When the Japan World Cup squad was announced, we all expected our Japanese trio of Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi to be in the squad.
It was a no-brainer. All three of our players were in great form, Maeda’s was yo-yoing to be fair, and we all thought Kyogo was a stick-on to be selected.
After being overlooked by Hajime Moriyasu, Kyogo was clearly disappointed and many reasons were floated as to why he wasn’t selected but instead, it looked like Daizen Maeda was preferred over our 21-goal striker.
So as most of the fuss was centred around Kyogo and Maeda, Reo Hatate seemed to be forgotten about.
And here, the midfield general opens up on the heart-to-heart with Ange that has given Hatate the strength and determination to make sure he makes the next Worl Cup squad.
As reported by The Sun, Hatate revealed, “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.”
There are three things to come out of the Japan/World Cup scenario that has benefitted our club.
- Maeda has come back like a different player. His form has been incredible.
- Kyogo’s strike rate has been outstanding. He looks like a player trying to make a point to Moriyasu
- Hatate now has a long-term vision which will only improve his overall game.
Most Celtic fans agree that Hatate’s work in the final third can be a bit erratic. Overall, he is a superb player and if he just tightened up on that part of his game, he would be incredible.
Hard to believe he’s only been playing professional football for two years.