After nine Premiership games without a goal Daizen Maeda was finding it tough at Celtic.
His contribution off the ball to Ange Postecoglou ’s team has never been in doubt. There are few players in Scotland’s top flight who put in a bigger shift than the Japanese wide player. But the 25-year-old admits he needed help in a bid to discover his goalscoring form again.
And it came in the shape of Parkhead coach Harry Kewell. Maeda is in Qatar with his national squad for the World Cup, gutted that club-mates Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate aren’t with him. But in contrast to the start of the campaign, he’s arrived at the tournament bang in form, having scored three goals in five matches for Celtic. Maeda accepts that something wasn’t right earlier this season. And that’s where Kewell earned his wages. The former Liverpool and Leeds winger was brought in by Postecoglou for situations like that.
His personal, one-to-one sessions with Maeda have worked a treat. So much so, the Japanese ace says he’s NEVER encountered a coach quite like the Aussie. As he reflected on the last few months at Celtic, the former Yokohama Marinos player said: “Yes, I had some difficult weeks and months at the start of this season. But thankfully, I’ve had good support from our coaching staff at Celtic. I’ve been working on it with them and I really appreciate what they’re doing for me. All the coaches have supported me but especially Harry.
“He has been sharing his experiences with me and we’ve been watching videos together. We’ve been having sessions together and it has helped me a lot. During my pro career, indeed my whole time in football, I have never met a coach like Harry.
“It’s thanks to him that I’m really enjoying my football again and also improving my skills. It’s down to Harry that I started to change my approach at Celtic and I’m now performing better. That’s thanks to Harry. He is very good at establishing relationships with players.
“He can verbalise clearly my good points and bad points. We’ll then sit and watch videos and he’ll explain to me where I can be better or what I need to do. It’s a really good situation for me. And it’s because of that, I’m really enjoying my football now at Celtic.”
Maeda made an immediate impact at Parkhead when he arrived from the J-League initially on loan in January. He scored on his debut against Hibs and, in the summer, he signed a four-year permanent deal for around just £1.6million. Given that he’s in Japan’s squad for the World Cup ahead of Kyogo and Hatate, it’s been an incredible bit of business by Postecoglou.
Maeda now feels settled in Glasgow and is determined to build on his club form when he returns from Qatar by helping Celtic to more trophies. But for now, he’s got the daunting prospect of facing Spain and Germany in Group E at the World Cup.
Maeda said: “In the months I’ve been at Celtic, I think I’ve fitted in well. I just have to keep doing my best and try to hit the team’s targets this season. But I’m now at the World Cup and my focus has to be on these games. Hopefully I will still have plenty of energy left for the Celtic games when I come back but I’m not thinking too much about that right now. Once I finish with Japan, my focus will return to Celtic.
“Celtic and the national team have very different playing styles so I need to adjust my game here. It puts different demands on me mentally and physically – but I need to do it to play well. I think we have chances in this group. The first game against Germany will be very important for us.
“We are targeting a victory in that game and hopefully that will put us in a good rhythm for the rest of the tournament.”
While Maeda is delighted to be taking part in the greatest show on earth, he’s disappointed that neither Kyogo or Hatate are alongside him in Qatar. A few more of his team-mates are at the tournament representing different countries.
And he’s revealed that he’d love to come up against either Cameron Carter- Vickers’ USA, Josip Juranovic’s Croatia or Aaron Mooy’s Australia in the latter stages of the World Cup.
Maeda said: “I’m just excited to be in Qatar for the World Cup. Do I have sympathy for Kyogo and Reo? Yes, I feel sorry for them both. It’s a shame they’re not at the World Cup but I will do my best on behalf of them in Qatar.
“All of the Celtic players who are here are in different groups so I think we will be wanting each other to do well. Hopefully Japan can qualify and I’ll get a chance to play against them in the later rounds. It would be very exciting to make it through the group stage and come up against one of my Celtic team-mates.”
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