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Fullname: Reo Hatate
aka: Hatate Reo
Born: 21 November 1997
Birthplace: Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Signed: 1 January 2022 (from Kawakaki Frontale)
Left: –
Position: Utility Player, Attacking Midfielder
Debut: 2022-01-17: Celtic 2-0 Hibernian, League
Squad No.: 41
Internationals: Japan
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
Hatate arrived as an unknown commodity to the entire Celtic support. He was part of the new squad building under Ange Postecoglou who brought in a trip of Japanese players after the recent success of Kyogo.
Before he arrived, the Spanish legendary player (and now at Vissel Kobe) Andres Iniesta said in an interview that a player who can lead a team to victory is a good player, and then he named two players in J-league: Ao Tanaka and Reo Hatate. This was filmed before Hatate transferred to Celtic.
As a player he was mostly played in an attacking role to support the front strikers, most often using his pace & guile to compensate for lack of bulk & height. He was an intelligent player with good skill & footwork, with an eye for goal when given an opportunity. He also wasn’t afraid to make a tackle, so really was quite an all rounder.
He had an an incredible debut which likely heightened expectations too far. Reo Hatate and fellow countryman Daizen Maeda endeared themselves to the Celtic support with the former earning man of the match and the latter opening the scoring against Hibs after only a few mins in a 2-0 win. Hatate bossed the field and changed the entire tempo of the game! He then showed his quality with a scorcher of a long range goal v Hearts in a 2-1 win.
He soon scored a wonderful double in a key league match v Sevco in 3-0 win in February 2022, and everyone realised that Celtic had a steal on their hands. That match was a major moment that took Celtic ahead in the league title race and changed the full momentum of the season.
However without much of a summer break and a transition period his form slipped although his effort could never be faulted. He was still regularly played but he was struggling to match that initial form, partly due as he admitted from ‘emotional and physical fatigue’. Nevertheless, a key player that season and he was clearly developing with the manager very confident in his ability.
His second season was a seminal period, and he was arguably the most consistent player as Celtic sealed the domestic treble. He was instrumental in creating assists and attacks that pushed Celtic all way. Often a driving force in the side but also a defensive bulwark too.
He also scored some great goals too. One piece of magic with his footwork scoring a sublime goal in a 4-0 win over Motherwell (Oct 2022) brought him universal praise and demonstrated his talent. If anything he was to many the key player from the contingent of Japanese players at Celtic. He may have been inexplicably overlooked for the Japan squad for the World Cup in Qatar, but that was their loss.
His professionalism, teamwork ethic, humility and dedication made him a model player to all. Even when Iwata came into the side, Hatate was the main man.
He was also overshadowed at Celtic that season by his fellow countryman Kyogo and by McGregor, but many rated Hatate even more highly. As an indicator of this, it was reported that Hatate was identified as the top priority for Postecoglou when he moved onto Spurs.
Brendan Rodgers era
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Quotes
“About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, the rest is covered by Reo Hatate”
@fitzy_072 on Twitter (Feb 2022)
“After my transfer, I realized how fortunate I am to be able to play on a pitch in front of 60,000 supporters. I think athletes can shine because of the energy from the fans. I had goosebumps when I stood on the pitch of Celtic’s stadium for the first time.”
Reo Hatate
“I *really* want to see is those Hatate highlights because I’m seeing nothing but praise for him in my mentions. As we told y’all, you have gotten a gem.”
Dan Orlowitz (Japanese football journalist, 2022)
Playing Career
[Table to indicate clubs played for, including dates, transfers and fees where known [e.g. soccerbase table]]
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2021-22 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| 2022-23 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| Total | |||||
| Goals |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours are marked below in which the player has played in at least one of the matches in the campaign.)
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Pictures
Forums
Articles
Links
Notes
- The standard in the Far East is for the surname to come first, so note you may see in various reports his name written as Hatate Reo, but in Europe it is formally put as Reo Hatate. Hatate is the surname.
Articles
Celtic delighted to welcome three new signings
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/december/31/celtic-delighted-to-welcome-three-new-signings/
Celtic Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of three exciting new players from the Japanese J League.
Daizen Maeda from Yokohama F. Marinos, Yosuke Ideguchi from Gamba Osaka and Reo Hatate from Kawasaki Frontale will all be registered with Celtic in early January, subject to the usual conditions and international clearance.
DAIZEN MAEDA
The 24-year-old forward is reuniting with Ange Postecoglou at Celtic, having previously played under the manager at Yokohama F. Marinos. He had originally joined Yokohama F. Marinos on loan in August 2020 following a previous loan spell with Maritimo in the Portuguese league, and by the end of the season had impressed Ange Postecoglou enough that the deal became a permanent one. And in the 2021 season, Daizen Maeda was joint top scorer in the J-League with 23 goals as Yokohama F. Marinos finished second and qualified for the AFC Champions League. He was also named in the J-League Best XI of the 2021 season and has been capped twice for the Japan national side. Daizen will join Celtic initially on loan but with a compulsory purchase clause included, meaning he will be with Celtic on a permanent basis from the summer on a long-term deal.
YOSUKE IDEGUCHI
The 25-year-old midfielder began his career with Gamba Osaka, having come through their youth academy, and made his first-team debut in 2014. He spent a further four years with the club, winning the prestigious J-League ‘Rookie of the Year’ award in 2016, and it is from the same club that he joins Celtic, having re-signed for them back in 2019. In the intervening period, Yosuke Udeguchi joined Leeds United, before going out on loan, first to Cultural Leonesa in Spain and then Greuther Fürth in Germany. Yosuke Ideguchi has also been capped 15 times for Japan, scoring two goals for his country. He joins Celtic Football club on a four and a half year contract
REO HATATE
The versatile 24-year-old, who can play in a number of position, joins Celtic from Kawasaki Frontale, having helped them win the J-League for the second successive year. He was also named in the J-League Best XI of the 2021 season alongside his new Celtic team-mate, Daizen Maeda. Reo Hatate was also selected to represent Japan at the recent Olympic Games, held in the summer in Japan. And he helped his country reach the last four of the tournament, though they lost out in the bronze medal match to Mexico. Reo will also be joining Celtic on a 4 and a half year contract.
It is hoped all players will be joining up with the Celtic squad across the next few days.
A delighted Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou, said: “We are really pleased to bring in these guys to Celtic and I think they are players who will excite our fans.
“I think in bringing all three to the club we are bringing even more quality, personality and energy to the squad to work with the players who have done so well for us already this season.”
“Clearly I am well aware of their attributes and I think in bringing all three to the club we are bringing even more quality, personality and energy to the squad to work with the players who have done so well for us already this season.
“They are all really at the peak of their careers, ambitious to achieve more success and I am sure at this particular time we will be getting their best years. I am delighted to have secured these players so early in the transfer window, I look forward to working with them and myself, my backroom team and the rest of the squad will be making sure we help them settle into Celtic as quickly as possible.”
Everyone at Celtic joins Ange in welcoming these new players to the Club.
‘He only came out of university at 22 but will go back into sheds’: Ange Postecoglou explains evolution of his new Celtic talisman
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou hailed the evolution of his midfielder Reo Hatate – but said he “will go back into the sheds” after beating himself up over a slack pass that led to Callum McGregor’s red card in the 2-1 win over Motherwell.
By Mark Atkinson
Saturday, 1st October 2022, 6:23 pm
The 24-year-old fired home the winning goal from outside the penalty box after a corner-kick routine on an afternoon when Celtic struggled to kill off their visitors.
A bizarre own goal from Josip Juranovic cancelled out Kyogo Furuhashi’s opener and Celtic ended the match with ten men after McGregor hauled down Ross Tierney when through on goal following Hatate’s misplaced pass.
Nevertheless, Postecoglou was impressed with his player’s efforts.
“He was good today,” said the manager. “He was unlucky first half with his strike as well [that hit the post].
“Reo’s developing well, he’s a player who has still got a hell of a lot of potential.
“I try to explain to people his background, like a lot of Japanese players he only came out of university at 22. He’s only really been a professional footballer for three-odd years.
“So, I kind of knew after the impact he had in his first year as a professional that if it was his base line he was going to improve.”
On the red-card incident, Postecoglou revealed: “He’s pretty hard on himself, he pushes himself, he wants to be better.
“So, there’s a lot more to come.
“He’ll be disappointed with his pass late today which sort of created the red-card situation.
“So, he’ll go back in the sheds and think of how he can better.
“But Reo’s got great potential and he was good today.”
On the match itself, Postecoglou commented: “It should’ve been a lot more comfortable than it was.
“We started well and first half we created some really good opportunities.
“But we had good chances, we usually are pretty good at putting away. We just lacked that clinical edge, we usually have it.
“It doesn’t reflect our dominance in the game.
“We give them a goal which gives them some encouragement and then we had to work hard second half.”
Brendan Rodgers lifts lid on special Reo Hatate Celtic coaching session as Japanese shines in win over Kilmarnock
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/brendan-rodgers-lifts-lid-on-special-reo-hatate-celtic-coaching-session-as-japanese-shines-in-win-over-kilmarnock-4363838
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers revealed how a personal one-to-one coaching clinic with Reo Hatate helped bring out the best in the Japanese midfielder.
By Graeme Macpherson
Published 7th Oct 2023, 18:07 BST
Updated 7th Oct 2023, 18:07 BST
Hatate scored Celtic’s first goal in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock and claimed an inadvertent assist for the second, scored by Luis Palma, in a man-of-the-match performance. Rodgers felt it was the first time that Hatate had “come alive for me” and hoped the player would continue to operate with that conviction.
He said: “I went through things with him the other day. If he wants to get to the highest level, there needs to be more intensity in his game. I took him through clips of his game, all without the ball. If you press the game well you will pass it well. But he took it on board, was very open and produced a fantastic performance today. That’s the level, you can’t switch the engine on and off.
“At the highest level against the best players, you have to turn up every week. That’s the challenge for him. He’s not young, he’s 25, but at that level of intensity, everything else is then natural for him. It’s my job as a coach to help him stay at that level. This was the first game that Reo has come alive for me. He has to press the game and when he is at that level, then he is intense with the ball. He scored a brilliant goal and he was superb.”
The victory sees Celtic stretch their lead at the top to seven points and Rodgers praised his players’ response following the disappointment of the Champions League loss to Lazio. He added: “I’m really pleased with the performance today off the back of the game during the week. We could all touch the pain of that result because our display didn’t merit it. But it’s about how you respond. You grieve for 24 hours, I sensed it from everyone, the players and the supporters. But you need to show strength of mentality to get back to winning again. We showed that today because we switched back to perform well today. The players deserve credit for that.”