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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: Celtic 2-0 Hibernian, League, 17 Jan 2022
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
2023/24 season
In the new era, Hatate in retrospect he had quite a mixed set of emotions. Initially there appeared to be an issue between the manager and the player as he was not played over a short period, which some suggested may have been due to possible requests from his entourage having been rebuffed. However, He signed up a long-term contract to 2028, much to everyone’s relief.
However, after a decent start for Celtic, he was soon out injured after injuring his hamstring in a Champions League 2-2 draw v Atletico Madrid (Oct 2023), and it is not surprising to find that soon after that with also Carter-Vickers out for Celtic too, that the first team’s form started to wither.
Frustratingly for all, on his return in January, he played one game for Celtic, and was a little emotional because he had worked so hard to return from injury. Next thing you know, he was off on international duty with Japan for the Asia Cup, and he sufferred another injury, hurting both his calves and putting him out for far longer.
Effectivley, he was out for most of the season, a transitional season which needed all hands on deck. He ended up only playing a paltry 21 matches throughout the entire season albeit with three goals scored, but his absence was very apparent. Possibly the greatest credit you could give him was that when out injured for these long periods, it was clear how much the first team suffered in performances, but also highlighted a curious question of the over reliance on Hatate as an engine in the side. When you take in that there were other highly prized players in the squad like McGregor & O’Reiley, then it further demonstrated his continuing value to Celtic. On the other hand or it was a big concern for the management.
Even with those limited appearances, he still gathered a lot of respect, and the support were running out of superlatives for him. His vision, awareness, the drop of the shoulder and the way he could just glide past players demonstrated class, whether he was firing first time across the pitch right or left footed, threading passes through, he was a privilege to watch.
On his return in the spring, he demonstrated his value straight away in the 3-3 draw away to Sevco, and scored the opener a week later v St Mirren in a 3-0 win (Apr 2024). In particular, Kyogo suffered the most from Hatate’s absence as could be seen from his underpar return in goals scored relative the past two seasons.
However, the injury toll Hatate had come through still was clear, and his contribution in a number of his appearances in the last set of matches in the season was relatively below par for him, most notably in the Scottish Cup final where he was mostly anonymous. His commitment was there, but he needed a proper break, but so did Callum McGregor, his colleague in the centre of the field who had to take on the heavy burden throughout the season.
In terms of silverware, it was another great season for Celtic as the first team won the league & Scottish Cup double, but as Hatate put it himself:
“I have been repeatedly injured and not been able to contribute to the team [this season]. I want to win as many titles as possible and I want to show the Celtic fans a performance that once again makes them think, ‘Celtic need Reo Hatate’.”
Reo Hatate (2024)
[….]
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)
“He is a huge talent, an exciting young player with great attributes and someone who can change a game. I know he is the type of man and player, though, who doesn’t want to rest. He is hungry to improve every day and achieve more and more”
Brendan Rodgers (2024)
“I want to win as many titles as possible & I want to show the Celtic fans a performance that once again makes them think, ‘Celtic need Reo Hatate’.”
Reo Hatate (Apr 2024)
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 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2022-23 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 45 |
| Goals | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2023-24 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 21 |
| Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024-25 | |||||
| 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.”
Reo Hatate opens up on Celtic injury hell: Feeling depressed, concerned parents, desperation to win as many titles as possible
Now fully fit and in line to face Rangers, Hatate speaks candidly on being sidelined for several months
Mark Atkinson
By Mark Atkinson
Published 4th Apr 2024, 08:39 BST
Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate has lifted the lid on his injury woes this season, revealing that being sidelined for several months left him “feeling depressed”.
The 26-year-old has made just 12 appearances for Celtic this season, firstly injuring his hamstring in a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid before hurting both calves while on international duty with Japan during a match against Bahrain. After weeks of recuperation, Hatate is now back fully fit for Celtic as they look to retain the cinch Premiership title amid fierce competition from Rangers, and he is set to start the Old Firm match at Ibrox on Sunday.
“I have been repeatedly injured and not been able to contribute to the team,” said Hatate. “I want to win as many titles as possible and I want to show the Celtic fans a performance that once again makes them think, ‘Celtic need Reo Hatate’. During my rehabilitation in preparation for my return, I reviewed everything. This included preparation for competitions, physical strength, training content and diet. The most recent injury was my third this season and although it was in a different location, it was a huge shock to have sustained a similar injury over and over again.
Celtic’s Reo Hatate is in line to face Rangers after months on the sidelines.
Celtic’s Reo Hatate is in line to face Rangers after months on the sidelines.
“When I returned to Scotland after the Asian Cup, my heart sank for a while. I had also been injured in a match against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on October 25 last year. I was disappointed at that moment, but quickly recovered. I thought to myself, ‘I will definitely recover from my injury and participate in the Asian Cup’. By setting clear goals for my return, I was able to stay much more positive. However, this time, it was difficult for me to change my mind because I had been injured playing in a competition that had been my goal.”
Writing in his Sportiva diary, Hatate continued: “I handled my feelings and emotions as I felt them and I spent a lot of time feeling depressed. However, that doesn’t mean I cut corners in my rehab or that I neglected my daily life. I was doing my best in everything but, to put it simply, I just wasn’t motivated and had no energy. However, there are people who care about me and who worry about me, including, of course, my family. My father was concerned about my injury and my mother was also concerned about my condition. They contacted me, which naturally led me to become more positive.
“It’s one thing not to force yourself to control or maintain your feelings and sometimes just to surrender to the flow. There are very few people who have everything going well in their life. What seems like a long detour to you often turns out to be a shortcut. There are times when I have thought I didn’t have to experience something. But later I realise I was glad I had. The same goes for injuries. I realised that, whether you think it’s a waste of time or whether you can even use that time to your advantage, depends on your own way of thinking and how you perceive it.
“After the injury, I looked back at myself and thought the following, ‘Why this timing?’. Now that I think about it, there was something off about the match against Bahrain. This is just an afterthought and it’s just a feeling, but even when I was playing, I felt a little different than usual. The feeling of passing was a little different than usual and I might not have been able to see my surroundings as usual.
Hatate suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.
Hatate suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.
“In terms of distance, the error was only one or two centimetres. In terms of volume of work, the difference was only one or two marks on the scale. But I really felt a definite difference. Conditions vary from game to game, so I don’t think that was a factor that directly led to the injury. However, when an accident occurs, it is probably due to a combination of these factors. I was unable to swallow my frustration on the pitch, but after the Asian Cup my feelings for the Japanese national team grew even more. I’ve always wanted to contribute to the Japan national team. But after experiencing that tournament it became a place where I wanted to stay and stay here, so that became my goal.”