Preview/Bayern Munich v Celtic: Ottmar Hitzfeld has moved to quell a dressing-room row between Oliver Kahn and Owen Hargreaves which is threatening Bayern Munich's Champions League challenge against Celtic starting at the Olympic Stadium tonight.
Bayern's coach wasted no time before his team's opening tie in addressing an issue which has overshadowed the German champions' build-up.
The problem began when the Germany and Bayern captain suggested the England midfielder was not as disciplined in his defensive duties as he might be, and that simply running around for 90 minutes was no compensation.
Hargreaves pulled out of Monday evening's press conference in protest, leaving his coach to defuse the situation.
Hitzfeld said: "Oliver must be more careful with what he says."
But he went on: "Kahn is entitled to his opinion because he is captain, but that is not the case for anyone else. I have spoken to him and he insisted he was taken out of context and that he had added that Owen is a very good player. So I am cool about this."
Yet Hargreaves' non-appearance at the press conference was followed by a training session in which the two players did not look at each other.
Hitzfeld is well aware that Bayern's dismal Champions League performance last season will not bear repeating.
"Now we are one of the favourites, but we know Celtic have an excellent team. I felt they should have won the UEFA Cup last year and in Henrik Larsson they have one of Europe's best strikers, while others such as Chris Sutton and Stilian Petrov are first-class players. Martin O'Neill, too, is a very good coach and his team respond to that."
Hitzfeld has injury worries, too. Sebastian Deisler and Jens Jeremies are out. But Michael Ballack and Claudio Pizarro are fit again and will play. Celtic's striker John Hartson said: "Three years ago we would have been in awe of Bayern's big names, but we know the manager has confidence in us and we have managed to score away in a lot of big European games recently."
He is likely to partner Larsson, with Sutton in midfield for the injured Paul Lambert. But greater problems lie in defence, where Johan Mjallby, Stephen Crainey and Ulrik Laursen are out. Bobo Balde will be in his usual central defensive place, however.
"We will be positive," said O'Neill. "I know Bayern want to rectify last year's showing, which is bad news for the rest of the group. It'll take a monumental effort to get something, but our away record stands up to scrutiny. We'll attack where and when possible."
O'Neill, meanwhile, has welcomed an invitation by the Scottish FA for talks about his remarks suggesting there was one rule for some and another for Celtic after Didier Agathe's red card at Dundee and Neil Lennon's gesture at home fans.
Guardian Service
PROBABLE TEAMS
BAYERN MUNICH: Kahn; Sagnol, Kovac, Linke, Lizarazu; Salihamidzic, Hargreaves, Ballack, Scholl; Pizarro, Makaay.
CELTIC: Hedman; McNamara, Balde, Varga; Thompson, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Sutton; Hartson, Larsson.
Referee: M De Santis (Italy).
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