If there was ever any motivation for Celtic’s players to perform at the highest level this season it’s the promise of getting a start in the Champions League amongst Europe’s elite players.
Pulling on the green and white Hoops to start against the likes of Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion as the Champions League theme blares out is the stuff of footballing dreams.
So there should be no extra motivation required for Celtic’s players for the upcoming games against the Bundesliga giants and the current holders of the Europa League, Atalanta, right?
Wrong. Because Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda have just been handed a Japan gauntlet by Hajime Moriyasu after what he just said about Japanese players in the Champions League.
The Champions League ‘criterion’ for Celtic heroes
Kyogo has struggled to get a call-up for Japan recently and whilst Hatate and Maeda were both involved in the last international break, the due had mixed fortunes for Japan.
Maeda only featured for 27 minutes as a second-half substitute in a goalscoring win over China whilst Hatate never even made Moriuyasu’s matchday squad for both fixtures.
But now, the Japan boss has laid out the criteria of how he will select his squads this season and Champions League performances will count towards players making the grade.
Moriyasu said in Football Scotland, “We had 12 players – our highest-ever number – playing in the Champions League and I feel that Japan’s level has improved even further.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how Japanese players will fight to win the Champions League in the future. The level of opposition our players were up against last week isn’t everything, but it’s definitely something we look at as a criterion.
“So I only want to look at how well Japanese players can perform against teams that aim to win the Champions League.
“And we also look at how well Japanese national team candidates can perform in regular league matches against higher-ranked teams and more powerful teams in the world.”
Celtic’s busy calendar can benefit international hopefuls
The exposure Celtic get whilst playing in the Champions League is massive and it will help those with international aspirations to up their game.
As well as the Japanese trio, Auston Trusty will be hoping to add to his two caps for the USA as will Cameron Carter-Vickers who has been out in the cold of late.
Arne Engels’ fledgling Belgium career is likely to continue after his solid performance in the 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava.
Greg Taylor is also vying for a starting spot for Scotland as is veteran winger, James Forrest.
Paulo Bernardo will be looking to push into the senior Portugal squad and Luke McCowan will be hopeful of getting his first cap under Steve Clarke.
And we haven’t even mentioned Adam Idah whose international career at the Republic of Ireland is starting to flourish once more.
So there is plenty for Celtic’s players to motivate them in Europe’s top competition and if they can play to the levels that international football demands then that can only benefit and boost Celtic’s chances of getting out of the league phase this season.
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