Celtic have had an unbelievable season.
A league title and a league cup in the bag when no one had tipped them to win anything during this rebuild.
But Ange Postecoglou defied all the odds and along with his new brand of football, his signings have also helped to make Celtic champions of Scotland again.
More noteably, the boys from Japan.
Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi have all laid a solid marker for next season.
Their contributions in their maiden season not only bolstered Postecoglou’s squad, but also brought that silverware back to Paradise.
And that is off the back of playing full seasons in Japans top flight.
Reo Hatate openly admitted he was suffering from fatigue towards the end of this season and, to be fair, it was starting to show on the pitch.
He looked tired and leggy and no one can blame him.
Which is why this latest announcement from Dan Orlowitz, although disappointing at the same time, is still good news for the midfield dynamo:
MF/FW: Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Takuma Asano, Takumi Minamino, Kyogo Furuhashi, Hidemasa Morita, Daichi Kamada, Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maeda, Ritsu Doan, Ayase Ueda, Ao Tanaka, Takefusa Kubo
— Dan Orlowitz (@aishiterutokyo) May 20, 2022
No call up means a well earned rest for Hatate. Yes, I suppose it is disappointing to see him miss out on another international cap, but me with my selfish Celtic hat on? I am pleased he’s not in it.
I just wish that omission extended to Maeda and Kyogo as they could also have done with a break.
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