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Emilio Izaguirre had one of the most memorable debut seasons that a Celtic player has ever had. He was named as Scotland’s player of the year, and was part of a Celtic squad which really should have won the league in his first season as a Hoops player.
Thankfully ‘Izzy’ as he was nicknamed did go on to win the title at Celtic, but injuries meant that he struggled to recapture the form of his debut season.
The left-back joined the Hoops in 2010 from Ecuadoran side Motagua. His first season was truly excellent. The player added an exciting attacking element to Celtic’s style of play, and he was extremely consistent in how he performed.
Celtic might have failed to win the league in Izaguirre’s first season at the club, but he did win the Scottish Cup and was named as Scotland’s player of the year by his fellow players and the football writers.
Sadly, at the start of his second season at the club, Izaguirre broke his ankle in a game against Aberdeen. That ruled him out for much of the 2011/12 season.
He returned to the side after missing the first-half of the season, and it has to be said that even though he performed well, Izaguirre wasn’t the same player after his injury. Still, he did win a number of honours with the Hoops before losing his place as first choice left-back to Kieran Tierney.
Izaguirre eventually left the Hoops after seven successful years to join Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia.
Perhaps unexpectedly, Izaguirre made a return to Celtic in 2018, signing a one year contract with the club. The player was mostly second choice to Tierney though, and he left Celtic after only a season, returning to Motagua.
All in all, Izaguirre’s time at Celtic was a success. He won 12 major honours during his time with the Hoops, including seven league titles.
He was a real fans’ favourite, and you can understand why, as he was a very exciting player who loved to get down the wing and attack.
It is just unfortunate that he suffered the ankle injury when he did. Izaguirre could have enjoyed an even better career if not for the injury which took away some of what made him so good.
The emergence of Kieran Tierney also affected his Hoops career, as Tierney was so good at such a young age that he was always going to break into the first-team eventually.
Despite the injury and Tierney taking his place in the side, Izaguirre should he remembered fondly by the Celtic support, as he really understood what the club was all about, as he played the kind of football that Celtic fans want to see.
He was one of the better players at the club during the run of nine titles in a row, and should be considered as one of the club’s best full-backs of the last 20 years.
