VfB Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness has described Celtic as the most challenging opponent his team could have drawn…
The Bundesliga outfit travel to Glasgow for tonight’s Europa League knockout play-off first leg, with the Scottish champions arriving in fine form after five consecutive wins.
Meanwhile, Stuttgart head into the clash sitting fourth in the Bundesliga, having claimed five victories from their last six matches. Hoeness is also relishing the chance to experience the atmosphere at Celtic Park once again, nearly a decade after his previous visit.
The 43-year-old was present in the stadium during his time as a Bayern Munich youth coach, watching as Bayern defeated Celtic 2-1 in the Champions League back in 2017.
Speaking via Daily Record, Hoeness said: “I expect a lot. I think they are a team who have had a really turbulent season with a lot of changes in coaches. The current coach is there for a second time this season; he has a special history here.”
“He’s a very experienced coach. It’s a team who have really found form again recently after ups and downs this season. They’ve played a lot of games but have now gone 10 games undefeated. It’s one of the toughest draws we could’ve got but it’s also one of the most exciting.”
“We’ll have the opportunity to play in this historic stadium. It has a really special energy that can be unleashed when the teams harness the energy from the fans. The noise that they make, it gives the team power and energy and we’ll have to be able to counter that.”
“But we’re prepared for the task ahead. It’s going to be really challenging, but these are the games you want to be competing in when you’re competing in Europe. We’re going to try and put ourselves in a good position heading into next week.”
Hoeness has highlighted several key players he believes pose a major danger in the Celtic ranks, while also warning that the club’s recent January arrivals could add further unpredictability and create significant challenges for his side.
The Stuttgart manager said: ”Yes, I would say so.. in general, you can say it’s a really experienced team.”
“Almost every player is around 26/27. They have two new players – Adamu and Cvancara – who are known from the Bundesliga, and the other played in the Premier League [Julian Araujo].”
“There’s another one that’s a little bit longer here [Arne Engels], he’s injured and a very talented player. Maeda is known and is capable of scoring very good goals.”
“Nygren showed this year that he’s capable of scoring a lot of goals. It’s a really good team. I think they have 13 or 14 really good players and that’s why I think it’s a really big challenge.”
Conor Spence
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