On This Day in 2005, Celtic signed Shunsuke Nakamura from Reggina as Gordon Strachan signed the Japanese star. Despite a number of teams pursuing the midfielder, Celtic succeeded and Nakamura was able to produce some spectacular moments across his three seasons in Glasgow.
25th July 2005, Shunsuke Nakamura signs for Celtic.
Naka 🙌- 🇯🇵 中村 俊輔 pic.twitter.com/PFNdK9mcpl
— Li'l Ze (@LilZe_7) July 24, 2023
In 146 appearances, Nakamura scored 31 times and assisted on 38 occasions. There is an argument that Nakamura might have achieved more at Celtic but for the fact that WGS opted to play him on the wing rather than through the middle. Although, he was somewhat lightweight in what was a physical era for the game.
Nakamura’s status as a top talent in European football and Japanese hero made his move to Celtic quite surprising but during that time, he was a revelation for the club. During his time with Celtic, Naka won 3 League Titles, 1 Scottish Cup and 2 League Cups during his time with the club.
Nakamura’s impact is felt to this day with the Japanese contingent at the club all referencing him as an inspiration to make strides in European football.
