Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi has shared what people commonly ask him about Shunsuke Nakamura in Glasgow.
The pair were together at Yokohama F. Marinos’ Nissan Stadium on Tuesday. Kyogo and Celtic‘s four other current Japanese stars were joined by Nakamura for a fan and media event run by Adidas.
They spoke about a range of issues from their times at the club. Inevitably, the topic of Nakamura’s free-kick prowess came up, and one of his strikes against Manchester United in particular.
As reported by Sponichi, Reo Hatate said: “I bought DVDs of overseas shooting scenes and used to watch them a lot, and although I didn’t see them live, I remember seeing Shunsuke Nakamura’s free-kick when I was little.
“I didn’t see them live either,” added Kyogo. “But I watched them on YouTube and in various other places, and I also saw them on TV.
“More than anything, everyone in the club [at Celtic] would ask me: ‘Shunsuke’s free-kicks were amazing. Do you know them?’ I think it’s really great.”
Strangely enough, Hatate was born on November 21 — the same date that Nakamura struck to sink Sir Alex Ferguson’s side at a raucous Celtic Park.
The current Hoops star was celebrating his ninth birthday that day, while Kyogo was 11.
It’s easy to imagine the pair going through their formative years and having Nakamura as a role model some 6,000 miles away. The midfield magician was perhaps the biggest name in Japanese sport at that stage, as was shown with the amount of fans who regularly travelled to watch him play in Scotland.
Given how highly regarded the home goal against Manchester United is, it’s hardly a surprise that Kyogo is asked regularly about it.
However, one of the greatest compliments you can give the likes of Furuhashi, Hatate and Daizen Maeda is that they’re now making memories to match what Nakamura achieved in Glasgow.
In other news, there were a few interesting appearances at Celtic training on Tuesday
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