Kyogo Furuhashi or Adam Idah against Borussia Dortmund. In the eyes of many, it’s a clear-cut choice with the Japanese the obvious starting pick.
However, I’m not sure it’s that simple. And I’ll be fascinated to observe how Brendan Rodgers sees it. Kyogo is a class-act and I’m a huge fan. He delivers in big games. But the Celtic manager signed Idah to give him an alternative option in terms of style and I’m intrigued over how the frontmen will be utilised in the Signal Iduna Park.
On the face of it, Kyogo is favourite to lead the attack in this upcoming Champions League blockbuster. He got the nod against Slovan Bratislava and delivered with a goal as the team romped to their impressive win. Not only did Kyogo score once, but he found space and opportunity to add more with his movement and his quick thinking. Twice in the first period, he cleverly engineered room for himself to receive passes inside the box only for his finishing to fail.
But Kyogo got it right the third time and, with goals against Lazio and Atletico Madrid last season, he’s shown himself capable at the level. Interestingly, all of these goals have been on home soil. And I just wonder if Idah is coming under serious consideration to start away from home.
For all of Kyogo’s class, he struggled at times to get into the Euro away games last season. It was the same under Ange Postecoglou when he first tasted the Champions League and there were occasions when he looked a little bit isolated and out of the game.
To me, it comes down to the way Rodgers feels it is going to go and how much confidence he has in Celtic being able to impose their usual style in the backyard of the Bundesliga giants. It’s that basic question. Is our football better than their press?
If Celtic play it out from the back, work their way around the Germans and get it moving at pace, Kyogo could be absolutely lethal. Rodgers’ team are set-up brilliantly to play on the counter in Europe with the speed of the striker and also the wide boys, Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda.
You look at the offside goal which Celtic scored against Rangers earlier in the season. Passing through the squeeze, Kuhn and Kyogo were gone with one ball from the middle of the park expertly delivered by Callum McGregor. If Rodgers sees that scenario playing-out in Dortmund, I’d be pretty sure that he’d start with the Japanese.
But the manager has shown in the past he isn’t afraid to mix up the method. I think back to Kilmarnock at the end of last season when he opted to put Idah into the starting line-up for the game that clinched the title.
Celtic were able to change it up. To my eye, with Idah up top, they played over the home press at times, straight into the Irishman and exploded into life from there. It worked an absolute treat. If I remember correctly, the manager called the performance immense.
Not that you need evidence from one night at Rugby Park to tell you there’s more than one way to skin a cat, but having adaptability and options is a brilliant asset and exactly why Rodgers is building the squad in his current manner.
I know what it’s like to play up front away in Europe against elite-level sides. Sometimes you don’t see the ball for long spells. When it comes to you, there are periods when you need to fight and scrap, hold it up, win free-kicks to give your team a breather and get them up the pitch.
I’d say Idah is a better bet if the manager feels Dortmund could have sustained periods and, incidentally, there’s nothing wrong with train of thought. Of course you want to play your game. Of course you want to impose yourself. Of course you want to control and dominate, just as Celtic did against Slovan.
But you also have to acknowledge there are levels. I’d say it’s safe to assume Borussia on their own patch are going to be better than Bratislava and certainly, with all due respect to Derek McInnes’ boys, Killie. In addition, Idah isn’t just some big lump. He can move and has link-up play. I’d say Kyogo is probably cleaner in his work when it comes to that specific aspect of playing the position.
But Idah can do it and I always felt that, when Celtic were struggling to get out in games under Postecoglou in away Euro games with Kyogo, Giorgos Giakoumakis was a useful and strong alternative. It might be similar with Idah. It’s not a case of saying who is a better striker, it’s a case of horses for courses.
That’s why Rodgers paid £9million for him. To offer an option, a viable alternative as well as a back-up to Kyogo. If it’s Idah, Celtic have the speed in Maeda and Kuhn and the athleticism of Arne Engels to get up the pitch and support him. And Kyogo could affect going on later in the game with more spaces to exploit.
I don’t believe Saturday’s selection when Celtic face St Johnstone will offer Dortmund clues because Rodgers will go with his best line-up for the Perth task in hand. He’ll do just the same thing in Germany. And I’ll be fascinated to see whether it’s Kyogo or Idah whom he sees as the best fit for the job.