Nakamura: Celtic fans are an irreplaceable treasure

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Celtic F.C.

·18 de julho de 2023

Nakamura: Celtic fans are an irreplaceable treasure

Celtic being in Japan is a special moment for the five first-team players from the country, but the Hoops' relationship started well before they arrived with the introduction of Shunsuke Nakamura in 2005.

An icon for club and country, his performances left the supporters speechless over his four years in the green and white. He was an artist on the ball and his ability from set pieces put him amongst the world’s best.16

Vídeos OneFootball

Nakamura’s two teams are due to meet on Wednesday, as Celtic take on the club he spent most of his career with, Yokohama F. Marinos.

With the players taking part in a training session at the Nissan Stadium on Tuesday night, and the five players from Japan taking part in a special meet and greet with local fans and media, the Hoops hero headed down to the arena to take part in the event, meet the team, and speak to Celtic TV while he was there.

Speaking about Celtic being in Japan, the 45-year-old said: “I think it is a very exciting game for the Japanese fans.

“I hope the match will give the children playing football in Japan dreams and hopes.

“I think the current players have made a tremendous impact from when I was playing for Celtic.

'I want to thank them for their brilliant performances and for giving fans the opportunity to recall me.'

“Yes, I know it will be a hot and very difficult game for Celtic.

“I think the hard work and agility of the Japanese players and the teams in the league will stand out.

“It will be a challenge for Celtic in those areas, but I hope it will be a great game for both sides.”

Attending the pre-training event at the stadium gave Nakamura the opportunity to see Tomoki Iwata, Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, Yuki Kobayashi and Reo Hatate, meeting some of them for the first time.

Their performances at the club so far have helped see five domestic trophies come back to Paradise over two seasons, with a second successive year of Champions League football.

Nakamura, of course, is well remembered for his goals and performances on Europe’s biggest stage and he hopes that with this current group, they too can repeat the feat he achieved of advancing from the group stages.

Speaking about the five players, he said: “It's never easy, and it's great that they have achieved solid performance under rather a lot of pressure with so many Japanese players in the team.

“I hope they can continue this momentum.

“When I was there, I had a lot of team-mates who were also incredibly high-level players.

“I'm remembered by the fans for my set pieces but I was able to succeed so much because of the quality of the other players at that time.

“So I believe it will be important for them to reach the last 16 in the Champions League.”

No conversation with Nakamura can be complete without asking him for his own memories from his Celtic career.

With three league titles, two League Cups, one Scottish Cup, and plenty of Champions League memories to choose from, there’s one goal in particular that stands out amongst most.

He remembered: “My best memory is playing in front of 60,000 fans at Celtic Park – I will never forget those loud cheers.