“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”
That’s what Muhammad Ali said prior to a 1964 fight with then world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston.
What has that got to do with the title of this article, I hear you ask. Well, said quote could be adequately used to describe the play style of Celtic’s Japanese talisman, Kyogo Furuhashi.
The striker’s move to Glasgow in the summer of 2021 came out of the blue. A 3 am announcement came from his now former club, Vissel Kobe, confirming Kyogo as Ange Postecoglou’s second summer signing. He had to wait a while to make his Celtic debut due to covid isolation regulations and the like, however, it was well worth the wait.
In his first two starts, Kyogo scored four goals including a hat-trick on his home debut against Dundee as he announced himself to the Celtic support. He would then go on a run of three goals in six games prior to the first international break of the season which included some crucial strikes against AZ Alkmaar to fire Celtic to the Europa League group stages.
Kyogo would then suffer an injury which saw him miss five games in September although he would make his return in a glamour European tie with Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the month. Celtic were trounced 4-0 by a quality outfit that night however Kyogo was back on the scoresheet by the weekend as he netted at Pittodrie to help Celtic to their first away win since Valentines Day. Not long after, the twenty seven year old was called up for his country once again as he made substitute appearances against both Saudi Arabia and Australia.
After coming back from representing the Japanese national team, the striker scored 5 goals and registered 1 assist in 7 appearances before the November internationals. This period was one of Kyogo’s richest veins of forms in a Celtic shirt so far as he had man of the match displays against Ferencvaros and Dundee.
Going into December, Celtic faced a gruelling fixture schedule. The Hoops played eight games in the final month of 2021 and in the third, they faced Real Betis in a Europa League dead rubber at Celtic Park. Heavy rotation understandably took place in this match however when Albian Ajeti pulled up injured half an hour in, Kyogo was brought on to replace the Swiss striker. Many questioned the decision from Ange Postecoglou to risk one of his key players in a match of no significance and their fears came to fruition on the seventy-first minute as the Japanese stiker was forced off through injury.
Kyogo would then go on to miss the next two matches through a hamstring problem but would make an unexpected return for Celtic’s League Cup final with Hibs the week before Christmas. In this match, the Japanese was pivotal to Celtic’s success. The Bhoys went a goal down just after half time as Paul Hanlon headed home from a corner however within seconds, Celtic were back level. Kyogo excellently controlled a Callum McGregor pass and beat Matt Macey at his near post. The Hoops would continue to fight and inevitably, it was Kyogo who bagged the winner. Tom Rogic found the striker in behind the Hibs defence who switched off from a quick free kick and Kyogo was able to magnificently loop the ball over Macey and into the back of the net. Celtic would hold out for a 2-1 win with Kyogo’s exploits proving crucial to Celtic’s success. After the match, the Japanese told the Scotsman:
“I wasn’t 100 per cent going into the match after the injury but I just had to play. I had to” [STV]
Clearly, Ange Postecoglou took a huge gamble in fielding Kyogo in the League Cup final but it was one that massively paid off. It goes to show how fit he was for the match that he wasn’t even in the squad for Celtic’s next game against St. Mirren, just three days later.
The Bhoys would falter in Paisley that evening though, with a depleted team drawing a blank in a goalless draw. As a result, Kyogo was rushed back for the trip to St. Johnstone on boxing day. He started up front alongside Liel Abada who gave Celtic the lead nine minutes in. Six minutes after that however, when attempting to control a long ball from over the top, Kyogo fell to the ground, distressfully holding his hamstring. The Japanese limped off and was replaced by youth team striker Joey Dawson, putting testament to the diminishment of the Celtic team at the time. Luckily for Ange Postecoglou’s team though, this game was the final one before a winter break that was brought forward by Covid.
Going into said break, Celtic were six points behind Rangers at the summit of the Scottish Premiership yet still had to play their city rivals three times.
The threadbare state of the Celtic squad towards the end of 2021 prompted Ange Postecoglou to dip into the transfer market in January. Three players were brought in from the J. League in Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi. Furthermore, twenty one year old midfielder Matt O’Riley signed from MK Dons.
In particular, Daizen Maeda’s arrival to Glasgow was one many anticipated in the summer due to his previous relations with the Celtic manager however as mentioned, the attacker joined in January. Maeda is a striker who can equally operate on the left wing. He has brought further competition and depth to Celtic’s frontline and has been a consistent performer for his new club so far in 2022. Maeda had to be thrown in at the deep end on his debut against Hibernian due to his fellow countryman’s injury and filled the shoes of Kyogo adequately, netting just four minutes into the match.
In recent months and as Kyogo Furuhashi’s injury has sustained, Maeda and Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis have came to the fore. Since Celtic’s 3-0 Glasgow Derby win on the 2nd of February, the pair have a combined 14 goals and 1 assist. Giakoumakis in particular has finally manifested into the player Hoops fans anticipated they were getting when he initially joined. Last season’s Eredivisie top scorer has scored 8 goals in his last 4 appearances which includes 2 hat-tricks in his 2 previous league starts. All of these strikes have been first-time shots from inside the eighteen-yard box as Giakoumakis has proved himself as a highly efficient number nine.
It appears that the Celtic side have not relied upon Kyogo Furuhashi in the second half of the 21/22 campaign as much as they did in the first. The emergence of Giorgos Giakoumakis and the arrival of Daizen Maeda have led the Bhoys to the top of the Scottish Premiership, a competition in which they hold a three point lead with seven games to go.
Going into those title-decisive matches, the man whose name takes the title of this article looks to be raring to go. He was spotted by an eagle-eyed fan on Celtic’s social media and even spoke to the Japanese media about his return, stating:
“I have been absent since I was injured in December last year, but now I am in very good condition and I feel that I will be back soon” [THE NATIONAL]
Indeed the notion that Celtic have not missed Kyogo may be true, we’ve seen the talismanic impact the Japanese has had on the team previously and having him fit and back available for a climacteric run-in can only be seen as a positive.
