Kyogo Furuhashi might have missed out on a place in Japan’s World Cup squad but the Celtic striker has made the cut for a 22 minute FIFA documentary.
Eighteen months ago Ange Postecoglou turned to Vissel Kobe to find the goals needed to replace Odsonne Edouard who was on his way to the EPL.
The Celtic boss has been so pleased by Kyogo that he has returned to the J-League five more times to build his squad with Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata signed this month.
FIFA released a documentary closely related to @Kyogo_Furuhashi ! Thanks for giving him such a warm welcome, Celtic Family?? I’m supporter of Celtic & Vissel Kobe. I feel that skills he learned from Iniesta in Kobe are sophisticated at Celtic?
https://t.co/jSa4ImM3t9 pic.twitter.com/FIqtt4oLfg— Yatao Tsuchi (@yataoda4) January 17, 2023
Kyogo is the most charismatic of Celtic’s J-League signings with his recent goal in the Glasgow derby keeping Postecoglou’s side in pole position to retain the SPFL title.
Some players struggle to adapt to life in Glasgow but from his social media content Kyogo seems perfectly happy as he shares thoughts and images of his adventure in a city usually off the beaten track for Japanese tourists.
CLICK HERE to watch the full documentary on the FIFA website.
Introducing the documentary, FIFA reports:
Kyogo was born and raised in Ikoma City in Nara Prefecture, Japan. He attended Kokoku High School in Osaka Prefecture, then Chuo University, playing football for both. Moving to university meant relocating to Tokyo and leaving the family home for the first time. But despite toiling tirelessly to reach the top, the dream of a pro contract offer remained out of reach, even in his final year. Suffering from injury at the time, things looked very bleak for Furuhashi.
“Maybe I should call it a day…” At rock bottom, the forward remembers suggesting this to his mother when phoning home. But her answer, “Suit yourself”, stung him into action. “‘I must be nuts’ I thought. My parents were the ones who had paid for me to get this far, attend university and play all the football I wanted. It was the slap in the face I needed to redouble my efforts.”
With a fresh spring in his step, Furuhashi refocused on the dream of making it as a player. Then, finally, the chance to establish himself as a professional came with an approach from FC Gifu, a J2 club. Without these words from his mother, the 27-year-old may well have let the dream die. But from a shrinking violet outside the elite, the tough, savvy player we know today began to emerge.