Ange Postecoglou has opened up on his first sighting of Kyogo Furuhashi and knew straight away he'd sign him if he took a job in Europe.
The Celtic boss moved quickly to bring the PFA Scotland Player of the Year and Hoops' Players' Player and Player of the Year to the club and the rest is history. 30 goals and counting this season with four games still to come including the Scottish Cup Final as the champions bid to land a domestic Treble and a fifth trophy out of six in the last two seasons.
During his stint in charge of Yokohama F. Marinos he came up against his top striker with his defenders telling him just how 'unbelievable' the Vissel Kobe man was. Between his own judgment and the feedback from his players, he kept tabs on him in every single game and even if it wasn't at Celtic he got his big break in Europe, he was signing Kyogo for whatever team he would have joined.
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He said: “Yeah, he was an opponent. We were playing in his country. I was coaching at Yokohama and he had just been signed from a second division club Gifu by Vissel Kobe. It was his first year in.
“He scored in his first game against us and we were on a decent run at the time. I remember our defenders saying he was just unbelievable, they couldn’t track his movement.
“I have followed him ever since then, every game he played whether we were playing against him or not. I could see he was just growing as a footballer all the time.
“Look, it is easy for me to say now, but he was the first person that I wanted to sign.
“To be fair, wherever I got a job here in Europe, he would have been the first player I signed irrespective of the level I was managing at because I knew the qualities he has as a footballer are hard to find.
“He scores goals, which is kind of obvious. But his workrate, his intelligence on the field, the kind of person he is, I had no doubt he would be a hit wherever I took him.
“But, when I landed at Celtic, I thought he was a perfect fit for the club and the way I wanted to play football.
“He just fits in perfectly. It is great to see him get the recognition. You could see it when he spoke [after award]. He was as humble as he always is.
“The beauty of that is that you know there is still more to come from him. He has been outstanding for us in the last couple of years.
“To come to a new club, a new country, where the expectations are so big and to fill some pretty big shoes, because the last few strikers at Celtic have gone on to pretty big things, he has taken that mantle seriously. He has been great.”
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