29th July: Stiliyan Petrov and Shunsuke Nakamura join Celtic

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Celtic announced the signing of two midfield magicians – Stiliyan Petrov and Shunsuke Nakamura – on the 29th of July.

The former joined in the summer of 1999 while the latter came to Glasgow from Italy in 2005. They both arrived at the club as relatively unknown men, and left as fans favourites – and perhaps even legends.

Celtic alerted fans of the great date in their recent history on Instagram on Monday morning.

The pair played different positions on the pitch, with the Bulgarian preferring a more central role in comparison to the Japanese man’s right-wing slot.

However, they both contributed in similar ways to the club with swashbuckling performances, moments of unique quality and big-game goals.

Thankfully we can just be glad the pair both pulled on the green and white hoops and made us all happy. However, at 67HH we want to run a quick comparison to see who contributed most during their time in Glasgow. Let’s have a look at the stats.

Petrov vs Nakamura: The stats

Petrov played 309 times for Celtic in seven seasons between 1999 and 2006. He won ten honours at the club, including four league titles, and also helped Martin O’Neill’s side to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003. Petrov also netted a crucial goal in the quarter-final of that run against Stuttgart.

In total, he netted 65 goals in 286 starts – with five of those coming against Rangers.

Nakamura, meanwhile, only spent four seasons in Glasgow. Between 2005 and 2009 he played 165 times for the club and netted 33 goals. He saved some of his best moments for European competition – netting two stunning free-kicks against Manchester United in 2006.

He won six trophies at the club and netted two goals against our old rivals.

VERDICT – Too close to call

Both had enormous success during their spells at the club. Nakamura netted fewer goals but only because he played fewer matches. If they had played the same number of games then their goal numbers and honours would have been virtually the same.

Both had terrific careers at, and away from, Celtic. It’s just a pity we didn’t get to see them play together for longer. They’ll both be remembered fondly and are welcome back at Parkhead at any time.