Barcelona legend and Vissel Kobe hero Andres Iniesta led the tributes to Celtic bound forward Kyogo Furuhashi in a specially arranged farewell ceremony last night. The presentation was organised by the Japanese club as they gave 2,757 fans the opportunity to hear Furuhashi give a tearful speech and have pictures taken with the J1 League icon.
Furuhashi was joined by his teammates at the presentation and Iniesta took the microphone to give the player a glowing tribute. The Spanish superstar said: “Today is a sad day because we are saying farewell to Kyogo, but he is going to Europe to make his dreams come true. I came here to show him my respect. He’s a professional who has realised his goal. It’s going to be tough in Kobe without him, but I’ll do my best to get some positive results.”
Kyogo, who has scored 49 goals in 111 appearances for Vissel Kobe, broke down in front of his adoring supporters and remarked: “I’m just grateful to everyone here and I can’t stop crying.” The attacker averaged a goal every 173 minutes in his J1 League career, but increased his strike rate to a goal every 117 minutes during this current season (he scored 15 goals in 21 games). It’s fair to say he is a hero with the Vissel Kobe faithful and has been a key player in the club’s first trophy winning teams since 1985.
チームを代表してイニエスタキャプテンから古橋選手へのメッセージ！🗣️
A message from the Captain @andresiniesta8! 🗣️#visselkobe #ヴィッセル神戸 pic.twitter.com/DgolxwZefE
— ヴィッセル神戸 (@visselkobe) July 18, 2021
That said, Kyogo is excited about taking the next step in his career and told the Japanese fans: “I will do my best when I go to Celtic. I will continue to do all I can to give you dreams and courage and to be respected as a person. Everyone seems to love me here. I am not really saying goodbye totally because we will meet again.
“To my teammates and managers – from the time I came to the club to today, I respected everyone and learned a lot. Thanks to everyone, I was able to ignite my passion for football and do my best every game. I will continue to support everyone.
“And dear fans, I have received a lot of support since I came to the club, and I have only words of gratitude. Thank you very much. The passion and unwavering support of the supporters have always been a great help.”
