Daizen Meada got his sixth goal of the season so far in Dortmund on Tuesday night with the Celtic support able to enjoy the celebrations for less than a minute.
He also scored a brilliant goal last weekend at Perth before an astonishing VAR intervention found a reason to disallow it. Daizen wasn’t to be denied though as he found the back of the net in the second half.
He’s scored six goals this season and three in the last three matches so the Celtic striker is on course for his best ever season in the Hoops as he builds up his argument for winning a place in the Japan squad for the World Cup. That’s hardly likely to be in doubt as long as he remains fit and in the best form of his career.
Daizen recognises that his goals are needed to help the Celtic team and is happy that he is now delivering on a more regular basis. In his final season at Yokohoma F.Marinos, before Ange Postecoglou brought him to Celtic, Maeda scored 23 goals in 40 games, something that would do just fine for Brendan Rodgers this season.
“When I was playing for Marinos, I was top goal scorer in that season – and I have a similar feeling compared to that,” the 26-year-old Celtic star said, via Daily Record.
“Hopefully I can get as many goals as I can. There will, of course, be some period in the season when I can’t score. It will definitely come. I have to be patient in those moments and try to get opportunities to help the team.
“I’m not overly thinking about numbers in terms of goals or assists. The most important thing is to contribute to the team winning. But if my numbers go up, it would be great. The most important thing, though, is the team.
“I think if I keep playing like this, scoring and assisting in every game, the numbers will definitely go beyond when I have done in previous seasons here.
“The numbers have been few for me and I want to get as many goals as I can. If the team is playing well, that’s the biggest thing for me.”
Daizen was asked if his goalscoring exploits takes the burden off the two main Celtic strikers Kyogo and Adam Idah. “I don’t know if my goals take something off the strikes. But other players think the same way as me – to help the team. I’m not really a player who provides leadership to the team, but I do try to lead in how I play. That’s the way I try to take responsibility on the pitch.”
On the shocking VAR overrule for his volleyed goal last weekend up at McDiarmid Park that apparently was a foul after a St Johnstone player ran into Auston Tusty, Maeda admitted that this was annoying for him.
“I was frustrated at the time, but I got a goal in the end,” the winger admitted. “Now I have the feeling I can score in every game. I can’t really carry the frustration of the goal being cancelled after I scored another one.”
Celtic are in Dingwall this morning for the midday kick-off against Ross County and Maeda recognises the challenge in the Highlands is even tougher after Celtic’s exploits in Germany in midweek.
“Obviously we have a tiredness as we travel a lot – but you can’t use it as an excuse,” Daizen said. “We need to perform well on Sunday, especially after Tuesday night. We know our supporters also travel in numbers to all of these games.
“We have a lot of supporters coming to the game again on Sunday. We have to make them happy and make them smile. We have started training and preparing for that game and we can’t carry the result from Tuesday with us. We always focus on the next game straight away.
“Regardless of what people say, we must focus on that next performance. We must try to be dominant again, the way we have been this season,” Maeda added.
After the game in Dingwall Daizen will head with his Celtic teammate Reo Hatate to join up with the Japan squad for the crucial matches against Saudi Arabia and Australia as Daizen looks to help get Japan through to the next World Cup.
“If I look at my career, playing in a World Cup finals would be amazing,” the Celtic star said. “It’s all going to be down to how I play at club level. I need to do my best at Celtic in every single game. After that, it is my main focus. Can this Japan squad qualify for the World Cup? Yes!”
Strangely Kyogo seems to be completely out of the picture as far as the Japan national side are concerned.
