead side snatched the league trophy from Rangers the week after they lost the UeFA Cup final to Zenit St Petersburg.
Relishing the opportunity to lock horns with the Ibrox club once more, Hinkel followed Domenico Tedesco from Spartak Moscow to the Red bull Arena and admits: ‘of course I’m really looking forward to facing Rangers.
‘Since we knew it was possible to face Rangers, I was happy and looking forward to the game — especially because I knew we were going to travel to Glasgow and I love that place.’
The natural instinct for Celtic fans is to hope for a Rangers defeat. Yet the title medal won by Hinkel (below) and his teammates in 2007-08 showed the benefits of having a weary rival vying for trophies in a number of competitions.
Asked if he has received any calls from fans of his former club offering free tactical advice, Hinkel laughs. ‘Not that many because I’ve changed my number…
‘I’m still in touch with some and I’ve received a few messages,’ he adds. ‘The people I know are Celtic fans so, yes, of course they want us to knock Rangers out.’
As bundesliga rivals borussia Dortmund learned, that’s easier said than done.
German legend lothar Mattheus dismissed Rangers as a ‘third-rate team’ before they thrashed Dortmund. Reluctant to learn his lesson, the bold lothar has once again tipped the Scottish champions to go out.
While some people never learn, Hinkel’s experience taught him to show teams from the SPFl a little more respect.
‘We will speak to the team before the training session and speak in detail about Rangers,’ added the leipzig No2. ‘of course I can say that Scottish teams in general are more physical compared to teams in the German league. They have good mentality. It’s not easy to play in Scotland.
‘but it’s not just physical. They have weapons, especially Rangers. They are good on the counterattack as well. They defend strongly, too.
‘They didn’t qualify for the semi-finals by chance. They beat some good competitors in this tournament, so it’s going to be really tough, really hard to get a result.’
Joining Celtic from Vfb Stuttgart for £1.9million in January 2008, Hinkel sees parallels between his first six months in Scotland and the current scenario. Then, as now, Rangers were challenging for a european trophy. They were dropping
points in the league as a consequence. And had a Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South at Hampden to prepare for.
Asked if he could have seen lightning striking twice, Hinkel admitted: ‘I thought about that. It’s been a long time but the reason I thought about it is that it’s a similarity to my first season.
‘The only difference is that they (Rangers) were in front in the league and dropped points in the last few games, which allowed us to win the league. So it’s similar, of course.
‘Maybe it’s a small surprise but you need a little bit of luck.
‘In my first year, they played Fiorentina in the semi-final and went through. It was tough and they lost power in the league.
‘So on that side it’s a little bit different, with Celtic now in front in the league by six points. but it’s good for Scottish football to see them back at this stage.’
Under head coach Tedesco, leipzig have steadied the ship. American Jesse Marsch was sacked after four months in charge in December with the club languishing 11th in the bundesliga with five wins from 14 games.
Tedesco arrived four days later, taking Hinkel and Max Urwantschky as his assistants. Now fourth in the league with realistic hopes of a european final, a 15-game unbeaten run ended against Union berlin at the weekend.
Visibly tiring under the weight of fixtures, Tedesco insists there is no question of taking Rangers lightly despite the absence of key strikers Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.
‘look, it is the semi-final of the europa league,’ he said. ‘If you achieve this target you can be sure that you are a strong team.
‘We know that Roofe will miss out and I think they played in the last games with (Joe) Aribo there, as a No 10. He can be really strong in the half space and with Fashion Junior, they are strong players with a lot of speed. For us, it is not a big difference who is playing there because everyone that is playing is strong.’
While Ally McCoist and West Ham coach Stuart Pearce cross swords over the prospect of an all-british final on Talksport, the prospect of Rb leipzig facing eintracht Frankfurt in Seville is one few have considered. Including, it seems, Tedesco.
‘I just considered the semi-final,’ he said. ‘The best way to be focused is to be focused on the next game, not to think about what can be or will be.
‘It will be a tough game, this one at home and also in Glasgow. There is no time to think further.’
With 7,000 Rangers fans making the trip to Germany, the first priority for the leipzig coach is to get a good night’s sleep ahead of the first leg.
‘We are living in a really good hotel in the centre and they told me that 200 fans are coming to the hotel, so I will sleep here in the academy for the next two days,’ he joked.
‘but we are happy. Playing at home with a good atmosphere is the best that can happen.’