Celtic supporters are massively grateful to Ange Postecoglou.
When he first moved to Parkhead, not only did he get Celtic back to winning ways and securing the title, but the recruitment was outstanding.
Given that Postecoglou arrived from the J-League after managing Yokohama F. Marinos, he sought to bring the top stars from that division, including Daizen Maeda, who he worked with, the midfield maestro Reo Hatate and the goal machine, Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Japanese trio have been trophy-dominant at Celtic during that time, writing their names into the legendary books and enhancing their status.
Even with Brendan Rodgers in the dugout, the trio are still key players and it’s a nod to Postecoglou for identifying them, the players for maintaining their levels and for Rodgers who is further improving them.
With that quality comes sheer hard work, especially from someone like Maeda, with the Celtic stars even impressing a certain Barry Ferguson.
Barry Ferguson hails Kyogo, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda’s post-match work
There isn’t a harder worker than Maeda, he makes sure the opposition are put through it all during the 90 minutes.
But it doesn’t stop there because Ferguson shared that he has ‘noticed’ how, after matches, and even if they have played 90 minutes, they are ‘doing runs’ and extra work, as he told Go Radio.
That has impressed the former Scotland international, who also lauded Kyogo for reaching 80 Celtic goals, alongside club legend, Peter Grant.
“He has been a fantastic signing, there is no doubt,” said Ferguson. “It’s not just his goalscoring, it’s his workrate and the work he does off the ball for the team, as a player, I used to love when I had centre-forwards who would go and chase down defenders. Chase down the keeper. He’s not just a top player. I think his attitude. That’s the thing for me. Even when he isn’t scoring. he is on point ever single time.”
Presenter Paul Cooney added: “They train so hard, don’t they?! The Japanese players. They go out at the end after as well, after playing 90 minutes.”
Grant responded: “I watched them before games doing stretching in the hallways and after games. Constant. They are so professional about it, which you expect. If you want to be a champion, there are no shortcuts.”
Ferguson agreed: “As soon as that game finishes on a Saturday, and say you have a European game on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, your recovery starts and build-up starts as soon as that whistle finishes. You get the right stuff into your body. You go and do your cool down.
“But that’s one thing I noticed about the Japanese players. I have seen it, they go out after. Granty mentioned he has seen them before the game, I have only seen them after the game and they are out doing runs on the pitch or whatever. So, clearly they are top professionals.
Kyogo’s goalscoring numbers for Celtic
There is no doubt that Kyogo is a Celtic legend and, at the age of 29, he can take his legacy to much higher heights in these coming years.
This Rodgers side is growing week by week and the man leading the forward line is at the peak of his powers.
That’s 150 appearances for Kyogo in the famous green and white colours, with 80 goals to his name, as posted by Tranfermarkt, and it won’t be too long before he is raising his bat for the 100.
