28 Jul 2005(Thu)

July 27 -- So it's Shunsuke for Celtic.

That's a brave move by Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, and by the player himself.

Make no mistake, the Scottish league and Italian league are worlds apart from a football point of view.

Whereas the Italian league is often slow and tactical, almost like a game of chess, in Scotland it's fast and furious.

This makes me wonder whether Shunsuke will settle there, because he is not the quickest of players, nor the most physical.

If it were Hidetoshi Nakata transferring to Scotland, or to England, I would have no doubts that he could look after himself.

But Shunsuke?

Not so sure.

It will be particularly interesting to see him play in the Glasgow derby against Rangers.

This occasion goes much deeper than football, of course, because Celtic represents the Catholic community of Glasgow, while Rangers are the Protestants.

The city comes to a standstill for this game, and fans of the winning team can enjoy life much more until the next derby takes place.

The action comes thick and fast, with tackles flying in from all angles and the pace of the game never relenting.

Another change Shunsuke will face is the fact that referees allow play to flow much more, instead of the stop-start Italian style which makes Serie A difficult to watch.

Anyway, good luck to Shunsuke.

At least he will have a chance of winning trophies with Celtic, instead of mid-table slogs with Reggina, a team with only one thing on their mind: survival in Serie A.

It's a good move to get out of Italy, and Scottish football can only improve his game.

ends