Andreas Hinkel

1. Playing career

Andreas Hinkel's playing career spanned over a decade, during which he established himself as a prominent right-back across various top European leagues and represented his national team.

1.1. Club career

Hinkel played for several notable clubs, making significant contributions and achieving success in both domestic and European competitions.

1.1.1. VfB Stuttgart

Hinkel began his youth career at VfB Stuttgart, where he rose through the ranks alongside future German international Timo Hildebrand and Belarusian international Aleksandr Hleb. He made his professional debut with the first team in 2000. By the 2002-03 season, he had become a first-choice right-back for Stuttgart, contributing to their second-place finish in the Bundesliga. This success led to his first participation in the UEFA Champions League in the subsequent season. His strong defensive abilities and speed quickly established him as one of Germany's leading right-backs. In 2003, when Bayern Munich's young star Philipp Lahm joined Stuttgart on loan, Hinkel maintained his starting position, which ironically led to Lahm developing his talent as a left-back. However, in March 2004, Hinkel suffered a knee ligament injury that sidelined him. During his tenure at Stuttgart, he won the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup. He played 156 league matches for the club, scoring one goal.

1.1.2. Sevilla FC

On 23 June 2006, Hinkel signed a four-year contract with Sevilla FC, with the transfer fee estimated to be around 4.00 M EUR. During his time at Sevilla, he was part of a highly successful period for the club, winning the 2006 UEFA Super Cup, the UEFA Cup in the 2006-07 season, the Copa del Rey in 2006-07, and the Supercopa de España in 2007. Despite these team successes, Hinkel found it challenging to secure a regular starting spot, primarily due to the formidable presence of Brazilian international Dani Alves as Sevilla's first-choice right-back. His limited playing time at Sevilla also impacted his international career. He made 15 league appearances for Sevilla.

1.1.3. Celtic FC

Seeking more playing opportunities, Hinkel transferred to Celtic in the Scottish Premier League on 4 January 2008, for a fee of 1.90 M GBP. Eight days later, he made his Celtic debut in a 3-0 Scottish Cup victory against Stirling Albion. A month later, he scored his first goal for Celtic in a 3-0 home win against Hearts at Celtic Park. Celtic went on to win the SPL title on a dramatic final day of the season, earning Hinkel his first league title medal.

The following season, Hinkel secured a Scottish League Cup winner's medal after Celtic defeated Rangers 2-0 in the final. On 5 August 2009, Hinkel played a crucial role in Celtic's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second-leg victory over Russian side Dinamo Moscow. He assisted Scott McDonald for the opening goal and then delivered a long punt upfield that Georgios Samaras latched onto for a last-minute winner, securing a 2-0 win for "the Hoops". Hinkel also made two vital goal-line clearances during the match. He was considered a vital player for Celtic, appearing in 29 SPL matches during that period.

For the start of the 2010-11 season on 14 August, Hinkel was dropped from the lineup in favor of new signing Korean international Cha Du-Ri (차두리_{Cha Du-Ri}^Korean). The following week, Hinkel suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for nine months and effectively ending his season. He resumed training in January of the following year. His contract with Celtic expired on 1 July 2011, and he subsequently left the club. He made 79 league appearances for Celtic, scoring one goal.

1.1.4. SC Freiburg

On 6 October 2011, SC Freiburg signed Hinkel on a free transfer, marking his return to the Bundesliga after five seasons abroad. He played briefly for the club before announcing his immediate retirement from football on 10 September 2012, at the age of 30. He made 7 league appearances for Freiburg.

1.2. International career

Andreas Hinkel represented the German national team on 21 occasions at the senior level. He made his international debut in 2003 against Serbia and Montenegro. He was included in the German squad for UEFA Euro 2004 after recovering from his knee injury. However, he was not selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a decision that was partly influenced by his limited first-team football at Sevilla and the emergence of Philipp Lahm as the preferred first-choice right-back. Hinkel also did not receive call-ups for UEFA Euro 2008 or the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His international involvement was further limited by the rise of other talents like Andreas Beck and Jérôme Boateng.

2. Managerial career

After retiring as a player, Andreas Hinkel transitioned into coaching, taking on various roles within youth and senior teams, primarily at VfB Stuttgart and later with FC Spartak Moscow.

Between 2014 and 2016, Hinkel served as an assistant coach within VfB Stuttgart's youth system, the first team, and the reserve team. He began his coaching career in the 2013-14 season as the manager for the U12 team and also as an assistant manager for the U16s. In the 2014-15 season, he worked as an assistant manager for the U17s under manager Domenico Tedesco. At the end of that season, Hinkel and Tedesco unexpectedly departed the club after their contracts were not renewed. It was later revealed that Hinkel had been offered an extension but was dissatisfied with the recognition he had received.

On 26 January 2016, Hinkel returned to Stuttgart as an assistant manager for the reserve team. In September 2016, he briefly served as an interim assistant manager for the first team following the departure of manager Jos Luhukay. On 19 December 2016, Hinkel was appointed as the manager of VfB Stuttgart II. Stuttgart later reorganized its youth department, assigning Hinkel to a new role, while he also pursued a coaching course. He concluded his tenure as manager of Stuttgart II with a record of 21 wins, 11 draws, and 17 losses from 49 matches. On 7 October 2018, he was named interim head coach of the VfB Stuttgart first team, a role he held for two days until Markus Weinzierl took over. He did not manage any matches during this brief interim period.

In January 2019, Hinkel rejoined VfB Stuttgart once again, this time as an assistant manager for the first team. On 1 April 2019, he was re-appointed as the manager of the reserve team following the dismissal of Marc Kienle.

On 14 October 2019, Hinkel moved to the Russian Premier League, joining FC Spartak Moscow as an assistant to newly appointed manager Domenico Tedesco. He frequently took charge of the team during matches due to Tedesco's multiple suspensions. Hinkel left Spartak at the end of the 2020-21 season after helping to guide the team to a UEFA Champions League qualification spot, coinciding with the expiration of Tedesco's contract.

3. Career statistics

This section provides a comprehensive overview of Andreas Hinkel's statistical records as both a player and a manager.

4. Honours

Andreas Hinkel achieved several significant team honours during his playing career with various clubs.

VfB Stuttgart

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

Sevilla

• Copa del Rey: 2006-07
• Supercopa de España: 2007
• UEFA Super Cup: 2006
• UEFA Cup: 2006-07

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League: 2007-08
• Scottish League Cup: 2008-09