Aaron Mooy is the kind of guy who likes to live quietly in the background but he admits it’s Celtic frontman Kyogo Furuhashi who is the real Invisible Man at Parkhead.
The Japan star was front and centre as he became the Viaplay Cup Final Hampden hero on Sunday with his deadly double to down Rangers. Mooy reckons it’s the striker's ability to vanish out of sight that gives defenders nightmares. It’s now you see him, now you don’t with Kyogo. And by the time he reappears it’s too late for rivals to do much apart from scoop the ball out the back of their net.
The 28-year-old fans favourite pounced with two trademark goals on Sunday and Mooy admitted Hoops teammates are amazed at the Houdini hitman’s box of tricks. The Aussie ace said: “If you put the ball in the box, you just know he’s always going to be ready to score. He’s quite amazing, really. You wonder where he is and then, all of a sudden, he’s there.
“His movement is amazing and defenders just don’t know which way he’s going to go. He must be a nightmare to play against. He’s one of the very best I’ve seen. And he’s quite a short guy, so to get on the end of so many crosses, it shows you what a player he is.”
Kyogo is the man who loves to lead the Celtic fans in celebration after games and he was at it again at Hampden as he kicked off the trophy party. Mooy has also emerged as a Hoops hero but the shy midfielder admitted his Parkhead pals take great delight in thrusting him into the limelight.
He said: “Yeah, the boys like to take the mickey! They know I’m a bit uncomfortable when the limelight is on me, so they get a bit of a buzz out of it.”
Mooy got a kick out of claiming his first cup as a Celt. The 32-year-old was a key cog in a dominant Hoops midfield on Sunday and he admitted it was a special feeling to win in front of his friends and family in with the fans. The party continued back at Parkhead and he said: “It felt amazing to win a trophy so soon in my Celtic career. I was absolutely buzzing.
“I think we played really well in the first half against Rangers and started the second half well. We deserved to go 2-0 up. When they scored from the set piece, it became a bit more nervy – but we showed great resilience.
“The celebrations afterwards? I can’t tell you! I’ve got friends and family over, the kids will be excited to see the medal, so I’ll show them first. Someone said there haven't been that many finals between Celtic and Rangers, which is a bit crazy.
“But it doesn’t get much better than winning a cup final at Hampden. It’s a special occasion, very special.”
Celtic stars wouldn’t have needed any extra sugar in their teas yesterday morning, mind you, as the cup win will have tasted sweet enough after the spicy build up. Fashion Sakala was tempting fate with his pre-match pep talk when he claimed Rangers were ‘far better’ than ‘the other mob’.
Mooy insisted there was no need to pin any newspapers to the walls in the Hampden dressing rooms though as Celtic are motivated enough and he’s not interesting in the mental damage his side inflicted on their great rivals at the weekend.
He said: “No. I try not to read anything or watch anything. I try to stay away from that and focus on my job on the pitch.
“I feel you show your quality on the pitch. That’s all that matters, really, how you play.
“I don’t know if winning one final gives us a psychological advantage. I wouldn’t say that.
“But it’s always good to get the job done when there’s a trophy on the line. That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not even thinking about the next game yet.
“I’m loving my time at Celtic and, hopefully, this could be a very special season for me. That’s why you put in the work every day, to make the best memories you can make. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Mooy played his part at Hampen but he admitted he was thrilled to pay back boss Ange Postecoglou. Some eyebrows were raised when the 32-year-old was handed a deal when he was a free agent following a tough spell in China.
The former Huddersfield and St Mirren schemer was seen as a squad man but he’s emerged as one of the heroes of the season. And Mooy knows why.
He said: “I do feel I owe him. Of course, he gave me a chance, believed in me. Hopefully I can pay him back. Hopefully, by the time I leave, people will look back and say I did well. I hope he feels the same way. That’s a good motivation for me.
“He doesn’t change much from game to game, maybe a little bit for a big final. But nothing remarkable. He’s always good at motivating us for every game, so it’s all very similar for what we’re used to.
“We’re just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time. We can’t look too far ahead.” And Mooy is happy to follow Kyogo’s example and disappear quietly into the background again.
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