Something big is happening in the Scottish Premiership. All eyes are on Celtic FC. The Glasgow-based team has added three more Japanese players to their squad list, a continuation of Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou’s transformation of the club. Prior, Postecoglou signed Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi in the summer of 2021.
The Influence Of Kyogo Furuhashi
Furuhashi has already impressed, most notably developing an on-field relationship with Portuguese attacker Jota, who said he intends to learn Japanese to improve this connection. Fortunately for Jota and everyone else, you can learn Japanese online, including basic greetings, colors, and numbers, by using a live online tutor who will also help with pronunciation and fluency. Japanese podcasts and mobile apps can also help the learning process.
Interestingly, Jose Mourinho did something similar at Tottenham when he said he was learning Korean to speak to Son Heung-min in his native tongue. He said he owes it to the foreign players to embrace their cultures.
Furuhashi also scored a hat-trick in his third game for Celtic in their 6-0 win against Dundee. He followed that up by scoring the winning goals in Celtic’s 2-1 win against Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final.
As for Ange Postecoglou, he is clearly drawing on his three-and-a-half years spent managing Yokohama Marinos, a Japanese professional football team. During the 2019 season, Postecoglou led Yokohama to their first J. League title in more than ten years. He knows the talent pool in Japan, and he’s bringing it to Scotland.
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Why Do These New Signings Matter?
If Japan’s presence continues to grow in the Scottish Premiership, this could result in considerable economic and commercial benefits for the league. Why? Because Asian fans tend to be very passionate about homegrown athletes.
We’ve already seen this with Son Heung-min, the South Korean international superstar. There is no doubt both Tottenham and the Premier League have benefited from increasing ticket and merchandising sales by South Korean fans.
Before Son joined Spurs, the team did not have much support in South Korea, but new research indicates that over 20% of the nation is committed to the North London team.
Meanwhile, In England….
English football has also gone through the wringer over the last few weeks as the January transfer window came and went. Notable player exits include Dele Alli, who joined Everton to play under the recently appointed Frank Lampard, who struggled to live up to the hype when he was Chelsea’s manager for 18 months in 2021. Christian Eriksen has also returned to the Premier League, joining Brentford from Inter Milan.
Former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also joined Barcelona on a free transfer. Many are now wondering if Aubameyang, 32, will retire after playing in Spain for a couple of seasons, much like Pau Gasol did after returning to play for Liga ACB club FC Barcelona in 2021.
The next transfer window is in the summer, and many expect to see the likes of Paul Pogba gone after his contract runs out at the end of the season. However, eyes should also be on the Scottish Premiership. Will the increasing presence of Japanese players attract more fans and viewers?
Signing Japanese players has proven to be a fruitful avenue for Celtic. Now we also wonder whether these new transfers will help the team win the title at the end of the season. Only time will tell.
