He’s gone from playing university football in Japan to the Champions League in the space of three years.
And Ange Postecoglou believes that in another 12 months, Reo Hatate will have taken his game to another level altogether. The 24-year-old midfielder has been outstanding for Celtic since he arrived from Kawasaki Frontale last December. This midweek, Hatate will be a vital cog in the engine room at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid to cap a meteoric rise.
But Postecoglou says there’s more to come from him. On Tuesday night against Shakhtar in the Champions League, he covered every blade of grass at Parkhead. In a midfield two with Matt O’Riley, there was a huge onus on them without Callum McGregor in a Postecoglou shape that demanded a power of work. At times, when Hatate tried to play forward passes that were cut out, there were groans from the crowd. But the Celtic manager says the Japanese’s character will ensure he never stops trying them.
Postecoglou has been delighted with Hatate’s development in the last year, especially when you consider where he’s come from. And he’s convinced that by this time in 2023, he’ll be even better. The Celtic gaffer said: “How far he can go in the game is up to Reo. But he works so hard on his game and is very motivated.
“The thing about Reo is that he never loses self-belief. You saw that on Tuesday night. If he makes a mistake, he just gets on with it. He goes again and tries to be as creative as he can. We encourage that, we give players licence to be brave with their passing and running. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, especially at Champions League level.
“But they know we won’t be critical internally, irrespective of what’s going on externally, because we want them to be the best they can be. The only way they’ll get there is by being brave and courageous, instead of making safe passes all the time.
“I know that we’ve got some talented young footballers who want to improve and they’re not afraid of tackling the best. Reo and Matt have been outstanding. In just 12 months, they’ve taken their game to a level where they’re competitive against the best.
“And in another 12 months, I’m sure you’ll see another level in them. Both of them have been great for us. It’s their first time playing in Europe. So to perform at this level motivates them to come back and make an even bigger impact.”
The same goes for Celtic as a whole in the Champions League. They’ve had more plaudits than points in Group F so far, having picked up just two draws against Shakhtar along the way. They’ve performed admirably. But Postecoglou knows even an impressive display against the holders in Spain won’t satisfy everyone.
He said: “Some people just look at the scoreboard and that’s their only measure. I don’t know why half of them go to games. Because their only analysis around the whole game is, ‘They won, they lost’ and that’s it. We know, internally, what’s important. If we play our football against one of the best club sides in the world away from home it will give us more belief and fuel to come back next year and put on stronger performances.
“I’ve said from the outset that we want to test ourselves and that’s what we’ll do next week against Madrid. In every Champions League game we’ve played, people can’t say we didn’t try to play our football. We’ve stuck true to our beliefs and have fallen short.
“We understand that but it doesn’t mean we’ll change our approach. The way forward for us to improve is to continually test ourselves against the best and improve areas we’re short in.” You might think leading his team out at the Bernabeu would be a milestone moment for Postecoglou.
A chance to show every young Australian coach what can be achieved if you set your heart on it. But in contrast to his team’s style of play, the Celtic boss is more pragmatic. He’ll enjoy the Tony Macaroni stadium at Livingston today as much as going to Madrid – and says that’s the best example he can set.
Postecoglou said: “If people think I’m not excited or up for Livingston on Sunday, they don’t know me. That’s what I love about football. Every game is an opportunity to achieve something whether it’s at Livingston or in the Bernabeu. I don’t take any game of football for granted, I never have.
“At some point, it’ll all finish for me and I won’t have any ground to go to. That’s when you realise that every game is special. I guess it shows them [Australian coaches] that there’s some sort of pathway there and they can achieve those things.
“But it’s not easy. Just being Australian won’t get them there. It’s not what has got me here. Hopefully we’ll get to a point that where you come from doesn’t really matter.”
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