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Personal
Fullname: Koki Mizuno
Born: 6 September 1985
Birthplace: Shimizu-ku, Japan
Signed: Jan 2008
Left: 30 June 10
Position: Right-Winger
Debut: Celtic 2-0 St Johnstone, SPL, 8 Nov 2008
Squad No.: 29
Internationals: Japan
International Caps 4
International Goals 0
Biog
Japanese international winger Koki Mizuno was a surprise signing for Celtic in the January transfer window of 2008, possibly chosen with the input of Nakamura who was at the club at the time.
The right-sided midfielder was brought to Glasgow on January 29th 2008 from J League side JEFUnited where he had played 88 games and scored 13 goals. Quick and skilful Mizuno had been a member of the Japanese side in the 2005 FIFA Youth World Championship and won his first senior cap as a sub in March 2007 when he came on in a friendly against Peru.
Thanks to a string of impressive performances in the reserves and a long list of players on the sidelines, Mizuno finally made his debut in the first-team against Motherwell on 8 October 2008, substituting Scott McDonald three minutes from time. He then made this first start for Celtic against Falkirk on 21 December 2008, capping a more than promising performance with a goal in injury time (and was highly rated in his initial performances being named the man of the match), followed by his first game v Rangers a week later in which he applied himself commendably.
Despite this good start in the first team he was dropped soon after and never recovered that good form in his later opportunities. He had motivation, skill and pace, but his lack of physical presence made him easy to shrug off the ball. The odd opportunity to gain a foothold in the side was not going to aid him.
Cynics believed he was only here for the ability for us to continue the Japanese link (after the wonderful Nakamura) to sell Celtic merchandise in Japan. That is nonsense. Mizuno had enough talent to be given an opportunity. Problem is that he was behind on his physical development and in effect was losing confidence everytime he was getting shoved off the ball. Possibly he wasn’t able to bulk up enough to push on in the game.
In July 2010, he was released by the club. Sad to see, we hoped he would develop into a good attacking player (especially after his fine first performances).
His return to Japan saw his career dip. An early injury lost him from further games for the whole of the season, and from there on in his number of games for Kashiwa Reysol fell, and his career never really got far. He stayed long in the game and moved around various clubs in the Japanese leagues, and at the age of 36 he was playing with Hayabusa Eleven.
His career may not have hit any heights, but he gave it all a good go. We wished him the best, and in retrospect his time with Nakamura at Celtic was a trailblazer to the later acquisitions from the Far East who were to come and make their names at Celtic.
Quotes
“All of my team-mates celebrated with me, and even Artur Boruc came from his goal and gave me a hug! That moment was amazing for me.”
On his favourite memories of Glasgow, he said:
“I miss the Scotch pies, specifically the ones at Celtic Park, they were delicious. The fans were so warm and very fanatical about their football. Celtic Park was a special place and they created an atmosphere there that I’ve never experienced since.”
Koki Mizuno on his debut goal and life at Celtic (The Celtic View, Apr 2022)
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League | Scottish/ FA Cup |
League cup | Other | ||||
| Celtic | 01/04/2008 | 31/05/2010 | Signed | 2 (9) | 1 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| JEF United | 01/07/2007 | 01/04/2008 | No appearance data available | ||||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| KDS Honours | ||
| MOTM Winners 2008-09 | ||
| 21-Dec-08 | Falkirk 0-3 Celtic | SPL |
Honours with Celtic
none
Pictures
Koki Mizuno pinpoints significant moment for Japanese interest in Celtic
https://www.67hailhail.com/news/koki-mizuno-pinpoints-significant-moment-for-japanese-interest-in-celtic/
By Euan Davidson
13 hours ago
Former Celtic winger Koki Mizuno still keeps a close eye on the Hoops, especially with four Japanese talents having joined the club over 21-22.
Mizuno, who was signed by Gordon Strachan in 2008, had a difficult spell in Glasgow. Often blighted by injury, the winger – who’s still playing – didn’t get too many opportunities in Strachan’s team.
However, he did add to what was then a flourishing Celtic supporting scene in Japan. With Shunsuke Nakamura having left a significant imprint on that Hoops side, adding Mizuno to the mix directly from the J League was a smart move.
Japanese Celtic
Photo by BRIAN STEWART/AFP via Getty Images
And Mizuno, who was interviewed in the Celtic View‘s most recent issue, identified a point in time where Japanese interest in Celtic really blossomed. Not only that, he’s said the Japanese players at Celtic now can set an even more impressive precedent for the future.
Mizuno said [Celtic View, Volume 57, Issue 3, page 67]: “Celtic were on TV every week because Nakamura was always of interest.
“After I joined the club, Celtic got even more attention because there were two Japanese players together. Then, when I scored against Falkirk with Nakamura assisting me, it was huge.
“Now, there are four Japanese players at the club and the attention on Celtic here is more than in my day. Nakamura was big for me as I wanted to follow his steps. I hope Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi will be creating good steps for the next Japanese players who want to play for Celtic.”
Japanese interest in Celtic is surely at an all-time high
Although Shunsuke Nakamura is an absolute one-off, social media engagement alone shows how impactful Celtic are in Japanese sporting culture just now.
Since starting a Twitter account specifically targeting Japanese Celtic fans was a good idea. The account Celtic FC JPN has nearly 50k followers at the time of writing. The interest is huge.
But let’s reflect on what Koki Mizuno said there; a goal against Falkirk really raised the profile of Celtic in Japan? Perhaps the Japanese footballing public aren’t aware of the stature of the Bairns. But seeing Nakamura set up Mizuno against anyone was clearly a significant moment.
As for Mizuno himself? What a shame it didn’t work out better for him at Celtic.
On the ball, he looked like the typical exciting winger that Bhoys fans love. Never shy taking on players, skilful and courageous, he should really have made more of a dent in Glasgow.
Still, at least he has cult hero status. The streets won’t forget, as they say.
Mizuno is now at Hayabusa Eleven, still just 36. He and Nakamura blazed a trail at Celtic, and it’s one that supporters are absolutely delighted with today.
This is Yatao – “I still have unforgettable memories of Celtic,” Koki Mizuno
By Yatao 4 July, 2023 No Comments
This is Yatao – “I still have unforgettable memories of Celtic,” Koki Mizuno
Koki Mizuno, who joined Celtic at the age of 22 and joined Iwate Grulla Morioka in J3 League from this season, looked back on the time he spent at Celtic and speaking to the Japanese media this week, recalled his time at the Scottish Champions…
“I regret that I should have faced football more seriously. When I remember Shunsuke Nakamura at that time, he was very stoic about football. He always came home not only after training, but also after an hour of training using stationary bike after every game.
“Also, he was very concerned about maintenance of his own body. Even though I was seeing him up close, I couldn’t do anything like him. At the very least, I regret that I could have changed the part of how I faced training. I think that if I had taken more care of my own body before and after games, I wouldn’t have been injured.”
Mizuno played at Celtic for two and a half years from 2008 to 2010, but his result was 11 games in the league and just one goal. He looked back on the challenge in Scotland as follows.
“Strachan said, ‘You don’t have to be in a hurry. It will take a while for you to adapt to the environment here.’ He understood that Scotland is different from Japan in many ways, such as differences in play rhythm with J-League, pitch conditions, and changes in living conditions, so it takes time for me to adapt to those environments.
“He also said this. ‘Naka joined Celtic after playing in Italy. This is your first time playing in a country other than Japan. So you don’t have to hurry.’ I was encouraged by his words and decided to prepare to play firmly.”
Also, Mizuno was not able to fully master English, but it seems that communication with his teammates was good. After that, he seems to have quickly got used to life in Scotland.
Just before the start of his second season at Celtic, he damaged the meniscus in his right knee. However, at the end of the season, he returned to team, received a pass from Shunsuke Nakamura in the game, dribbled, and scored a spectacular goal. This is his first and last goal at Celtic.
Koki Mizuno also talked about the influence he received from Shunsuke Nakamura as follows…
“The existence of Shun-san (Shunsuke Nakamura) was great for me at Celtic. His attitude and words on the pitch had a big impact on my performance. He said this to me. ‘You have to play with more of your own features. When it comes to the quality of shooting and speed of running, you have something better than other players.’ That’s how he encouraged me.”
“I played from the first start in the game after I came back from injury. I couldn’t get a pass at all in first half. At half-time, he said to me, ‘You didn’t receive a ball at all in first half, did you? From second half, if I hold the ball, you should trust me and definitely start running. I will absolutely send you passes.’
“And as he said, the moment he held the ball, I started running forward, and he sent me a wonderful ball in front of me. I played a lot of time on the side in this game, but only at that moment I was running towards centre.”
Mizuno played a total of 10 games in that season and built the base for stable performance, but Strachan and Shunsuke Nakamura left the team after the end of the season, and immediately after the next season started, he suffered a serious knee injury again and had to concentrate on recovery for a long time.
After he finally played only one game that season, his agent said, “You should return to Japan once and get ready to play again.” and Mizuno decided to go back to Japan.
But he said the following at the end of his interview about playing at Celtic.
“I have no regrets at all that I chose to join Celtic. Unless I challenge, nothing will be born. That’s my own way of life. If I think I might have succeeded, I should have tried harder not to regret it. But I have no regrets about joining Celtic.
“The time I lived in Scotland for two and a half years is my treasure. There were a lot of things I couldn’t experience until I actually left Japan and went there.”
“I still have unforgettable memories of Celtic. That was the moment when I scored a goal, my teammates celebrating, and everyone, including goalkeeper, rushed to my place to praise me. They called my name “Koki” repeatedly, we hugged, and they blessed me.
“At that time, Gordon Strachan was also so happy on the bench that he injured his hamstring when he jumped. I could feel that I was recognised in this team. The pleasure of that moment was unreplaceable.”
That’s all. He injured his knee some times after leaving Celtic, but it seems that he revived his playing career many times, remembering his memories at Celtic each time. He is only 37 years old. As a J-leaguer, he joined an another team from this season and re-started. I will continue to follow his career.
Yatao