OFF EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE
Japan legend claimed Maeda’s bad ON the ball but Taylor says Celts pal’s one of best in world it
DAIZEN MAEDA may have been dealt a brutal put down for his ability on the ball by one of his country’s most famous players.
But Celtic team-mate Greg Taylor insists when it comes to qualities OFF it, the Hoops have one of the best in the world.
Maeda’s non-stop workrate and pressing has seen him dubbed the ‘Duracell Bunny’ at Parkhead.
And even though Taylor reckons the Japan ace likes to recharge his batteries during the week, he says his energy on matchday is vital to powering Celtic’s charge into the business end of a frenetic title race.
Maeda was the only member of the Japanese contingent at Celtic Park to get the call for international duty this week and played a full 90 minutes as the Samurai Blue defeated North Korea 1-0 in yesterday’s World Cup qualifier.
But he was hardly given the warmest of welcomes home when former Japan hero Marcus Tanaka called for him to be dumped and branded him “terrible with the ball”.
Taylor though is adamant there is no way he’d ever be undervalued among his colleagues in the east end of Glasgow.
He said: “Not within this building and certainly not by me.
“I’m Daizen’s biggest fan and I’ll never under-appreciate him as a player.
“He’s a breath of fresh air, he works ever so hard for the team and is always willing to do that bit more. His pressing, he’s genuinely one of the best at pressing in the world.
“His presses and his numbers are right up there.
“In training I actually think he recharges the battery through the week at times!
“There’s a couple of days out there where you think Daizen’s just getting ready for the weekend, and sure enough, when the weekend comes, he normally doesn’t stop.
“That’s a good way to be, he knows his body.”
Earlier in the season Maeda was clocked as the fourth quickest player in the entire
Champions League after scurrying around at 35.6km/h.
But there’s more than just being a pest to opposition defenders that sets the Hoops hassler apart.
A first hat-trick in Scotland as Livingston were dumped out of the Scottish Cup a fortnight ago suggested he was hitting top form in front of goal at the right time of the season too.
Whether that’s down to his new hairdo is anyone’s guess. But Taylor said: “He said he was growing it for his daughter, so that’s quite a nice touch and it’s worked for him, he’s notched a
few goals since! He’s got many strengths and adding goals to his game will only improve him.
“Our relationship is really good, you can see that going back through the last few seasons, we work really well together.
“His strengths complement mine really well and it’s a relationship that’s been pretty strong.
“He’s been on the left, he’s been on the right, he’s been playing up front at times as has happened this season but that’s part and parcel and it’s nice to have that relationship back.”
If Maeda is a key man for the
Hoops launching into the final leg of the title race then Joe Hart is providing a solid platform at the back.
The veteran keeper has already revealed he will hang the gloves up in the summer.
And Taylor – who dubbed the 36-year-old one of England’s greatest-ever goalies – is determined to ensure he goes out a champion.
He said: “Harty has been a massive part of our success in the last few years.
“He’s great on the pitch and an amazing guy off it. We want to finish it the right way for him. But that is just one of many reasons. We want to give the supporters a trophy to celebrate and you also want to do it for yourself and your personal pride.
“We also want to do it for the manager as you know the sacrifices he makes and the belief he has in us as a squad.
“But doing it for Joe is also one of them. Joe is the perfect professional.
“He’s always willing to put an arm around a player if he needs it and if someone needs a bit of firing up, he is there as well. He really reads every situation well and carries himself like the top professional that he is.
“How humble he is after everything he has done in the game is unbelievable. He’s arguably one of England’s greatest goalkeepers, Man City’s as well.”
Hart has turned the clock back with a string of huge saves at key times.
Taylor added: “He has been massive. Certainly since Christmas, it’s been picked up on some of the massive saves that Harty has made for us.
“That has been pretty consistent throughout his time here, he’s made big saves when he’s been needed and we’ll miss him of course when he goes.”