A talk session between Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan national team who currently plays at Liverpool, and Celtic legend Shunsuke Nakamura has been released. Nakamura talked about some of his experiences at Celtic…
Shunsuke Nakamura, who is currently a coach for Yokohama FC, talked about the theme, “What is good coach/manager?” as follows…
Shunsuke Nakamura: “What I was lucky was that I received guidance from many foreign managers when I was a young player. Before challenging Serie A, at Yokohama F Marinos, when I touched the ball on the outside, managers always praised me, “Bravo, Bravo, Nice!”
Also, when I shot with my toes, managers was happy to see my play. Japanese managers basically says, “Kick properly inside, not outside.” Young players are scolded by Japanese managers if they kick it using something other than inside, and in the end, they start to be afraid of being scolded.
“Foreign managers recognised and praised my various ways of kicking as my character, so I think I could become a player who could play freely. And I sometimes watch my own play videos at that time, but I had made quite a lot of mistakes during games.
“But when I look back at that time, I remember that my teammates and older players have never told, “Don’t make mistakes in that area.” to me during games. It’s more important to praise what you’ve done than to blame for the mistake.
“For example, when a player makes a mistake, we should say, “Don’t worry! Don’t be afraid of being stolen by your opponents and challenge yourself more and more!” I think it’s better to encourage players to challenge.
“Therefore, in my opinion, I think good coach/manager is a person who can praise players. Maybe any manager can get angry or suddenly change players at half-time. Players are the same human as us, so in the end, I think they will grow more and more if praise young players.”
After this, he looked back on managers from whom he received such guidance.
Shunsuke Nakamura: “Osvaldo Cesar Ardiles, who used to play with Diego Maradona, was coached at Yokohama F Marinos. He often told me about episodes like, “Naka, Maradona was playing like this.” Even when I was practicing free kick, he taught me skills and knowledge of Maradona, so I was able to learn how to kick free kicks deeply based on that.
“And I received a lot of guidance from Zico, a legend of Brazil national team. I also learned a lot from Strachan at Celtic. Strachan is not high in height, but he’s a real technician who used to play at Manchester United, so I learned a lot from him. They told me interesting stories from time to time, and those experiences were very important to me. Looking back at that time, their advice has had big impacts on my play, and has always been source of motivation for me.”
Also, with the theme of “CH”, he talked about Stan Petrov as a player who has been easy to play alongside.
Shunsuke Nakamura: “I liked CH, who can build a partnership that can understand each other’s strengths and make effective use of each other. It’s like we can make up for each other’s shortcomings by making use of each other’s strengths.
“A partnership that CH matches my style of play and I also match CH’s style of play. In that sense, I like a CH who understands and makes use of my characteristics. For example, if I move to a position a little far from attacking area, it is CH who grasps my movement well and runs forward according to situation while working with me.
“A player like Makelele for Zidane. For me, at Celtic, it’s “Stan” Petrov. It was really pleasure for me to play with a player like Stan, and the partnership with him was very comfortable for me.”
That’s all. Come along and join The Celtic Star live at the Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park on Thursday 19 October 2023 as we officially launch ’s stunning new book Majic, Stan and the King of Japan. This is the story of Gordon Strachan’s remarkable and eventful first season at Celtic and of course Big Bad John scored the goal against Hearts that won the league. Let’s get a ticket! They are selling very fast!!!
You can order your table for 10 at £180 or individual ticket priced just £20 now at our Celtic Star Books website.
International break meaning you’re missing your Celtic fix? This is the solution! We’d love to see you at the Kerrydale next Thursday 19 October, the anniversary of Hampden in the Sun, as we launch Majic, Stan and the King of Japan…
More must-reads: