‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players | OneFootball

Icon: The Celtic Star

The Celtic Star

·7 December 2021

‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players

Article image:‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players

Since branding Ange Postecoglou ‘the new Ronny Delia’ at the start of the season after just a few games, Charlie Nicholas has recently backtracked and is now a fully fledged member of the Greek-Australian’s fan club. In a complete U-turn to his usual murmurings, Champagne Charlie now can’t get enough of watching Celtic these days.

Although it could be argued that Charlie was correct in making that comparison, after all, Ange is like Ronny in that the two gaffers seem to win titles in every country that they manage…Ronny in Norway, Scotland and now this week over in The United States and Ange on Australia, Japan (two years ago to this very day) and very soon Scotland.


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Speaking in his weekly opinion piece in Scottish Daily Express the former Sky Sports pundit has been praising Celtic for looking towards the Far-East in their pursuit of new players in the upcoming January transfer window. Claiming it is still an untapped market with plenty of value to be had he thinks Celtic should have maintained a presence in that market following the success of Nakamura over a decade ago.

“It is hardly a surprise Ange is looking at that market as he knows it well from his time as Yokohama F Marinos boss and also brought in Kyogo Furuhashi, who has made a massive impact already,” Nicholas stated.

“Japanese are starting to make their mark on Europe – but there is still value in a relatively untapped market. Celtic had Shunsuke Nakamura in the late Noughties. But he was slightly different as he had already established himself overseas in Italy’s Serie A with Reggina.

“Nakamura was a star and gave Celtic a foothold in Japan. However, they failed to build on that deal and turned to other markets.

Article image:‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players

Bizarrely Nicholas goes on to generalise all Asian players by stating they are always “bang at it” due to the fact they know they are representing their country when playing abroad. Obviously Charlie forgets a certain Du Wei.

Yes Celtic have struck gold in the past with Kyogo Furuhashi, Shunsuke Nakamura and even Ki Sung-Yueng but we have also had less successful ventures in the Asian market with players such as the aforementioned Du Wei, Zheng Zhi and Koki Mizuno.

Onwards Charlie ploughs: “You also know when Asian players come over they’re bang at it. They see themselves as ambassadors for their countries. You see many Japanese players make their names with the lesser teams in Italy and Spain before kicking on at bigger clubs.

“There’s no questioning their work rate and commitment. But it can be difficult adapting to that big club mentality. While they might not play well every week, they will grasp Ange’s style and what he expects.

“This trio won’t be expensive. If they do well, Celtic can sell them on at a profit. If they don’t dazzle, the chances are they’ll still make their money back when sold on.

“Ange clearly wants to play with a high energy and Japanese players are renowned for that intensity. But they must be better than the players Celtic already have, so it will be interesting to see how they adapt.”

If you look past the stereotyping, Nicholas actually makes a good point at the end stating the players we sign in January must be better than what we currently have. With Ange having managed in the J-League and seen these players first hand over many years most Celtic fans will be confident they will be. Our manager has proven already that he has an eye for a player so he will have the fans confidence going forward.

Nicholas goes on to promote the benefits of adding players who all speak the same language, explaining it can help the players settle in to their new surroundings.

And the former Celtic striker believes he sees similarities to the team building at Parkhead and the legendary Milan side that dominated Europe 30 years ago. He added: “I also reckon having three or four Japanese at the club will be good for Furuhashi. It will also help them settle and adapt to their new surroundings.

Article image:‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players

Celtic fans hold a Japanese flag outside the stadium in support of Kyogo Furuhashi. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“It is similar to the AC Milan team of the late 80s/early 90s when they brought in Dutch players Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. Inter Milan did the same with Germans Lothar Matthaus, Andreas Brehme and Jurgen Klinsmann.

“I’m not suggesting the Japanese will get to those levels but it does show how having a group of countrymen can be beneficial. They will also be joining a Celtic team in good shape after their best performance of the season in hammering Dundee United. United were poor but Celtic were bang on.

Article image:‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players

“January signings could well strengthen the Hoops squad and put them in a good place for the second half of the campaign.”

Celtic themselves have recently saw the benefits of having players within the squad who all speak the same language. You often saw the comradeship between French speakers such as Édouard, Ntcham, Soro, Bayo and Eboue Kouassi in training clips, club videos etc proving the theory to have some substance.

Having a few fellow Japanese players to converse with at the club would obviously prove beneficial to Kyogo, although to be honest it’s obvious to see he’s a popular member of the group regardless of the language barrier.

Conall McGinty

Article image:‘The New Ronny’ – Ange urged to sign more Japanese players

READ THIS…Dan Orlowitz gives Tuesday update on Celtic’s Japanese Revolution

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