The ball was spotted. Then came the cheeky wink to his Celtic teammates.

It was a wise wink as if to say: "I know where this is going."

The venue was Rugby Park Celtic found themselves tied 1-1 with Kilmarnock in the 2006/07 SPL season. A free-kick was awarded to Celtic outside the box in injury time. Set-piece specialist and fans favourite Shunsuke Nakamura did the rest.

The Japanese star stepped up to curl it in the far corner with his trusted left peg securing a 2-1 victory in the process and a second successive SPL title in dramatic fashion for then-Celtic manager Gordon Strachan's men. Nakamura knew exactly where the ball was going. So too did the Celtic supporters - they'd come to expect it.

It is one of many iconic moments that Nakamura provided for Celtic under Strachan. No wonder the diminutive coach labeled him a genius. In the four years he plied his trade in Scotland, Nakamura went from a relative unknown to a football deity. He became a cult hero in the eyes of the Hoops faithful, making 166 appearances and scored 34 goals - all or nearly all things of beauty.

Nakamura won three league titles, a Scottish Cup and two League Cups with Celtic.

He was capped for Japan 98 times and scored 24 goals for his country and appeared at both the FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 and 2010.

In 2007, he was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and won both the Scottish Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year awards while also etching his name into the history books as the first Japanese player to score in the Champions League.  Nominated for the Ballon d'Or whilst playing in Scotland!

That achievement in itself is not spoken about nearly enough.

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Bend it Like Beckham? Few could bend it like Nakamura, just ask Manchester United. He scored two trademark free-kicks against the Reds on the highest stage of all - the Champions League. One at Old Trafford. One at Celtic Park.

To score one was fortunate. To score two was showboating.

The 30 yards free-kick goal that landed wonderfully in the top corner of Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar’s net to hand Celtic a priceless 1-0 victory in the Champions League group stages over Sir Alex Ferguson’s men at Celtic Park in 2006 was the stuff of legend.

With a swish of his trusted wand of a left foot, Nakamura had entered Celtic folklore and his life would never be the same ever again. To quote the late and great Kenneth Wolstenholme it was "a goal Good enough to win the league, the cup, the Charity Shield, the World Cup and even the Grand National”. It was you know.

The strike was worthy of sending Strachan’s men through to the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in Celtic's modern history.

Nakamura possessed wonderful vision, a sublime touch as well as an unerring ability to bend a ball. Just ask Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor. He is still trying to wonder how Naka defied the laws of physics and gravity with a breathtaking swerved goal against the Light Blues during a 2-1 win for Celtic at Paradise back in April 2008.

It was his first and one of two derby goals to date arriving in the first game of a crucial double-header against their city rivals which Celtic duly won and then went on to claim the title.

Nakamura was so talented and gifted that he once bent a free-kick through the window of a moving bus for sport during a TV show! His star still burns as brightly as ever for those of a green-and-white persuasion. He blazed a trail for his countrymen and was one of the finest ambassadors and torch-bearers for Japanese and Asian football.

Naka showed that players from this part of the world could hold their own in Europe.

The Celtic faithful will always rise to one of their favourite Japanese sons. The cult of Naka is alive and well in Glasgow's East End.

His four years in Scotland were an absolute joy to behold but rather like that title-winning free-kick at Rugby Park. It was all over in the winking of an eye.

"Omoidewoarigato Naka" as they say in Japanese.

Thanks for the memories Naka. Good Luck with your retirement sir.

This piece is an extract from yesterday's Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out at 4pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.

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