Celtic hero Shunsuke Nakamura takes next step in coaching career as Japanese icon eyes move to Europe

dailyrecord.co.uk:

As a player he made himself a modern day icon at Celtic, but could Shunsuke Nakamura return one day in a coaching role?Whilst fellow countrymen Kyogo Furuhashi, Dazen Maeda and Reo Hatate have made themselves fixtures in Brendan Rodgers' side, it's almost 20 years since dead ball maestro Nakamura made history as the Hoops' first Japanese player - and became as much of a hero in Glasgow's East End as he is in his homeland.

After hanging up his boots at the age of 44, Nakamura now works as a coach at Yokohama FC - but was in Italy this month learning more about European coaching methods with Serie A side Parma.He spent a fortnight with the Italian club and manager Fabio Pecchia, with a Parma statement reading: "It wasn't simply a refresher course for Nakamura, but a chance to deeply understand the way of work in Europe and to learn some precious tips to apply in his future coaching career," hinting that the 98 time capped ace could be targeting a move back into European football in the future.Nakamura himself told Parma's website: "Pecchia knows Japanese football well, having coached Avispa Fukuoka.

During my time at Collecchio, be it with him or the technical staff, there have been constant discussions to understand the training methods, the tactics, strategies, types of training and the entire Parma organisation.

I'd like to thank the club, and above all Pecchia, who has always been available. I posed him a lot of questions and he's always come back with the answers I wanted.