25 Jun 2009(Thu)

June 23, 2009: Not even the most ardent of Yokohama F Marinos supporters would begrudge Shunsuke Nakamura his move to Espanyol.

For a long time it looked like his return to Marinos from Celtic was a done deal when his contract in Scotland finished on June 30.

But when news of Espanyol's interest broke, there looked to be only one winner; and the player would finally have his chance to live his dream in Spain.

And it was his last chance, too, as he turns 31 on Wednesday, June 24 -- an advanced stage of his career to be making such a move.

So Shunsuke will head for Spain with the blessing of Japan, and the gratitude of Celtic after four successful seasons in the famous green and white hoops.

It's a fantastic opportunity for the player, especially with Espanyol moving into a new stadium this summer, and no doubt Shunsuke's presence will lift the profile of a club living constantly in the shadow of their more illustrious neighbours, Barcelona.

Last season, the four-time Spanish Cup winners finished 10th of 20 teams, but only five points clear of the relegation zone, and the big question concerns Shunsuke's ability to hold down a place in the Espanyol midfield.

He found his ideal level with Celtic, had the rugged midfield grafters to look after him and the manager, the now-departed Gordon Strachan, to bring out the best in him.

With Espanyol it's going to be a much tougher challenge, with the quality of opposition significantly higher on a weekly basis, so Shunsuke will need everything he learned in Scotland and at Reggina in order to succeed in Spain.

He will not have the time on the ball he enjoyed in Scotland, or the number of touches in a build-up, but his years in Scotland and Italy will have helped him prepare for the more physical side of the game, such as shielding the ball and using his body to hold off a defender.

One thing that he will always be able to rely on, though, is his deadly left foot in open play and at set-pieces, so he should be able to play his part in the team's attacking moves and keep himself in the news and in the first-team picture.

On a personal level, I am happy to see the player get his chance in Spain. I would have been very disappointed if he had left Celtic to return to the J.League at this stage of his career, as he could have had at least one more season in Europe -- a crucial one, too, in the build-up to South Africa 2010.

Now he's got two years in the blue and white stripes of Espanyol, taking him to 33 in June 2011, and he can still end his career back in Japan after that.

ends