Is the Japanese national coach toying with Celtic players at this point?

For many Celtic fans, international breaks bring more frustration than excitement. It’s not that we dislike our players representing their countries, but there’s always the fear they’ll come back injured after playing for a cause that isn’t Celtic’s.

It’s a tough pill to swallow when a player returns from international duty only to miss crucial games at Celtic Park—through no fault of the club.

I’m one of the few who, despite disliking international weeks, actually takes pride in our players getting called up. It’s an honor to play for one’s country and a nod to Celtic and the Scottish Premiership when our players are chosen. Yet, there’s one exception for me: players going to represent Japan.

As regular readers will know, I have serious concerns about how Japan’s national coach views Celtic and the Scottish league. It feels as if he has little respect for our competition and even less for some of our players. Daizen Maeda is the only one who seems to get genuine recognition—though even this coach can’t afford to ignore his talent.

Kyogo, however, continues to be overlooked by the Japan manager, which really raises questions about his talent assessment. Meanwhile, Reo Hatate is being flown halfway across the world with seemingly little purpose—a frustrating situation for both the player and the club.

The Japan coach’s approach has become a recurring issue for Celtic, almost as if he’s unsettling our players simply because he can. While I’d prefer our players didn’t feel the need to join him, I understand why they do. Playing for Japan is a tremendous honor, and no player would easily give that up.

Celtic would never attempt to prevent them from joining the national team, as that would be seen as a major insult. Still, respect should go both ways, and there’s little respect shown in how the Japan coach is handling things.

Take Hatate, for example. This time, his trip appears almost pointless, yielding little benefit for his game. Celtic can’t be pleased with the situation, and Hatate himself seems to be keeping a brave face, though it’s evident he’s not thrilled about the ordeal.

At least he’s being selected—unlike Kyogo, who’s been oddly ignored for some time now. I can’t help but think Hatate will be relieved when this particular manager no longer controls his international future.

When we started recruiting from Asia, we anticipated challenges. The grueling travel schedules and international duties can disrupt our season, as we saw with the Asian Cup. Last year, the coach’s choice to leave Kyogo out worked to our advantage, but another year, it could backfire. Still, without our Asian players, we’d be a weaker side, and that’s the trade-off we accept.

Still, it’s a real gamble. With so many key players from that region, complications are inevitable—issues we rarely face with Europe-based players. That’s why some of us feel a bit relieved that Hatate, despite these long-haul trips, isn’t actually playing. At least this lowers his injury risk.

But no one can convince me that flying halfway across the world for training alone is risk-free, because it’s absolutely not.

For Hatate, I’d honestly prefer he wasn’t selected at all under this manager. If you’re going to subject players to grueling travel, then either play them or don’t bother. I’m sure Hatate feels the same—these trips must feel exhausting, draining, and ultimately pointless, which is bound to affect his performances for us.

As I mentioned, I’m not someone who thinks all our players should skip international duty. Generally, I’m pleased when they’re called up, even if they don’t always play. But this situation with Japan feels different. It’s hard to ignore the sense that this coach is deliberately messing us around. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if our players decided to sit out while he’s in charge. It’s doing them no good.

Source: https://thecelticblog.com/2024/10/articles-and-features/is-the-japanese-national-coach-just-messing-the-celtic-players-around-now/