THE Champions League brought Japanese ace Shunsuke Nakamura to Celtic.

Before he got the chance to grace the tournament, the Parkhead club crashed out of the competition to Artmedia Bratislava, throwing into doubt his £2.7million transfer from Reggina.

However, Naka proved his word was as good as his trusted left foot. And this week he brought the curtain down on his European career by delivering another virtuoso performance in the 2-0 win over Villarreal.

Only when Celtic step onto the European stage again next season will the importance of the little midfield maestro in Gordon Strachan's game plan be truly appreciated.

Naka epitomises everything the manager wants in terms of a footballer at this level.

Cool under pressure, safe in possession, inventive when required, skillful in the extreme.

Add to that a tremendous team and work ethic and a willingness to do the dirty side of the job, tracking back and sticking a foot in, and you begin to understand why the win against Villarreal was tinged with just a little sadness for those who acknowledged the occasion marked more than just the end of Celtic's European campaign for this season.

Nakamura's moments of brilliance during his 17 appearances in the Champions League included those two defining free kicks against Manchester United two seasons ago when Celtic cracked qualification to the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

But, to many observers, Wednesday night marked the finest 90 minutes delivered by Naka who gave a master-class to put a warm glow on a freezing evening.

The comparisons with Lubo Moravcik's final European game for the club, against Juventus in the Champions League back in 2001, have already been made.

The little Slovakian magician promised then-boss Martin O'Neill that he would even tackle if he was given the chance to play in that game, which he duly did to help secure a 4-3 win.

But, while getting his shorts dirty was a hitherto alien concept to Moravcik, it is part and parcel of what Nakamura is prepared to bring to the table, even though, like Lubo, he is far from physically equipped to throw himself into such challenges.

It neatly sums up why Naka will be such a big loss when he says sayonara to Celtic Park at the end of the season to take his family back home to Japan.

No one will miss him more than Strachan. But the manager who savoured every minute of his performance in midweek does not believe there was any extra effort put in against Villarreal by a man he would trust with his life.

Strachan said: "People have commented about the way Naka was sliding into tackles, tracking back and throwing his body into blocking shots against Villarreal.

"But he has been doing that all the time he's been here. And he does all of that in training every day.

"Naka is up and down, and across the park. He gets back to help out when we're under pressure, he fights for the ball and makes himself available to help a team-mate by taking the ball even when he has opponents right on top of him.

"He just loves playing football, and that is such a great thing to have in a player."

Strachan is not at the stage of contemplating about life without Naka, preferring instead to enjoy the remainder of the time he is part of the side trying to secure a fourth SPL title and Celtic's place in next season's Champions League.

But, towards the end of this season, thoughts will have to turn towards finding the man to fill the void Naka's departure will leave.

That person may already be at the club, though contenders such as Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady would be the first to acknowledge they bring different qualities to the party.

For one thing, 30-year-old Naka has a maturity - as a person and as a player - which, when the going gets tough, is invaluable.

Along with Paul Hartley, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Barry Robson, he is of one of the older members of the group, and this experience will be sorely missed.

More than that, however, the unassuming Naka has a star quality, something you don't often get for an outlay of under £3m, a figure which also included his lucrative image rights.

Strachan has reiterated that the longer he can keep the group together, the better they should become.

Robbed of their Japanese talisman, this developing unity will have to become even stronger.

As the manager looks towards Parkhead becoming a Naka-free zone, he can at least take some reassurance from the words of the players who will remain.

Strachan explained: "I was speaking to the lads the other day and Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell summed it up perfectly, in my opinion.

"They said: We're not special players, we are good players trying to get better.

"And they ARE getting better, which is the most pleasing thing for me as the manager."