Celtic FC, a prestigious Scottish Premier League club, has a deep relationship with Korean players. In the past, Ki Sung-yong and Cha Doo-ri gained fame by playing as the ‘Ki-Cha Duo’. Both players performed well for Celtic. Ki Sung-yueng showed good performance at Celtic and entered the English Premier League, and Cha Doo-ri was able to transfer back to the German Bundesliga team.I was able to transfer back to the Bundesliga team.

This season, the three Taegeuk Warriors will be playing on the ground in Celtic uniforms. After the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Oh Hyun-gyu, who has built a nest in Celtic and showed compliant performance, as well as Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyuk-gyu, form a trio. From the front attack, wings, and midfield, the Korean players have a very important task.

Along with the Taegeuk Warriors trio, many Japanese players are also included in the Celtic A team, attracting attention. Five Japanese players in their early and mid-twenties will play for Celtic this season. Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda were listed as attackers, and Tomoki Iwata and Leo Hatate were listed as midfielders. Kobayashi Yuki was included in the defense.

It is no exaggeration to call it the Korea-Japan joint team. A whopping 8 Korean and Japanese players take the center of Celtic. Up-and-coming players in their early 20s from Korea and top-notch players from Japan lead the team. Celtic’s A-team squad includes 32 players. Excluding the three goalkeepers, there are 29 field players. Among the 29 players, Korean and Japanese players account for 27.8%.

• Korean & Japanese players in the 2023-2024 Celtic Team A squad
• Oh Hyeon-gyu (22, Korea)
• Kwon Hyuk-gyu (22, Korea)
• Yang Hyun-jun (21, Korea)
• Furuhashi Kyogo (28, Japan)
• Iwata Tomoki (26)・Japan)
• Maeda Daizen (25, Japan)
• Hatate Leo (25, Japan)
• Kobayashi Yuki (23, Japan)

Celtic completed a ‘domestic treble’ last season by winning the Scottish Premier League, League Cup and Scottish Cup. Six Japanese players were included in Team A. Striker Furuhashi scored 27 goals and Maeda scored 8 goals in the league alone. Midfielder Hatate also scored 6 goals in 32 appearances, while Iwata and Kobayashi also contributed in midfield and defense. Ideguchi Yosuke was also a member of Team A. Oh Hyun-kyu joined in the second half and contributed to the championship by scoring 6 goals in 16 league matches.

There are more Korean players this season. Ideguchi left the team, and Kwon Hyuk-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun joined. There is a high possibility that Korean and Japanese players will play an active part in the team as a whole. Celtic kick off the new season with a friendly against Athletic Bilbao on 2 August, followed by a home match against Ross County on 5 August.

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