Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi is back in Osaka — and it’s a city that seems to mean a lot to him.
His Celtic side have travelled west from Yokohama and will face the J1 League’s form team Gamba Osaka on Saturday.
Furuhashi was on media duties alongside manager Brendan Rodgers on Friday, and gave a great response when asked about his Celtic contract extension.
Kyogo was also asked about Osaka and the time he spent in the city as a younger man. (Celtic YouTube channel)
“You are from the Kansai region and went to high school in Osaka,” the female journalist said. “Does this give you any special feelings about playing Gamba Osaka this time?”
Celtic’s forward seemed to be pretty impressed by the research involved in the question, given that he’s used to being asked about Andrés Iniesta, Shunsuke Nakamura and other obvious figures in Scotland.
With a bit of a smile still on his face, he replied: “Well yes as you said I went to school in Osaka in high school and played against Gamba Osaka many times when I was with Vissel Kobe.
“So I want to enjoy this opportunity and have a good game against them. Obviously we want to win because it is a game but at the same time we want to play great football and we want to entertain our fans.”
So Saturday’s game is a bit of a homecoming for Kyogo. His final game in Japan for Vissel Kobe was also in Osaka — but against Gamba’s rivals Cerezo Osaka.
The Celtic forward has been struggling with a shoulder problem so far in pre-season. He didn’t start against Yokohama F. Marinos, instead coming on as a second-half substitute.
Celtic fans will be hoping to see him in the line-up for Saturday’s game.
In other news, former Celtic hero Aiden McGeady has found his next Scottish club and taken a new career step
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