Andreas Hinkel Compares Celtic to Bayern Munich!
Last updated : 26 February 2008 By Clydebuilt
Andreas Hinkel has today hailed Celtic as the Bayern Munich of Scotland.
Hinkel has been impressed with the Lennoxtown facility and also the training methods of Gordon Strachan. Hinkel said " I could have gone to Borrussia Dortmund and it might have helped me get in the national team sooner. But I wanted to develop myself as a player too.
"At Celtic we have got a training centre which is six months old and we have our own cooks who make the players breakfast and lunch. Theres a practice hall and a gym where we work individually with weights and different equipment.
"All the data is stored and then training can then be steered accurately and specifically so it's possible to have precise control over things.
"All players get a statistics DVD after matches too. So everyone knows how many passes they've made. How far they've run and how many tackles they've won.
"It is all very professional and because of that I think Celtic are the Bayern Munich of Scotland".
The dossier that was revealed in a few Celtic sites recently, which appeared to show individual stats for players confirmed this. This shows the kind of scientific approach that Celtic now take to training. The very fact that the type of training a player receives is tailored to the individual is also quite a new approach and certainly beat the type of scatter-gun approach to training that has been apparent for a long time now.
Hinkel admits the his current team mates do not have the quality or strength in depth of his old club Sevilla, but he feels that his time in Spain was not a waste of time.
Hinkel said" I had a great time at Sevilla and when I think back to it I always have a smile on my face." But I think it would be harsh to say I was a failure there. In Daniel Alves I had one of the best right-backs in the world in front of me. Seville's squad is packed with world- class players.
"Celtic are not as strong. But we have enough to keep up in Europe. That's shown by the fact in the past two years Celtic have got out of the group phase of the Champions League."
The right back also stated that he is enjoying time in Scotland and that he finds the Glaswegian accent a bit hard to comprehend. He added " Celtic care for their new players perfectly. I was last in Glasgow five years ago and it's developed into a modern city.
"There is the weather, of course. Last week was very beautiful but at first it only rained. That isn't the end of the world though.
On the subject of the lingo Hinkel said, "The Scottish dialect has been difficult to pick up too - it's nearly as complicated as learning a new language! "
Welcome to Scotland Andreas. We are glad that you are getting well looked after and hope that you become a first team pick for many a year to come.
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt
