by Given the injury-plagued nature of his time at Rangers, ex-Ibrox midfielder Christian Nerlinger probably doesn’t look back on his Ibrox spell as one of the highlights of a playing career spent mainly with German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
However, it would be a huge hit if Nerlinger, who is now an agent, is found shouting at Celtic as they travel across Glasgow to face his former club on Sunday. But according to one of the players on his books, he may have done the unthinkable – switched loyalties.
If that wasn’t enough for Rangers fans to stomach, if Celtic player Nicolas Kuhn played a part in helping his side to victory over their rivals at the weekend, their arch-rivals Nerlinger will have to thank for it. the part he took. to Glasgow in January from Rapid Vienna.
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Kuhn himself is relishing the opportunity to step out at Ibrox with Nerlinger hammering home just how special an Old Firm game can be, and is banking on his agent’s unwavering support, despite turning the other half of the city from. where he once plied his trade.
“I’m really looking forward to the game against Rangers,” Kuhn said.
“I’ve heard a lot about it. With my manager [agent, Nerlinger], he played for Rangers. Before I came here, he told me a lot about the game and how important it is to the people. I look forward to it.
“There were no jokes yet [with Nerlinger] – but I think he’s a Celtic fan now! He was very involved in me signing for Celtic. He told me a lot about the club and how great it is.
“Obviously, there is pressure. But I played at Bayern and they want to win every game there too.
“I like derbies. At Bayern, we had the derby with 1860 Munich. That was pretty big. I have already had some good derbies.
“Of course, it’s huge. I want to play every game. We have a very good team and we are all challenging each other.
“We are all competing and pushing each other to get a place in the team.”
Kuhn will have his chances of doing no harm to Brendan Rodgers starting XI on Sunday with another impressive display in the weekend win over Livingston, with the winger starting to show his quality on a more consistent basis after his good to overcome. documented dental issues.
The weight he lost before coming to Glasgow has slowly come back, and so has the change of pace that was earmarked as one of his key attributes when he signed for the club.
“With the winter break in Austria, I came here without pre-season,” he said.
“Ross County was my first game.
“I’m happy that I’m back to my normal weight and that I’ve got my strength back. I may not be 100 percent yet, but I’m definitely getting better and better.
“I thought we had a great game [against Livingston]. Defensively we were strong as Livingston had no chance.
“In the second half, we were happy to get the first goal. Then we got more space and made it 3-0. The attacking side of our game has been good recently.
“For me personally, it took me a while to get used to the new system. But now it feels like he’s getting better and better with every game.”
One of the things that helped Celtic feel at home in Livingston was that three-quarters of the stadium was converted to their supporters, which Kuhn resented.
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It will be one extreme for the other side when they walk out at Ibrox, however, with the new deal on away allocations brokered last week not coming into effect until the start of next season.
That means there will be no Celtic fans present outside the director’s box and dugout, but Kuhn is confident they will be able to suppress the noise of the home supporters, just as his team-mates did when they won 1-0 at the stadium back in September. .
“It was incredible [at Livingston],” he said.
“It felt like a home game. The fans were great.
“For the next week, we have to focus on ourselves.”
The Old Firm game is really the starting pistol for the final run towards the league title. If there is a win, they will certainly be strong candidates to go on and lift the trophy.
Far from worrying about the importance of the game, however, Kuhn says Celtic’s players are relishing the challenge ahead of them next week, and in the weeks to come.
“We have to be excited,” he said.
“We want to collect the points and we know we have to play well.
“We are in a good place now and you can see that the attack has been good in the last few games. The defense is strong as well, so we feel good about what’s to come.”
