Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate has admitted that the agony of not being selected for Japan’s World Cup squad is helping drive his fantastic performances for Celtic.
The 25-year-old was left out of Hajime Moriyasu’s side along with fellow Hoops star Kyogo Furuhashi as Daizen Maeda was the only player selected from Ange Postecoglou’s side.
That came as a shock to many Celtic fans who thought that there could have been a chance that all three individuals were selected for the tournament.
Hatate has admitted that he was left feeling gutted after the squad was announced that he couldn’t bring himself to watch his national team live at the World Cup.
“I have now faced my feelings about the World Cup in Qatar,” said Hatate as quoted by the [Scottish Sun].
“On the day that the Japanese squad was announced, I was still in Scotland and could not see it live.
“Prior to that, I thought I wouldn’t be selected because I did not get a chance to participate in the last game before the announcement.
“However, when the members were announced and my name wasn’t there, I didn’t think, ‘As expected’.
“It was frustrating and when I returned to Japan after Celtic gave me time off, I didn’t watch our group games live.
“I did that to rest my body, as I had been playing a lot since July last year.
14th January 2023; Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland: Scottish Viaplay Cup Football Semi Final, Celtic versus Kilmarnock; Reo Hatate of Celtic fires in a long range shot
“But now that I’ve sorted out my feelings, looking back, I think that the reason I was tired was only half of it.
“The other half was frustration and I couldn’t honestly watch the games.
“As time passed, I was able to sort out my feelings, and I felt I had to watch Japan’s games.
“So when I got back to Glasgow, I reviewed all of the three group stage games again.
“Then I watched the Japan-Croatia match in the round of 16 live.
“I saw my former Kawasaki team-mate Kaoru Mitoma show his characteristics.
“The person I respected even more was Shogo Taniguchi, who prepared himself in the best possible way.
“He is a person who didn’t cut corners on post-match recovery, and always did what he was supposed to do.
“It’s easy to say that’s easy, but it’s never easy to do the obvious things, including preparation and care.
“Like Kaoru, he has always been careful with his diet and worked hard.
“When I saw Shogo on the pitch at the World Cup, I was reminded of the fact that if you can do everything you can, the accumulation of that leads to opportunities.
“As a result, there were many things I felt and learned from the Japan matches and I am using them now.”
Since some of his teammates have arrived back from the World Cup, they have been in fine form but Hatate has now had a chance to reflect and kick-on himself.
Celtic are still competing in three competitions this season and he will want to end the season on a high.
His performances have been first class as he picks up pockets of space which are just a nightmare for other players to defend against.
Even though Hatate isn’t too young, the manager has admitted that he is only going to get better in time to come.
Due to the system in Japan, the former Kawasaki Frontale star has only been playing professional football for a few years meaning that he will continue to develop which he is keen to do.
