Reo Hatate revealed he has been learning the lingo on the way to Celtic training to help him do his talking on the park. And the midfield dynamo revealed how boss Ange Postecoglou has told him what he must do improve after his World Cup snub.
The former Kawakasi Frontale man has been a revelation since moving to Glasgow a year ago, announcing his arrival in stunning fashion with screamers again Hearts and Rangers. But the 25-year-old was left gutted when his Parkhead heroics didn’t prove enough to land him a place at Qatar 2022.
That led to Hatate contemplating how he could get better - and Postecoglou gave him advice only for the Aussie to then credit the midfielder rather than accepting the praise himself. Hatate is learning all the time both on and off the park which starts with his journey to Lennoxtown.
Writing in his Sportiva diary, he said: “Then there are times when I feel like the year’s gone in the blink of an eye. I’ve got used to life in Glasgow and I’ve developed some habits on my way to and from the training ground.
“It takes about 30 to 40 minutes by car from my home and I spend my time studying English on the way. I take online lessons a few times a week and I am working on the assignments given there. Sometimes on the way home from training, I play my favourite music to refresh myself.
"Or I spend time thinking without any songs. Seeing a friend like Kaoru Mitoma show his strong individual skills at the World Cup with Japan made me reconsider my own strengths and what I need to improve. I knew the answer myself, but I knocked on the door of the manager at Celtic just to get confirmation.
“In order to grow further, I went in there to listen to the challenges. When I visited the room, he said, ‘What you need to improve further is your quality in the attacking third’. His words gave me confidence because I had been looking at the issue myself.
“At a press conference after the game, the manager told how I visit our coach after every game to review the video. Instead of revealing his own advice, he praised my efforts and the coach’s work. Such consideration and trust in the situation is where I can respect him as a manager and as a person.
“No matter where your position is, if you widen your range of play, you can appear in front of the goal. And by pursuing quality in the attacking third more, you can then get results. Now I’m thinking that it will become a weapon, a feature, and a strong part of my game.
“In the Champions League, the monsters of world football gather. Against Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, we are able to carry the ball to the box in games. But there was a difference in how we finished. We didn’t win a single match, and we were confronted with that final quality in front of goal.
“The number of times I appear in the attacking zones has increased this year, but you need to connect with a goal or an assist. Seeing how ace players like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe led their teams to victory with goals in the Qatar World Cup made me realise it all the more.”
“I have now faced my feelings about the World Cup in Qatar. On the day that the Japanese squad was announced, I was still in Scotland and could not see it live. Prior to that, I thought I wouldn’t be selected because I did not get a chance to participate in the last game before the announcement.
“However, when the members were announced and my name wasn’t there, I didn’t think, ‘As expected’. It was frustrating and when I returned to Japan after Celtic gave me time off, I didn’t watch our group games live. I did that to rest my body, as I had been playing a lot since July last year.
“But now that I’ve sorted out my feelings, looking back, I think that the reason I was tired was only half of it. The other half was frustration and I couldn’t honestly watch the games. As time passed, I was able to sort out my feelings, and I felt I had to watch Japan’s games.
“So when I got back to Glasgow, I reviewed all of the three group stage games again. Then I watched the Japan-Croatia match in the round of 16 live. I saw my former Kawasaki team-mate Kaoru Mitoma show his characteristics.
“The person I respected even more was Shogo Taniguchi, who prepared himself in the best possible way. He is a person who didn’t cut corners on post-match recovery, and always did what he was supposed to do.
“It’s easy to say that’s easy, but it’s never easy to do the obvious things, including preparation and care. Like Kaoru, he has always been careful with his diet and worked hard. When I saw Shogo on the pitch at the World Cup, I was reminded of the fact that if you can do everything you can, the accumulation of that leads to opportunities. As a result, there were many things I felt and learned from the Japan matches and I am using them now.”
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