He’s the one guy who looks like he NEVER needs a rest. Daizen Maeda is Celtic’s very own Japanese Duracell with his all-action, high-intensity displays every week.
And on Wednesday night in the Champions League, he once again provided the spark they needed to salvage a draw against Club Brugge and keep their Euro charge going. Maeda never stops. And he’s revealed that – even in his down time – he takes his daughter Soyo and son Tensei to a soft-play activity centre! But the 27-year-old Hoops wide man might need a break eventually. Brendan Rodgers’ side are now entering a critical part of the season with a punishing schedule ahead.
In the space of 11 days, Celtic face four matches which could go a long way to defining their campaign. In midweek, they face nearest challengers Aberdeen at Pittodrie, before a Premiership clash with Hibs at Parkhead. Next up, it’s Dinamo Zagreb away in the Champions League when Rodgers’ players will know a victory in Croatia could all but seal a play-off spot at least.
A few days after that Euro away test, they’ll be at Hampden for an Old Firm Premier Sports Cup Final against Rangers aiming to secure the first piece of silverware in their quest for a domestic Treble. Maeda’s game is all about energy and the Japan international is adamant he DOESN’T want to be left out of his manager’s line-up.
But with squad players like James Forrest, Yang, Luis Palma, Paulo Bernardo, Luke McCowan and Adam Idah all itching to play – he expects Rodgers to rotate. And Maeda says it’ll be over the next few weeks when everyone sees Celtic’s true strength in depth.
He’s convinced the fringe men will come to the fore and really prove their worth as the champions begin to motor over the festive period. Maeda said: “No club who plays this many games can possibly go with the same starting 11 every time.
“So it’s up to whoever is picked to prove themselves – because we always need to win. Personally, I want to play every game, so it’s up to me to recover as well as possible and hopefully I will start.
“But strong teams have players who can step up and show themselves. We are that kind of team and I am sure we have guys who can do this over the tough period ahead.
“Regardless of the opposition or the competition, we just have to win the next game and then keep winning. We can think of who comes next when we win the next one.”
Maeda is renowned for his running power and seemingly endless stamina during games. He never gives defenders a minute’s peace and has already hit double figures for goals this season – including two in the Champions League.
So how does the man who never stands still actually relax? Incredibly, Maeda says when he gets a day off he hits the soft place with his kids. He said: “How do I recover? By playing with my kids. After a lot of games I take them to soft play centres and that refreshes me. Maybe I have a different way of relaxing from the others – but it works for me.”
Maeda scored his 10th goal of the campaign against the Belgian champions in midweek, which could prove vital to their qualification hopes. Celtic were second best to Brugge for long spells in the game and did well to escape with a point.
Maeda insists they’ll learn from the experience as they look to progress in the competition. Ahead of their trip to Pittodrie in midweek, he said: “Every goal is important to me but this was such a big game that it felt really good.“As a team, in the first half we didn’t perform and the fans got frustrated.
“So it was a difficult time but then we got the goal and the point – and we all felt better. Champions League games are the most difficult and we always learn lessons from them.
“This one was the same and it’s all about experience. One point in any Champions League game is a good point. We have to focus on the next one now and take on board what happened against Brugge.”
Despite the Belgians’ dominance, it took an own goal to breach Celtic’s defence. Cameron Carter-Vickers ’ uncharacteristic mistake gave the visitors a lead, which resulted in an impromptu Celtic huddle before the restart.
The Japanese forward backed his centre-half to recover quickly – and continue to be a pivotal player at Parkhead. He said: “Cameron has been a leader for this team and he will keep being so.
“What happened to him was not only his fault, it was the team and we will all take part of the responsibility. In the time I have been here, we have never had a huddle as we did after the goal.
“But we are disciplined and it showed how much we wanted to win the game. It was a good gesture in a difficult moment.”