New Signing Outlines European Ambitions

Celtic’s new signing Tomoki Iwata arrives with a great reputation. He was named Player of the Season in Japan’s top flight last term and was a stand out performer in the midfield when he worked under Ange Postecoglou at Yokohama F Marinos. Ahead of linking up with the Celtic boss again, the Japanese star spoke to the club’s TV channel. During the interview, he outlined his European ambitions for next season and beyond.

Iwata told Celtic TV: “I’m really honoured and I’m really happy to be at a great club such as Celtic and I am just excited. I felt the passion of the supporters. Compared with Japan, the supporters are very passionate and I am really looking forward to playing on that pitch. I would like to give a result to the team and of course become the league champion, and have good results as well in European competition.

New Celtic signing Tomoki Iwata is unveiled at half time during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Kilmarnock FC at on January 07, 2023 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“I think at Celtic we can go higher and achieve more in Europe and I would like to contribute to the history of the club.”

Iwata also talked about his relationship with Daizen Maeda and that being a factor in his following the Celtic scores.

With so much domestic dominance since the turn of the century, it’s great to see that new players have their eyes on continental aspirations at Parkhead. It has been almost 20 years since the Hoops last won a knockout tie in European competition, so fans are now keen to see us break that duck and have a run of some sort.

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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