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Fullname: Harry Kewell
Born: 22 September 1978
Role: Celtic First Team Coach
Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
Started: 18 June 2022
End: 31 December 2023
Biog
On his arrival at Celtic, he was seen as finally some new blood in the coaching staff. There had been rumblings over the years about the perceived boys club mentality at Celtic, and even though Postecoglu had arrived as manager at Celtic, he had kept with the general system. Kewell was seen as a break to this system although not necessarily anything revolutionary.
As a player, Kewell had made a good name for himself at clubs like Liverpool, Galatasaray & Leeds and helped to boost the reputation of footballers from Down Under.
After hanging up his playing boots, he moved into management, and admittedly his record was overall poor. However at Celtic he had a new chance in coaching alongside Postecoglu who had now well settled in but wished to take Celtic up a few notches.
Harey Kewell arrived at a buoyant Celtic in the summer of 2023, and he settled in quickly at a Celtic who were in command in the league. Initial reports on Kewell’s contributions were positive with notably Maeda highly praising Kewell. The benefits paid off in the World Cup with a Maeda inspired Japan shocking everyone finishing top of their group after wins v Germany and Spain!
“It’s thanks to him that I’m really enjoying my football again and also improving my skills. It’s down to Harry that I started to change my approach at Celtic and I’m now performing better. That’s thanks to Harry. He is very good at establishing relationships with players.” Maeda
He supported the squad as they went on to win the domestic treble. Postecoglou though left in June 2023, but Kewell remained at Celtic to work under Brendan Rodgers, and players continued to publicly praise his contribution to their development.
After Celtic sealed a well deserved 2-1 victory over Sevco in the annual New Year’s Derby (actually 30 Dec 2023 this time), Kewell left the next for the J League to take over from ex-Rangers player Muscat (who at one time was rumoured for a coaching role at Celtic under Postecoglou).
We wished him the best.
Quotes
“We will be aiming to give our fans more of the same going forward and I look forward to playing my part in bringing this to our supporters”
Harry Kewell
“Throughout my professional career and indeed my whole time in football I have not met a coach like Harry. So, it’s thanks to him that I am really enjoying my football and improving my skills. It’s down to Harry that I started to change my approach and performing better.
“Thanks to Harry. He is very good at establishing relationships with the players. He can verbalise clearly our good points and bad points. We’ll sit and watch the videos and he will explain to me very clearly where I can be better and what I need to do. It’s a good situation for me. It’s because of this that I feel I am really enjoying my football right now.”
Maeda on Kewell (2022)
“The opening game of the season at home to Aberdeen… I’ve heard You’ll Never Walk Alone every week at Liverpool but that day it was something different. It was awesome.”
Harry Kewell
“Harry Kewell has not only helped me but others. He helped me greatly at the start when it was one game a week for the first four weeks and I didn’t feature that much. He still made me feel a big part of it and even though I am one of the older players it was still really good that he would take you aside after training and do extra with you because he wanted you to do well when you did get the chance. He does loads of drills with the wingers too because that’s where he played. I think for me and the other wingers I have spoken to we would all say he has a really big impact.”
Forrest on Kewell (2022)
Articles
Harry Kewell joins Celtic coaching staff as Stephen McManus takes up B Team role
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2022/june/17/harry-kewell-joins-celtic-coaching-staff-as-stephen-mcmanus-takes-up-b-team-role-/
By Joe Sullivan
Celtic Football Club has today announced that Australian football great, Harry Kewell is to be part of its coaching team, as he joins Ange’s backroom staff as First Team Coach.
A Champions League winner with Liverpool FC, during his playing career, as well as amassing nearly 60 caps for Australia, Harry Kewell also played with Leeds United, Galatasary and Melbourne Victory.
Harry has also had coaching and management positions in England.
In an important restructure, former Celtic captain, Stephen McManus will move from First Team coaching duties to work with Celtic’s B Team.
Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou said: “I am really pleased that Harry has agreed to join my staff. He knows the game inside out at the highest level and wants to play football the way myself and my team see it. I know he is hugely excited about joining Celtic, he is well aware of the scale of the club, what our ambitions are and I know he will make a really positive difference to my team.
“I was keen to restructure our coaching set up, a critical part of this was having a close link between the first team and B Team coaching structures – and Stephen’s role will also be hugely important for us as we look to get that conveyer belt of talent going between the B Team, directly up to the first team.
“The B Team will again compete in the Lowland League, something which will be a crucial development opportunity for our young players as they aim to progress and advance further. I wanted a really strong connection to the development of our B Team and Stephen, with his knowledge of our current first-team philosophy and demands will be ideal in this role.”
New First Team Coach Harry Kewell said: “It is a massive honour to join Celtic and team up with Ange. He and his backroom team and the players have done brilliantly in their first year together, producing winning football in a great style. To turn things around and become Champions so quickly is a huge testament to Ange and everyone else at the club.
“The manager is synonymous with attacking, exciting football, something he delivered on last season and something I know Celtic fans have loved right across the generations. We will be aiming to give our fans more of the same going forward and I look forward to playing my part in bringing this to our supporters.
“Celtic is a club the whole world knows and admires and it will be a privilege to be part of such a fantastic footballing institution. I am well aware of the demands and responsibility which comes with the territory at such a massive club and this is something which excites me and I am sure everyone else lucky enough to be associated with Celtic.
“I can’t wait to join up with Ange, the coaching staff and players for the challenges ahead and hope to play my part in our future success.
“I’m ready to work and am really looking forward to getting started.”
Harry Kewell claims Celtic are one of Europe’s ‘most exciting’ teams as he reveals Aaron Mooy wake up call
Kewell is preparing to head home for the Sydney Super Cup and has backed Mooy to shine for Australia in Qatar.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/harry-kewell-claims-celtic-one-28425531
Harry Kewell has revealed the Celtic wake up call that motivated Aaron Mooy to find his form ahead of the World Cup.
The Aussie midfielder started the Hoops’ only Premiership defeat of the season so far as St Mirren stunned the champions back in September, beating Ange Postecoglou’s side 2-0 in Paisley. Mooy lasted only 45 minutes before being hooked at half-time as he struggled to get to grips with the intensity required with some fans doubting the wisdom of signing the former Brighton star on a free transfer after failing to impress against the club he had a spell on loan with over a decade ago.
Mooy made further cameos off the bench in the aftermath of that defeat, coming on in wins over Motherwell and St Johnstone. However, he’s since played 90 minutes in Celtic’s next three league games against Hibs, Hearts and Livingston respectively before dropping to the bench against Dundee United on Saturday. That came after 53 minutes against Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu in midweek.
Scott Brown joins Celtic stars in Rangers defeat applause as former skipper leads Adam Montgomery congratsdailyrecord
Kewell has been delighted with his compatriot’s response to his half time hooking. And he believes he’s timed his improvement perfectly ahead of heading out to the World Cup in Qatar with the Socceroos. “He had a moment where he didn’t play well, and then the manager (Postecoglou) took him off, but the manager knows him that well, that he knows what type of reaction he gets,” Kewell told NCA.
“There were a lot of factors in that game, but like all professional players, if you get taken off, you feel it was (because) of you. It was part of the structure that the manager wants to play. but obviously (Mooy) felt hard done by so he went out there and he wanted to work even harder. That just goes to show the professionalism that he’s got. Aaron has gone from there and he’s just getting stronger and fitter. He’s looking fantastic, he’s looking powerful, he’s looking strong, he’s looking comfortable on the ball, and I know he will take this into the Australian squad.
Celtic’s Aaron Mooy (L) and Hearts’ Robert Snodgrass
“You need someone like him to be able to calm everyone down, somebody in there that’s been at the highest level and be able to just relax you. It’s important for Australia to have someone like him in there, but don’t forget, he can actually shift as well. He can move and he can play the balls over the top, and we do have players with pace out wide, so the opportunity for us to be able to maybe utilise that is in our favour.”
With the Premiership set to take a back seat ahead of the tournament getting underway in the Middle East, Kewell and Postecoglou will head home for the Sydney World Cup as the Hoops go Down Under to take on Everton and Sydney FC. Postecoglou is keen to showcase his team’s style. And Kewell reckons they are amongst the best sides to watch in Europe just now.
Maeda’s sympathy for Celtic pals, and role of Kewell in revival
19th November
By Graeme McGarry
@Graeme_McGarry
https://www.celticway.co.uk/news/23136688.maedas-sympathy-celtic-pals-role-kewell-revival/
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Daizen Maeda was the only member of Celtic’s Japanese contingent to make his country’s World Cup squad. <i>(Image: SNS Group)</i>
THE inclusion of Daizen Maeda in Hajime Moriyasu’s Japan squad for the World Cup raised one or two eyebrows in Scotland. Not because the Celtic attacker didn’t merit that seat on his country’s plane to Qatar, but because of the fact club teammates Kyogo and Reo Hatate missed out.
Even Maeda would likely be candid enough to admit that his two friends have made a greater impact at Celtic than he has so far managed since coming to Glasgow last January, but Moriyasu clearly sees the value in having his boundless energy and direct running at his disposal.
So, like many, Maeda has sympathy for Kyogo and Hatate, but has vowed to do them proud by representing their club with distinction on the biggest international stage of all.
“I feel sorry for them both,” Maeda said. “It’s a shame they are not going to the World Cup, but I will do my best on behalf of them in Qatar.
“I think we have chances. The first game against Germany will be very important. We are targeting victory in that match and hopefully that will put us in a good rhythm.
“I am just excited to be going to Qatar. Celtic and the national team have very different playing styles, so I need to adjust my game. It puts different demands on me mentally and physically, but I need to adapt to play well.”
Adapting to Scottish football too has been less than straightforward for Maeda, who has shown in spurts just how valuable an asset he can be for Ange Postecoglou’s side, but is still searching for the consistency that would make him a nailed-on starter.
Indeed, after a slump in form a few weeks back, Maeda appeared somewhat revitalised in the matches before the break, something he puts down to the extra attention that coach Harry Kewell has focused on him.
“During these months I think I have fitted in well to the team,” he said.
“I have to keep doing my best and keep going to make the team’s targets. I will go to the World Cup now and my focus is going to be on those games.
“Yes, indeed I had some difficult weeks and months, but I had some very good support from our coaching staff. I have been working on it with them and I really appreciate what they are doing for me.
“Each of them has supported me. But especially Harry Kewell. He has been sharing his experience with me and we have been watching videos together. We have been having sessions and this is something which helps me a lot.
“Throughout my professional career and indeed my whole time in football I have not met a coach like Harry. So, it’s thanks to him that I am really enjoying my football and improving my skills.
“It’s down to Harry that I started to change my approach and performing better. Thanks to Harry. He is very good at establishing relationships with the players.
“He can verbalise clearly our good points and bad points. We’ll sit and watch the videos and he will explain to me very clearly where I can be better and what I need to do.
“It’s a good situation for me. It’s because of this that I feel I am really enjoying my football right now.”
Maeda may be the only member of Celtic’s Japanese contingent to have made it to the World Cup, but he will be joined in Qatar by club teammates Josip Juranovic, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Aaron Mooy, who will represent Croatia, USA and Australia respectively.
While he is willing each of them to do themselves proud, Maeda is also eyeing an opportunity to test himself against them in the knockout stages.
“We are all in different groups so I think we will be wanting each other to do well,” he said.
“Hopefully, we can all qualify and we will get a chance to play against each other in the later rounds.
“It would be very exciting to make it through the group stage and come up against one of my team-mates.”
As much as Celtic supporters will be backing their Bhoys in Qatar, they may not share Maeda’s relish that all four of them should be playing into the later stages of the tournament given the gruelling schedule that lies ahead when they return to domestic matters.
Maeda has no worries on that score though, and is looking forward to picking up where he left off in the Hoops when the World Cup is over.
“Hopefully I will still have plenty of energy for the games when I come back but I am not thinking about that too much at the moment,” he said.
“Once I finish international duty my focus will return to Celtic.”
Celtic land Adam Sadler as Harry Kewell’s departure to Yokohama is confirmed
Coach worked with Rodgers during their time together at Leicester
Mark Atkinson
By Mark Atkinson
Published 31st Dec 2023, 10:22 GMT
Updated 31st Dec 2023, 10:22 GMT
Harry Kewell has left Celtic to become head coach of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, with Adam Sadler replacing him in Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff.
Kewell, the former Liverpool and Leeds forward, was brought in as first-team coach at Parkhead by ex-Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou in June 2022 – his first job back in football since being sacked as Barnet manager the previous September. “I would like to thank Celtic for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to be part of one of the world’s great football clubs,” the 45-year-old Australian wrote on Instagram. “It has been an absolute privilege to work with Celtic with two great managers in Brendan and Ange. It has been an honour to be part of such a fantastic institution and it is a time in my career and life, which I will never forget.”
Kewell continued: “I would like to thank everyone at the club and all the fans who have given me and the team such brilliant support. I would also like to thank Brendan for giving me such support in pursuing this new opportunity. It is a very difficult decision to leave Celtic but I feel the management opportunity presented to me is one I would like to pursue. I will always be a Celtic supporter and I will always wish nothing but the very best for the club. I hope the club and our supporters can enjoy more and more success.”
Adam Sadler worked with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City.
Adam Sadler worked with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City.
Kewell told his new club’s website: “I am incredibly proud and excited to represent Yokohama F. Marinos. I would like to thank the club for putting their trust in me to take the team forward. There is a lot of work ahead of us, and I am eager to get onto the training ground to start working with the players. We will work together as we aim to bring success to the club. The hard work begins now.”
Sadler was first-team coach at Leicester from 2018 until this summer, working closely with former Foxes boss Rodgers. “I am delighted to be joining Celtic,” the 44-year-old Englishman told the club’s website. “It is such an iconic club with such a brilliant history, a phenomenal fan-base and tremendous record of success. It goes without saying I am really looking forward to teaming up with Brendan again. We worked closely at Leicester City and enjoyed some good times. I know exactly the way Brendan likes to play and what he demands from his players and staff, so I am sure once again we can work together and achieve really positive results.”
Rodgers added: “I am really pleased to welcome Adam to Celtic. He will be a fantastic addition to our coaching team and I know he will bring some great experience and ability to add to the club. I would also like to wish Harry all the very best for the future. I really enjoyed working with him, I thank him for all his work and I am sure he will enjoy the great opportunity he has been given in Japan.”
