Kyogo nicked Larsson’s Celtic record – here’s how the 60-goal duo compare, according to Hoops’ title-winning captain
KYOGO FURUHASHI has taken just 95 games to hit the 60-goal mark for Celtic.
That’s even quicker than Hoops legend Henrik Larsson, but Paul Lambert insists the Swedish superstar was a better player.
Kyogo is piling up the trophies as well as the goals at Celts, but Lambo reckons he can’t match the Magnificent Seven — yet.
The Japanese hitman was on target again as the champs swept aside a poor Hearts outfit on Sunday. But ex-Celtic skipper Lambert said: “I like the look of Kyogo and there are similarities between the two, but that’s as far as it goes at the moment.
“Reaching 60 goals is a great achievement for him, especially to do it quicker than Henrik.
“But that doesn’t mean Kyogo is a better player.
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“We’re talking about different eras — when we stopped Rangers doing ten in a row in 1998 they had Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Paul Gascoigne, Jorg Albertz and Brian Laudrup.
“So we had our work cut out to stop them, but we had Larsson.
“I believe it would be unfair to Kyogo to put him in the same category as Henrik because he hasn’t had the same kind of success yet.
“Larsson’s goals got us to the Uefa Cup final in 2003, and he scored twice in that game as well.
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“When he left us he joined Barcelona, won La Liga twice, and then came off the bench to set up their goals as they beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Champions League final.
“When he was well into his 30s he helped Manchester United win the title, after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him during an injury crisis.
“He also played for the Sweden side which finished third at the World Cup.
“I’d put Henrik alongside my Dortmund team-mates Karl-Heinz Riedle and Stephane Chapuisat, who were also world-class front men.”
Lambert has enjoyed watching Kyogo, and he hopes he can make the difference against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
He added: “It’s been great to see so many players chipping in with goals from all over the park for Celtic this season.
“But what that tells you is Kyogo is irreplaceable just now.
“While the likes of Oh seems to have to work hard for his goals Kyogo is a natural finisher, and he always seems to be between the posts when the ball comes to him.
“Henrik was like that, too. He was always easy for his team-mates to find in the box because his movement was great, and he had a striker’s instinct for where the ball would be.
“Kyogo scores quite a variety of goals — he often shoots early, which doesn’t give keepers the chance to set themselves.
“I like the fact he gets his share of tap-ins as well, which Henrik did.
“I’m not criticising Kyogo. He’s a top player but Larsson was something else, the guy we would look to — and almost depend on — to get a goal out of nothing.
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“He’s also the only striker I’ve ever seen who broke his leg and returned an even better player. Henrik was a yard quicker, he was stronger, and he could jump higher once he had the plaster removed.
“It was good to see Kyogo open his Champions League account against Lazio in the last game and I’d love him to score another against Atletico, because Celtic need something from this game.”
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