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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Copeland

Giorgos Giakoumakis crosses Celtic and Rangers derby divide as Carlos Bocanegra delivers Scottish welcome gift

New Atlanta star Giorgos Giakoumakis got a Scottish welcome upon his arrival from Celtic – posing with former Rangers defender Carlos Bocanegra and a bottle of Irn Bru.

Giakoumakis made the switch to MLS which was finally announced last week after he'd been absent from the squad since mid-January to pursue a move away. There had been interest from Serie A in the Greek striker while J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds had also pushed hard with Giakoumakis even undergoing a medical with them, but it as Atlanta who moved late to strike an agreement with Celtic.

Ange Postecoglou had earlier signed Hyeongyu Oh as a contingency plan so Celtic were not caught on the hop by his exit and he leaves the club after 26 goals in 57 appearances over 18 months. And he's now hoping to continue that strike rate over the pond, where he was greeted by Atlanta's Vice President – former Rangers and USA defender Bocanegra.

He shared a snap of the duo posing in the club's dressing room with a bottle of Irn Bru, a not-so-subtle nod to their shared history in Scotland. He captioned it "our other national drink".

Bocanegra was a regular at Rangers during the 2011/12 season and was nicknamed 'Captain America' after striking up a short-lived but effective partnership with Dorin Goian. He played the early part of their season in the Third Division but left for Santander in August 2012 before returning to the US with Chivas 12 months later. He retired there and was named Atlanta's technical director in 2015, rising up the ranks to vice president in the years since.

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