Shunsuke Nakamura

Real Madrid have been the story of the moment in world football, but my club Real Club Deportiu Espanyol have made an equivalent splash in La Liga; if not in cash then certainly in the signing of influential players for their first team squad. Getting the young Israeli striker Ben Sahar right from under the nose of Chelsea FC is a good start especially if they see him as a long term solution to Raul Tamudo leaving- and he will be leaving no doubt about that with England, Italy and even Mexico calling. Nene is back at Monaco after a year long loan. Sergio Sanchez and even Luis Garcia even are on their way out, and even talismanic midfielder Ivan de la Pena was rumoured off to France or back to his home in Cantabria before re-signing with the club. Coach Mauricio Pochettino wants a smaller squad of about 20 players down from around 28. He wants more competition for places, and with guys like Rufete and LaCrus leaving on free transfers, you can see his stamp on the club already. You could see the squad is getting younger and hungrier. With that however it came as a shock to hear that one of the greatest Japanese players of all time Shunsuke Nakamura has decided, after leaving Celtic, to delay his return to his homeland and boyhood club Yokohama F-Marinos to sign a two year contract with Espanyol and fulfill a "lifelong dream of playing in Spain."

He's a deadly finisher from either wing, a superb passer from any point in the midfield, with the technique of a world-class attacking midfielder, a Japanese international, and humble to boot, he hated the comparison that the Barcelona press made between him and Cristiano Ronaldo. "I'm not a star. I will have to work twice as hard as everyone else at the club and be prepared to put in a defensive shift. It's not easy to make an impact in Spanish football. I'll be trying hard to establish myself step by step." What else can you ask for, and while he may not be a Galactico, he is certainly a step-up from what they already have on the left-wing, where I project him to start, and he can help out/push De la Pena in the middle when needed. Consider also that Nakamura is one of the top 5 free-kick takers in the world, and it would be a great signing normally, but to get him on a free transfer? Unbelievable. It's still too soon to tell what sort of impact he'll have, a new league and a new language and culture to learn, and he is 31 years old so it's understandable that people should be carfeul of expectations, but Barcelona is a large cosmopolitan city and while it's Japanese community is small, Nakamura has spent much of the last decade in Italy and Scotland acclimating himself to a more European lifestyle. He also has the impetus of impressing national team coach Takeshi Okada who says Nakamura will need to keep his form and condition to be ready for next year's World Cup in South Africa.

Moreso, I agree with club President D. Sanchez-Llibre when he says that, “For me Nakamura will prove to be more important to us than Kaka or Cristiano Ronaldo are to Real Madrid. This is best for Espanyol. Nakamura, along with Verdu and Ben Sahar, will provide many shirt sales for Espanyol," and you can see the sort of direct impact that this signing can have. Nakamura is a skilled player who has a lot to offer the club as a player and a leader both on and off the pitch, but his economic impact on a small, regional club like Espanyol, who are suffering from declining attendance, an economic downturn, and sluggish sales going into their state of the art home at Cornella el-Prat, will be immense. Like the blue half of Manchester overshadowed by the giants next-door at United, Espanyol is a club in a very similar situation to rivals FC Barcelona both domestically and globally. Manchester City can afford now to spend on a comparable level to their neighbors. Espanyol on the other hand need to be more creative. By opening up the lucrative Asian market, for a relatively unknown club like Espanyol, you may see great things start to happen for the other club in Barcelona.