Daizen Maeda marked his 100th appearance yesterday with an outstanding hattrick to send Celtic into the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
The Japan international had his shooting boots on and, if truth be told, he could have had at least another three if his finishing matched his movement.
And it was his movement that had BBC pundit, Rory Loy, singing his praises as he said that any young player in the game would learn from the ‘masterclass’ that Maeda delivered in Celtic’s win over Livingston.
Loy said [BBC Sportsound], “At 2-2, Livingston’s mindset seemed to change and they wanted to defend but Maeda’s movement, any young player watching this today in the stadium, watching a home watching the highlights later.
“When they’re at training, when they’re going through the motions or when the coach is going through the finer details of how to move, and how to get into the box and how to time your runs and things.
“And there’s a tendency when players are younger to switch off or get bored. But it’s so, so important in Maeda’s movement in the buildup play.
“We can see it because we are at the game, when the ball’s on the other side. It was a masterclass today. It really, really was.
“And that’s why he plays on the shoulder of the last defender. His little bit of movement gets him in front, he’s sharp and ultimately he’s got a tap in at the end there to seal his hat trick.
“Really, really good play from Maeda.”
As I told earlier, Maeda has been a superb signing for Celtic since his move in 2021. And it’s not just his movement that the Celtic youngsters could learn from.
Maeda’s pace, energy and constant pressing have been one of the main reasons why Celtic had been so successful over the past two seasons under Ange Postecoglou.
And whilst he can frustrate with his final ball and, ironically, with his composure in front of goal, there is no doubt that when we look back on his time at Celtic, it will be with a fondness for the amount of energy and effort he put into the cause whenever he pulled on the green and white Hoops.
In other news, ‘Delicious’… What Nicolas Kuhn did for Celtic vs Livingston that blew Stephen Craigan away
