The Man From Japan

The man from Japan

From my seat in the north stand I could see Nakamura got to ground after another heavy challenge in the midfield. He landed close to that most cynical of players, Lee McCulloch, a man known to Celtic fans as ‘elbows; for his habit of clattering opponents with them. The Rangers midfielder seeing Nakamura fall beside him feigned losing his own balance and brought his body weight down on the unfortunate player’s head. It was a sore one but after suitable treatment he was on his feet and ready to receive the ball again. Nakamura’s slight frame and almost polite manner on the field disguised a tough and determined footballer.

When he was 12 he had joined Nissan Motors FC, the forerunner of Yokohama Marinos and his coaches would watch him spend hours of his time practicing his skills and honing his ability with free kicks long after other players had left the training field. However he was physically underdeveloped for his age and struggled in youth football before dropping out of the team altogether. He was a determined teenager though and changed schools in order to further his football ambitions. He enrolled at Toko Gakuen School, a decision that meant a two and a half hour commute each way on a daily basis. He flourished there and as his gym work improved his physique, the regular game time improved his game. He helped the school team qualify for the Japanese national high school tournament in 1995 and to the final in 1996. His performances saw the young Nakamura called up for the Japanese under 20 side and later he represented Japan at the 1997 FIFA World youth Championships.

Nakamura’s arrival at Celtic via Japan and Italy was a major coup for Gordon Strachan who still counts him as the best he has worked with in his varied managerial career. The former Celtic boss said…

‘He’s the best I’ve worked with and when he walks away I’ll be on bended knee thanking him because he’s terrific. He loves it in Scotland and made the game here more enjoyable. He will go down as the most kicked player in the SPL by a million miles but nothing fazes him.’

Nakamura joined Celtic early in Strachan’s reign and arrived at a club going through a mini-crisis. They had lost 5-0 to Artmedia Bratislava in a Champions League qualifier and only a last minute equaliser by Craig Beatie had salvaged a 4-4 draw at Motherwell. In what was surely a record for a Celtic Manager Strachan’s side conceded 9 goals in his first two competitive games. Nakamura was immediately drafted into the team in the aftermath of the Motherwell game and showed some excellent touches in a 2-0 win over Dundee United. Celtic’s recovery from that poor start to 2005-06 season would see them win the title and the league cup and Nakamura was the stand out player in what turned out to be a very good season. Stephen McManus, one of his team mates that season said of Nakamura…

‘I think the big factor that season was when Nakamura signed for us. That was the defining moment as he just suited how we played, he drifted off the right hand side but just had absolute class and quality. Henrik was the best I played with but Nakamura was incredible as well. The best left foot I’ve ever seen.’

Winning that 2005-06 title set Celtic up for a crack at the Champions League again and this time they didn’t disappoint. Scotland’s champions qualified directly for the Group stages that season and when the draw saw Celtic up against Manchester United, Benfica and FC Copenhagen the smart money was on them doing well to get third spot in such a strong group. However with Nakamura in good form Celtic surprised many that season. Manchester United were fortunate to beat Celtic 3-2 at Old Trafford in a game decided by a dubious penalty won by a shameless dive from Ryan Giggs. Celtic’s goals came from Jan Venegoor of Hesselink and a typically brilliant free kick from Nakamura.

Two home games followed with Celtic beating Copenhagen 1-0 and thumping much fancied Benfica 3-0. Clearly their home form was going to be pivotal in deciding their fate in the tournament. After a depressingly predictable poor display in Lisbon in which Benfica avenged their loss at Celtic Park Celtic faced Manchester United in a stadium rocking to its foundations. In a tight, tense game Celtic fought tooth and nail to contain an English side containing the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes. As the match drifted into those frantic last ten minutes Celtic won a soft looking free kick about 30 yards from the United goal. Nakamura set the ball up as 60,000 fans watched in expectation. If anyone could thread the ball through the eye of a needle it was Nakamura.

In memories view I can see him stride forward to strike the ball with that precision and power we had come to expect. The ball flashed through the November air, a white streak, as United’s wall jumped in unison and their huge goalkeeper Van Der Saar threw himself to his left. For the huge Celtic support that moment is seared into their collective memory. The ball crashed into the net as Celtic Park erupted in a roar which has seldom been matched in the history of the stadium. It would be the seminal moment in Nakamura’s Celtic career. He would stay at Celtic for a further three years and would win three Scottish titles, sealing one of them with a trade mark free kick at Kilmarnock, but when most think of him it is that sublime free kick which defeated Manchester United which comes to mind.

His goal against Rangers in the spring of 2008 is still considered by many to be the best they have seen in the derby fixture. He struck the ball from fully 30 yards out and it swerved first right then left to completely fool Alan McGregor in the Rangers goal. It was vital Celtic won that match as they fought their way back into title contention when all seemed lost just a few weeks earlier. In the end they prevailed and won the title on a memorable night at Tannadice. Nakamura said of his time at Celtic…

‘I cannot name the one thing that is my best memory of Scotland because there were a few. I played with some good players and the fans were amazing. Gordon Strachan was also very good to me and I liked Parkhead as well. I will miss the stadium. Celtic will always have a special place in my heart.’

As Strachan departed and Tony Mowbray arrived at Celtic Park it was also time for Nakamura to move on. Celtic offered him new terms to stay but he was determined to seek a new challenge elsewhere. Celtic fans will always look back fondly on him and his time at Celtic Park. He was a model professional who always looked to improve his game and he gave Celtic supporters some of the most iconic moments in their time watching football.

Thanks for the memories Shunsuke, we at Celtic remember the players who fought for the team and you did that with grace and skill.

ありがとう俊輔

Arigatō Shunsuke.

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail

November 1997 saw a bruising and keenly contested match at Ibrox between Rangers and Celtic. It was the first derby game between the big two in what would be a pivotal season in Rangers quest to better Celtic’s 9 in a row which they had equalled the previous season. It was an fairly even game with chances on both sides and you got the impression one goal would settle things. Goram made a good double save from Henrik Larsson but it was a slack pass from Reggie Blinker which allowed the elegant Brian Laudrup to race clear and square for Richard Gough to slide a shot past Gould in the  Celtic goal. It would prove to be the only goal of the game.

As Richard Gough wheeled away in delight he pushed the palms of both hands repeatedly in the air in a gesture which was quite clear to all who saw it. He was saying to everyone watching in the stadium and on TV around the world; ‘here we go for ten in a row.’ But as the old saying goes, ‘there’s many a slip between cup and lip’ and that bit of arrogance came back to bite Gough as Celtic eventually stopped their bid for ten in a row in the spring of the following year. In football you never count your trophies until they’re won.

As season 2020-21 gets underway in a couple of weeks there will be huge pressure on both Celtic and Rangers. For Celtic there is a historic opportunity to clinch a Scottish record of ten championships in a row. That would be a magnificent feat and is for many Hoops fans more important than any European or treble ambitions this season. To do the ‘Ten’ would re-establish the record the club held until it was equalled by Rangers in the 1990s.

For Rangers the prospect of their nine in a row of the 1990s being eclipsed by their bitter rivals would be a bitter pill to swallow. The club has wallowed in mediocrity since being allowed to join the league in the aftermath of the collapse and bankruptcy of the original Rangers. They have endured some humiliating defeats from Celtic in recent years but must have felt that their eventual promotion to the top league would at last see them stop Celtic in their tracks. It hasn’t quite worked out like that and Celtic has won every trophy available since Rangers joined the top flight. They have shown improvement under Steven Gerrard but still seem to lack the know-how and mental toughness needed to win a title. All of this will be swirling around Scottish football as it enters what will be fractious and fascinating season.

It has been the case historically that teams with long streaks of success in their national championship have tended to come from the smaller leagues of Europe. In such countries there are fewer large cities meaning fewer big clubs to compete for the honours.  Consider the following list….

Most consecutive titles win in European Leagues

14 Lincoln (Gibraltar) 2002/03–2015/16
14 Skonto (Latvia) 1991–2004
13 BATE Borisov (Belarus) 2006–2018
13 Rosenborg (Norway) 1992–2004
11 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2005/06–2015/16
10 Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia) 1990–1999
10 Dynamo Berlin (East Germany) 1978/79–1987/88
10 MTK Budapest (Hungary) 1914, 1917–1925
10 Pyunik (Armenia) 2001–2010
10 Sheriff (Moldova) 2001–2010

There has though been an increasing trend in some of the bigger leagues for one or two clubs to dominate as they flex their financial muscle. In Italy Juventus are on the cusp on nine in a row while in the Bundesliga Bayern have completed an unheard of eighth successive title win. In France PSG, buoyed up by huge financial input by owners the Qatar Sports Investments have won 7 of the last 8 titles are now among the wealthiest clubs on the planet. They are, along with Manchester City, the only state owned club in the world.

In Spain, only Atletico Madrid (2014) have wrested the title from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the past 16 years and Real and Barca have won 31 of the past 35 Spanish titles.  The dominance of these two clubs led to fans of Deportivo La Coruna displayed a banner at one La Liga match which translated as ‘We don’t want another Scottish League.’ The fear in Spain is that Barcelona and Real Madrid will dominate for the foreseeable future as Celtic and Rangers have done historically in Scotland. 

When hostilities commence in August there will be the sort of hysteria we last saw in Scotland in that emotion drenched 1997-98 season when Celtic were desperate to stop Rangers doing the dreaded ‘Ten.’ Referees will be scrutinised, decisions argued over and the usual conspiracy theories given an airing. It may not matter a jot to anyone outside the bubble of Scottish football but here in Caledonia it will be the only show in town. Can Celtic make it ten in a row or will Rangers find the impetus as Win Janson’s team did in 1998 to stop them? It’ll be tense, it’ll dramatic and those of us who love the green hope it will be historical.  

Only twice in the 130 year history of the Scottish game has a club had the opportunity to complete 10 in a row and on both occasions they failed. In 1974-75 Celtic were well in contention until the New Year when they faltered badly and finished third. A 3-0 defeat at Ibrox in January 1975 seemed to infuse Rangers with belief and drain Celtic of their normal self-confidence. In 1997-98 season it was Celtic’s 2-0 win in the January fixture which broke the spell and made them believe that this was to be their season. In both seasons the matches between the clubs were of great importance and there is little doubt it will be the same in season 2020-21.

Already the boasts and vows are being spread over the tabloids as a variety of Rangers players past and present state that this is the year they become champions. The trouble is that such confident predictions in the media have not been matched on the pitch where league titles are won and lost. Each summer we see the fairly blatant drum beating for Rangers in certain tabloids but it has been to no avail as the team faltered time and time again. It takes a certain mentality to win a title after years of failure and the jury is still out on whether Rangers have this.

It is my hope Celtic, as they have done for the past 9 seasons, do their talking on the pitch and focus on each game as it comes along. It may be an old cliché but the most important game is always the next one. Let others brag in the press but let’s see Celtic quietly and professionally prepare for each game as it comes along. We are tantalisingly close to what is the Holy Grail for many Celtic supporters but every title has to be earned, every point fought for. This is going to be one tumultuous season which will need nerves of steel to negotiate.

Should things go well early on then we smile a satisfied smile and look to the next game but we don’t fall into the trap of thinking the job is done. We fight from first to last, from August to May and we never behave as Richard Gough did on that day at Ibrox all those years ago. In football it’s never over till it’s over and he should have known that.

I hope Celtic win the title this season but they’ll have to earn it the hard way. We’re not here to boast or spout glib phrases in the press; we’re here to retain our title and we’ll give everything we have to do just that.

May you live in interesting times

There is a reputed Chinese proverb which states ‘may you live in interesting times.’ Far from being a good will message about happiness and prosperity it is said to mean may you live in times of trouble and chaos and is thus a bit of a curse. We’ve certainly been living through some interesting times of late with the worldwide Covid 19 pandemic causing huge changes to the lives of millions of people. Here in Scotland the virus seems to be in retreat as people generally act sensibly. Of course it could all change if folk get blasé and fail to heed the guidelines laid out but we live in hope that we’re turning a corner.

Those of us looking forward to the return of Scottish football had the fixtures to talk about earlier this week. Season 2020-21 if just three weeks from kick off and it didn’t go unnoticed that the first derby game is in mid-October. Those of a more suspicious disposition suggested Celtic were hoping their home tie with Rangers would have at least some fans in the ground and had somehow influenced the SPFL’s fixture computer. The truth is likely to be more prosaic with Sky TV pouring millions in this year and perhaps wanting the showcase game of Scottish football to be the dramatic spectacle it usually is. The reaction of some to the fixture’s date does hint that the coming season will be fractious and full of tension as the possibility of Celtic winning a tenth successive title becomes clearer.

Reactions to the prankster who somehow scaled the City Chambers building in Glasgow and hoisted a Celtic ‘Nine in a row’ flag were telling too. Most Celtic supporters thought it fairly amusing coming as it did a few days after Rangers had projected their new crest onto various public buildings in the city. The prankster hoisted the flag for a few seconds probably in complicity with friends below who were ready to film the moment and then returned the saltire to its usual place.

The prank led to some predictably over the top reactions. The group calling itself ‘Scottish Protestants Against Discrimination’ released one of their pompous and self-important statements about a ‘flag of ill repute’ being hoisted over the city chambers and said that Celtic fans had also recently been in the city centre to ‘erect inflammatory signage’ although temporarily renaming streets after people who fought slavery is unlikely to inflame anyone but racists.  Just why this group had anything to say about a football flag at all is not hard to figure out. It clearly demonstrates their conflation of Celtic and Catholicism which some in Scotland still have. This amused many of Celtic’s non Catholic followers (of which there are many) one of whom said on social media; ‘As a Protestant Celtic fan I think this is very funny.’  I’m not sure how ‘SPAD’ saw the flag as a discriminatory act but as my old man used to say; ‘when all you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.’

A Tory councillor who represents Shettleston, one of the most deprived areas in the United Kingdom, said of the short lived hoisting of a Celtic flag above the city chambers, ‘Concerned to see a Celtic flag being flown from the city chambers this morning.’ Firstly, it wasn’t ‘being flown’ it was hoisted up and hoisted back down in about ten seconds. You’d think the council sanctioned it on a cursory read of his statement rather than it being work of a prankster. Perhaps the councillor should be more concerned about the 37% of children living in poverty in his constituency or the 29% of people there who live on out of work benefits. But then the Conservative councillor is playing to his gallery. That a Tory has been elected in an area as poor as Shettleston at a time of increasing poverty tells you much about who voted for him; it is more to do with constitutional politics than the life chances of people in the area. The Children’s Society said recently… 

'Four million; Almost a third of children in the UK live in poverty- that's around nine in the average classroom. The situation is getting worse with the number set to rise to 5 million by 2020. Shockingly two thirds of children living in poverty have at least one parent in work.'

Those stark facts are much more ‘concerning’ than a football flag being hoisted over Glasgow city chambers.

The Shame Game

The Shame Game

Oliver Reed the brooding English actor was well known for his hell raising behaviour when out on a drinking binge. His boozing buddies included George Best, Richard Harris, Keith Moon, Richard Burton, Alex Higgins, Peter O’Toole and even Steve McQueen. A normally shy man, alcohol changed him into something of a wild man. On one occasion he stripped naked and jumped into a large fish tank in the bar of the Madrid Hilton hotel. On another he arrived at Galway airport and was found drunk on the baggage carousel. The man who played Proximus the gladiator trainer in the movie Gladiator died on the second of  May  1999 on the floor of a bar. Some suggested it’s how he would have wanted to go but others spoke of a troubled alcoholic who lost a lot of friends and a lot of work due to his illness. You might wonder why I’m speaking of Oliver Reed on what is ostensibly a football page; well on the day Oliver died there was a gladiatorial event of another kind taking place in Glasgow and alcohol would play a part in the events which unfolded that day.

Celtic had gallantly fought to stop Rangers making it ten league titles in a row in the spring of 1998 but the following season was a troubled one for the Hoops. Under Dr Joe Venglos they had stuttered throughout the season although some fine performance lit up Celtic Park on occasion; not least the 5-1 mauling of Rangers in November 1998 when a certain Lubomir Moravcik first demonstrated his talents to the adoring home fans. However they slipped well behind Rangers in the league and a defeat at St Johnstone in late April meant that Rangers could clinch the title at Celtic Park for the first time in a century should they win. Celtic was hindered by a ridiculously long injury list which saw top team stalwarts such as McNamara, Gould, Boyd, Rieper, Moravcik, Burley and McKinley all out of the game. More than half the regular starting eleven would be missing and Celtic’s threadbare squad wasn’t providing adequate replacements. It was a big ask for this makeshift side to stop what was a powerful Rangers team.

Sky TV scheduled the match for a 6.05pm kick off and this allowed many among the 60,000 attending the game and hundreds of thousands watching in pubs and clubs to indulge their appetite for alcohol. It was a warm, sunny day and the bank holiday weekend meant many were free to drink without having to worry about work the following day. This combined with the usual tensions around the match and the possibility of Rangers winning the title at the home of their greatest rivals created a perfect storm of circumstances.

I recall thinking to myself as I watched the match begin how uncomfortable Celtic’s defence looked in the opening exchanges. Scott Marshall, brought in on loan, looked out of his depth and spooked by the whole experience. Mahe was clattering in with his usual ferocity but Rangers looked pacey and organised. It was going to be a long afternoon. It took just 12 minutes for Rangers to take the lead as the aforementioned Marshall was caught dreaming as Wallace squared for McCann to score. Worse was to follow when McCann fouled Mahe and the Frenchman completely lost his composure. Already on a yellow card he complained bitterly to Hugh Dallas the referee who gave him his second yellow and sent him packing. It seemed a little harsh and the referee, viewed by many Celtic supporters as and no friend of the club, came in for some industrial language from the stands.

Moments later he awarded Rangers a free kick by the corner flag and was seen to drop to one knee as a coin struck him. In scenes no decent football fan wanted to see he was treated on the field for a cut to his head. Seconds after recovering, play resumed and a cross into the box saw Tony Vidmar pushing and pulling with Vidar Riseth. The Rangers player threw himself to the ground and Mr Dallas pointed to the penalty spot. Paul Lambert remonstrated with the referee and even pointed at the whistlers head as if to ask ‘is that because you were hit by a coin?’ The referee was unmoved.

It was another marginal decision but some in the Celtic sections of the ground were feeling hard done by and one or two even tried to get at the referee. In an increasingly frenzied atmosphere, one Celtic fan even fell from the top tier of the stand onto fellow fans below. He was still shouting and waving his arms at the referee as he was stretchered away. Things were in danger of getting out of hand and it took a posse of stewards and Police to regain control and allow the game to continue.  Albertz arrowed the penalty low past Stuart Kerr and it was effectively all over for ten-man Celtic.

The second half was hard fought but another blunder by Scott Marshall allowed McCann to waltz into the Celtic box to score easily. Riseth and Wallace were sent off in the later stages of the game for stupid tackles before a sorry afternoon’s sport finally ended. The Rangers players rightly celebrated with their fans although there was no need for them to mock the Celtic huddle as they did so. This led to some patrons of the normally more sedate south stand to pelt them with more objects as they ran up the tunnel to safety. An ugly game was over but there was more trouble to come in the streets of Glasgow.

I reached the top of Millerston Street where it meets Duke Street in the aftermath of that game only to be greeted by a pitched battle going. Those of you who know the area will know a couple of pubs nearby which are not what you would call Celtic friendly. I spoke to a guy who was in one of those bars that day and he told me a group he described as ‘Combat 18’ (a Fascist group) had been drinking there and watching the game. They were also determined to attack Celtic fans after the game. This they did but the sheer number of Celtic fans pouring out of Celtic Park meant they were always likely to meet strong opposition. The ensuing violence was on a scale seldom seen even by the standards of Celtic v Rangers games. It took the arrival of dozens of policemen, sirens wailing to restore some order on what was a very ugly day in Glasgow.

Over 130 people were arrested in and around Celtic Park that day and the media went into a predictable frenzy. The match was dubbed the ‘shame game’ and Celtic fans and players were heavily criticised.  Rangers came in for some flak for their mock huddle but generally the ugly events inside the stadium were rightly laid at the feet of some of those who followed Celtic. Celtic released a letter to fans the following day threatening anyone involved in the trouble with lifetime bans. The media praised Hugh Dallas for his courage in the face of a poisonous atmosphere and failed to question any of his decisions.

Celtic released a report by a behavioural psychologist which looked at all aspects of the match that day from the match organisation, security, songs played over the tannoy to the fans invading the field to confront the referee. One paragraph in the report talked about the referee’s body language and gestures such as patting a Rangers player on the bottom. This section was seized upon by the press and portrayed as Celtic focussing solely on the referee’s behaviour when it wasn’t the case. It was spun to make it look like paranoia and Celtic trying to blame the official for the ugly events that day. Certainly Mr Dallas could have shown more common sense and compassion with Stephane Mahe and his later penalty award to Rangers was in the soft category but clearly the blame for the trouble that day lies solely with the idiots who threw coins or tried to invade the field. Nothing can excuse that sort of behaviour.

That match in May 1999 was followed just three weeks later by the Scottish cup final between the same two teams. In the aftermath of that game a 16 year old Celtic fan was murdered and another hoops fan was shot with a crossbow. That very evening as the Ibrox club celebrated their win, their Vice Chairman was filmed singing sectarian songs at their function. When a football match is leading to violence and death then it is up to us all to stop and ask what the hell is going on.

There was a lot of soul searching in Scottish football and society about the events of that sunny May 21 years ago. The usual condemnation of some supporters followed and the decent majority were of course appalled. The kick off time was raised as an issue as was the amount of alcohol that some had consumed. Alcohol may lower inhibitions but it often only brings to the surface feeling people already have in them but each individual must take responsibility for their own behaviour and not blame drink, referees or any other factor. We all want football to retain its passion and rivalries; it thrives on the drama and excitement that engenders. What we don’t want is hatred and hostility to lead to the sort of excesses we saw in Glasgow on the day of that so called ‘shame game.’  

Part of the problem in Scotland is that our two biggest and most successful teams dwarf all others and are in effect too big for Scottish football; it is now 35 years since a team out-with the big two won the title. This heightens their rivalry as they have found for most of their history the only viable challenger for the big prizes has been each other. If one is up then the other is down and being second is being nowhere.  Add to this mix the very different cultures and history surrounding the two clubs and it is a recipe for enmity. The sort of prejudices in Scottish society of which they were at one time just one facet have largely dissipated yet the rivalry has a life of its own and an energy which keeps it going. Playing in a bigger league with more rivals of equal stature would I’m sure refocus much of the energy which goes into their rivalry but that is unlikely to happen any time soon. So they are locked together in their loveless embrace and seemingly have no one else to dance with.