Celtic legend Shunsuke Nakamura has spoken about the 'fulfilling' reunion with Hoops players, past and present, and touched on his World Cup dreams in a recent interview.
During the last international break, Japan went head-to-head with Scotland at Hampden. The only current Celt on their team was Daizen Maeda, who captained the side, but Nakamura was there in support. Reo Hatate missed out on a call-up despite regaining a bit of form.
While Nakamura was in Glasgow, he reunited with Kieran Tierney and Neil Lennon. It meant a lot to him, as he has now revealed.
He said: "I loved going back to Celtic during my time in Scotland.
"There were lots of Celtic fans at Glasgow Airport, I was interviewed by the club. Neil Lennon, who was my captain of the team at the time, came all the way to meet me.
"And I met Kieran Tierney again, the Scottish national team defender, who I gave my boots to 20 years ago. So I had truly fulfilling days."
After the game, it was revealed that he would be involved with Hajime Moriyasu's coaching staff for the World Cup. He is delighted at being given this massive opportunity, and expressed his excitement and passion for the national team.
He said: "I had been offered the chance to coach the J-League Under 19s team earlier this season, but to get the offer of coaching the national team is the pinnacle for me.
"Because I was a commentator when we played Scotland and England, I got to experience the senior national team up close.
"The manager, Hajime Moriyasu, met with me and I received passionate and powerful words from him.
"I have the same aspirations as the players and do my best to contribute to achieving the goals the team has set.
"He told me he wants me to support the entire staff while also approaching each player individually. He wants me to contribute to our aim of winning the World Cup."
Nakamura never too far away from Celtic
Celtic clearly still has a massive place in Nakamura's heart, and he'll be taking some of that to the World Cup. Maeda is expected to play a part when they make the journey over to North America, and now, Nakamura will be working with him as they strive to have a deep run on the big stage.
Closer to home, Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney will be expected to have a place on the plane. Fans will be excited to see two Scottish players hopefully play a big part, and the whole country will be praying that the Scots can finally make it to the knockout stage.
The World Cup isn't far away now, but first, we have to focus on Celtic still being in for two trophies. Hopefully, we can end the campaign with our hands on both of them.
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