Shunsuke Nakamura
The Japanese sensation was signed from Italy, and he came with a sterling reputation.
It was one of the last times our club went out and bought the absolute finished article, with not even the slightest doubt about the skill-set we were getting or that he would do us a job. There are a handful of players I’ve seen in the Hoops who you genuinely believed could and would deliver on every occasion, no matter the opposition, and he did it time and again.
Naka did things with a football that seemed, frankly, impossible. His dead-ball ability was legendry.
I believe that whilst he was at Celtic Park we had the best free kick taker on the planet in our ranks.
Individual moments of magic in massive matches, in front of huge TV audiences, hyped others above and beyond our Japanese Bhoy, but I saw Naka doing it week in week out and the opposition didn’t matter a damn. He would just produce.
History will remember the twin strikes at Old Trafford and Celtic Park to down Utd, but it will also remember title winners and matches where he was unplayable in every way. And it will remember what I believe is the finest goal I’ve ever seen in a game against Rangers, his howitzer against them against Celtic on a big, big night when it was all or nothing and someone had to deliver in style. He ran riot that night, but his goal was simply incredible.
He was comfortable wide right, wide left or playing through the middle.
When he wasn’t scoring the most sensational goals he was creating them for others.
We have never replaced him.
Here are all of his Celtic goals. An awesome summary of his time here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvPYZTHpJEw
