Naka to Reunite with Celtic?

Gordon Strachan will try to bring Naka back to his services, not for Celtic, but for Celtic 2.0

The title here is purposely misleading. No, there are no rumors that Shunsuke Nakamura has expressed any interest in returning to Celtic or that Celtic has expressed any interest in reacquiring Shunsuke Nakamura. However, Gordon Strachan, the former coach of Celtic during Naka's glory years, and now the coach of Middlesbrough FC, a Division 2 Premier League team, has begun rebuilding his former Celtic team in England with Naka in his sights.

Following relegation from the Division 1 Premier League last season, Gordon Strachan was appointed manager after leaving Celtic, and has slowly been putting the pieces together to replicate his success at the Scottish club that won him 3 Scottish titles in 4 seasons. The replication process has been so similar in fact, that I would venture to refer to the Boro as Celtic 2. Already Strachan has pulled Willo Flood, Barry Robson, Chris Killen, and Stephen McManus (all former Celtic players) to his cause, and now it is reported that he is trying to draw Naka to him as well.

Shunsuke Nakamura has been an absolute pot hole since he joined Spanish side Espanyol last season, and coming in with "Galactico" size expectations, has disappointed to the scale that the Maginot line failed to keep the Germans out of France (obscure reference but wikipedia it for a good history lesson). For Espanyol, Naka has only started only a handful of games, did not impress in any, and now fights for spot on the bench every match. Shunsuke Nakamura: Galactico Fail.

If Strachan does suceed in attaining the services of Nakamura, it is expected that Naka will once again retain the playmaker role for Strachan's first team. In the time that the manager and player spent together at Celtic, Gordon Strachan considered Naka to be a "genius," and one could only expect Gordon to retain the same feelings that he felt only 2 seasons ago.

Nakamura leaving Spain to join the Coca-Cola league in England may be a downsize from his career goal of having success in La Liga. Still, if he can find a first-team spot for Strachan and regain his form and confidence, these can only be good things for the Japanese National team heading into the World Cup.