Few words better encompass Ange Postecoglou’s tenure at Celtic than “relentless”.
It’s a word used by opposition players to describe his side, and a word used by Harry Kewell on his arrival to describe the 57 year old himself.
Whilst it’s a word that could apply to a few in Postecoglou’s Celtic side, few embody it quite like Daizen Maeda.
The lightning-fast Japanese’s trademark pressuring of oppoisition defenders has become a staple of Postecoglou’s side, and he has rarely been left out when fit and available since his January move from Yokohama F. Marinos
Despite calls for Liel Abada and others to replace him in the side, the manager has stuck by the man who he has now signed twice, both for Marinos, and for Celtic, to great effect.
What Maeda lacks in Jota’s elegance and technical prowess or Abada’s instinctual positioning and runs into the box, he more than makes up for with his truly elite pressing and off-the-ball intelligence.
System is king in Postecoglou’s world, and Maeda is in many ways perfect example of this, a self-less, tireless cog in the Postecoglou machine, one who works both smart and hard.
The Japan international has began to put numbers on the board in terms of assists, too, following up two at Rugby Park a fortnight ago with a carbon copy square ball for Kyogo’s Kilmarnock opener for his fellow countryman’s opener against Hearts last week.
He can certainly be inelegant at times, his fresh-air swipe shortly after his assist against the Jambos was a reminder of this, but its a thoroughly worthwhile trade-off for what the 24 year old offers.
Though his contribution can often be difficult to quantify outwith advanced statistical analytics, his boundless application and hunger to hound full-backs into launching the ball long into Celtic territory or straight out for a throw is a vital tool in stopping opposition teams’ build-up at source.
His goalscoring is underrated, too – Maeda arrived with a J-League joint-top goalscorer award after scoring 23 goals for the season for Marinos. Though he’s yet to show his trademark Anpanman celebration yet this season, eight goals in 22 appearances in all competitions playing mostly from wide is no mean feat, and Maeda will surely get off the mark for this campaign soon, too.
Postecoglou has spoken before of his preference for distance from his players so as not to colour his judgement – his clear love of Maeda is for footballing reasons, rather than personal ones, he’s a manager who does his utmost to not pick favourites.
Maeda’s strengths will be absolutely essential if Celtic are to progress in Europe this season too, and he’ll almost certainly have a role to play in all six of Celtic’s Champions League group stage matches, should he remain fit.
It’ll be little surprise to see him rampaging down Celtic’s left from the start again tomorrow as the champions travel to Tannadice to take on Dundee United, looking for the three points that will take them back to the top of the Scottish Premiership.
In other news: “I have no plans to leave Celtic”; Matt O’Riley rebuffs transfer rumours
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