Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has responded to reports suggesting that the Hoops are heading for a pre-season tour of Japan in 2023.
Of course, the Bhoys are well known across the globe. However, the club’s popularity in Asia has been on the rise in the last 12 months, thanks to the arrival of four Japanese internationalists – Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi.
Celtic’s latest Japanese connections were kick-started by Postecoglou, who arrived at Parkhead off the back of a managerial spell at Yokohama F Marinos.
With the arrival of popular figures from across the world, the club’s marketing strategy has stepped up a level in an attempt to attract the attention of football supporters in all corners of the globe.
A good example of this is the Hoops’ planned visit to Australia to participate in the Sydney Super Cup later this year, in what is being dubbed as ‘Ange Postecoglou’s homecoming’.
Earlier this week, reports suggested that the club is also putting plans in place for pre-season in 2023 that would see Celtic travel to Japan, which would likely attract a lot of attention.
Speaking to the press, the 56-year-old reacted to the suggestions that his squad could be heading for Asia next summer, and as ever, Postecoglou was keeping his cards close to his chest.
He said [Scottish Daily Express]: “It’s kind of followed me around, hasn’t it? Australia, Japan, and Greece will be next!
“That’s not something that’s on my radar at all. I haven’t had any discussions, and I wouldn’t be aware of any discussions. Our planning at this stage is for what we’re going to do in November because it’s important for us.
“Next pre-season, we haven’t discussed it yet.”
Although Ange isn’t giving too much away at this moment in time, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see the club set up these plans for a visit to Japan.
In fact, it makes complete sense, and Postecoglou has previously spoken about his fondness of the idea.
We will likely not hear too much about this for several months, with the club currently being focused on this season’s pre-season preparations and the campaign ahead.
However, I am sure work will be going on behind the scenes to get some plans in place early for next year’s pre-season tour.
In other news, “We tried to impose our intensity” – Giakoumakis outlines Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic pre-season friendly demands.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
