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Fullname: Iwata Tomoki (*see notes, Tomoki is his first name)
aka: Tomoki Iwata
Born: 7 April 1997
Birthplace: Usa, Oita, Japan
Signed (loan): 30 Dec 2022 (loan with compulsory perm conversion in summer est £1m from Yokohama F Marinos)
Signed (Perm): 13 Jul 2023 (converted to perm from loan)
Left: 30 August 2024 (to Birmingham)
Position: Central Midfielder
Debut: 2023-01-21: Celtic 5-0 Morton, Scottish Cup
Squad No.: 24
Internationals: Japan
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
Joined as the current J-League Player of the Year, Japanese international Tomoki Iwata was expected to replace fellow countryman Ideguchi, whose transfer to Celtic had not worked out. He had to be patient, but once given his first start, he demonstrated his talent with an assured performance in a 2-0 away win at Ross County in the league (April 2023).
From then on it was clear that Celtic had a decent work in progress player. He had the backing of the manager, who gave him time to develop in the side, but admittedly he did take time to find his feet in the game. An industrious player, he had a good work ethic on the field, with a good ability to find a pass or begin an attacking move. He played well in midfield but slotted into central defence alongside Starfelt once when Carter Vickers was out injured.
There were though concerns on physical side of the game and if he was adding anything new to a squad that already was heavy in quality in the midfield.
Brendan Rodgers era
He was converted to a permanent deal in July 2023, but with his sponsor (Postecoglou) having left in the summer and a new manager in the returning Brendan Rodgers, he had to now make a name for himself again.
He played various matches, but hardly made an impression, and there concerns over his future. Brendan Rodgers even had to come out to explain why it took so long to get a start in midfield, putting it down partly due to injuries.
You could see talent, but in a season that saw Celtic’s form sway wildly, there were opportunities to make a name for himself. When McGregor was out injured, he had the opportunity to cement a name for him, but little convinced. The manager had some confidence in and played him through the season, albeit often from the bench.
Finally came to the fore when he started in a 4-1 win over Hibs (Dec 2023), quietly effective, and helped to kick start the side after the manager had castigated the players for their performance the weekend before.
He had to adapt to the new environment, and seemed to struggle more than his colleagues. A difficult & very below par performance by him when deputising for McGregor in a 2-1 defeat to Hearts (Mar 2024), demonstrated his lack of progress since his arrival. He was pondering & indecisive when on the ball with notably the losing goal being due to a counterattack after his loss of possession in midfield. A key result as Celtic lost a guilt edged chance to leapfrog Sevco in the league. Celtic still went on to win the league and then the Scottish Cup that season, but he was back in the queue for a team place.
Many saw his talent and ability, but converting that into consistency to take on Hatate and McGregor for first team places was a challenge for him. He was respected, and there was a certain patience for him, but he needed more key performances to prove himself. He was generally adequate but rarely game-changing. His style more was one who helped others to play their game, a good asset for the team. He definitely was professional whenever called upon.
In some ways he was a victim of poor timing, as maybe more time with Postecoglu would have benefitted him, but he had still proven himself as worthy of a place in the squad.
In the summer transfer window for 2024, Celtic were clearly on the rebuild and spent relatively heavily on Idah, Trusty and Engels, whilst also bringing in Valle. For Iwata, there was hope he would still find a place at Celtic, but he left on the transfer deadline day to third tier Birmingham City. With all due respect to that club, it was a far lower level than a player of Iwata’s potential deserved to be playing at, but all Celtic fans had confidence he’d succeed there.
We wished him the very best.
Post-Celtic
[…He hit the ground running and became a popular and top level player for Birmingham City… ]
Quotes
With Celtic having signed Japanese player of the year, Tomoki Iwata, there are reports that Rangers fans are very keen on his brother Lav.”
Celtic Underground humouring the Sevco support after they resorted to drinking toilet water during the UEFA Cup final 2022 (seriously!) (Dec 2022)
“[Midfield is] one of the areas I want to improve in the team. What we have is, we’ve David, whose strengths – with the greatest of respects – are to play against low blocks when we’re trying to nick a goal. Getting around the pitch is maybe not a strength. When you go into Champions League games you need that ability to run. So, then Paolo has played in those games. It’s finding that sort of complete package, really. Callum has played in that deeper role for a few years but [moving him forward] is something I’ve thought about. Tomo would’ve played in Lazio if he was available, but sadly he missed out [through not being on the UEFA squad list].”
Rodgers (Dec 2023)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2022-23 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 42 |
| Goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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
Notes
- In the Far East, the standard is that the surname comes first, therefore you will often see in reports his name as “Iwata Tomoki” whereas in European publications it will be written as Tomoki Iwata
Articles
Yahoo article Dec 2023
Former Japan representative DF Tomoki Iwata [25], who won the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in J1 this season, will transfer to Celtic in the Scottish Premier League in January next year. It is a rental transfer with the option of a complete transfer, and the transfer fee is estimated at 1 million dollars (about 133 million yen). According to officials, he has already obtained a UK work permit and will be officially signed after a medical check on site.
Iwata, who grew up in the lower organization of Oita, has his talent blossomed at once in Yokohama, where he joined in 2001. In addition to his main position as a defensive midfielder, he has also been appointed as a full-back and center-back, demonstrating his versatility. This season, he contributed greatly to the team’s fifth league title in three years, and was selected as the MVP, the first J3 graduate and the fourth defender. He has grown into a player who represents the J League both in name and reality.
Celtic’s coach Postecoglou, who led Yokohama to League V in 2019, also highly praises Iwata’s ability. He said he desperately wanted it. The team consists of 4 players, Japanese representative FW Maeda who participated in the World Cup Qatar tournament, FW Furuhashi, MF Hatate, and MF Ideguchi. From next January, Kobe DF Kobayashi and Iwata will also join, and the possibility of forming a Japanese sextet (a group of six) has surfaced.
◇ Tomoki Iwata Born on April 7, 1997 (Heisei 9), 25 years old from Oita prefecture. He was promoted to the top team in 2016 from the Oita junior organization and contributed to the promotion from J3 to J2 and J1. He moved to Yokohama in 2001 and contributed to the league championship this season as MVP and best eleven. His Japanese national team was selected for the first time at the South American Championship in June 2019, and made his debut against Uruguay on the 21st. He also competed in the E-1 Championship this summer. Scored 0 goals in 4 international A matches. 1 meter 78, 77 km. His dominant foot is right.
Celtic secure Tomoki Iwata signing as Ange Postecoglou hails capture of ‘player our fans will like’
Celtic have completed the signing of Japanese international Tomoki Iwata.
Matthew Elder
By Matthew Elder
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-secure-tomoki-iwata-signing-as-ange-postecoglou-hails-capture-of-player-our-fans-will-like-3969679
The 25-year-old will arrive on an initial loan move from Yokohama F Marinos until the end of the season with a compulsory purchase clause meaning will be complete a permanent transfer in the summer on a long-term deal.
He becomes Celtic’s third signing ahead of the January transfer window officially opening following on from the captures of centre-back Yuki Kobayashi from Vissel Kobe and right-back Alistair Johnston from CF Montreal.
Iwata, who can operate in both midfield and defence, was named the J League Player of the Year last month after helping his side lift the league title and has four caps for Japan, although he was left out of their World Cup squad.
New Celtic signing Tomoki Iwata in action for Yokohama F Marinos earlier
It is the second time Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has signed the player having also taken him to Yokohama in January 2021 prior to taking over the reins at Parkhead later.
Postecoglou said: “We really are delighted to be bringing Tomoki to Celtic and I am sure he will be a player that our supporters will like.
“He is a versatile player who can operate in defence in midfield, a really committed footballer with some great attributes. He is at a great age for us where his career is on the right trajectory, but he already has a good level of experience.
“He has just had a brilliant season, he is very deserving of the accolade he has recently received as Japan’s Player of the Year and we are sure he can also bring this real high level of quality to our squad.”
Iwata will become the sixth Japanese player at Parkhead alongside Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and fellow new recruit Kobayashi.
“I really am delighted to be joining Celtic, such a huge and successful club known across the world,” Iwata said. “I can’t wait to begin my journey with Celtic.
‘Everything about Celtic excites me – the scale of the club, the supporters, the atmosphere, the style of football which the club is famous for and of course working with the manager and players.
“I am really looking forward to getting started, to meet my new team-mates and begin working on bringing our fans more and more success.”
Tomoki Iwata: I can’t wait to experience Celtic Park as a player
By Ryan Maher
Tomoki Iwata had his first experience of what his new life will be like as a Celtic player on Saturday, as the J-League Player of the Year for the 2023 season stepped out on to the Celtic Park at half-time of the 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.
Joining from Yokohama F Marinos where he played alongside Daizen Maeda and was managed by Ange Postecoglou, Iwata arrives in Glasgow as a league winner this year and he can’t wait to get started and win with Celtic.
Speaking to Celtic TV, he said: “I’m really honoured and I’m really happy to be at a great club such as Celtic and I’m just excited.
“I was really excited (to be on the pitch) and I felt the passion of the supporters.
‘Compared with Japan, the supporters are very passionate and I’m really looking forward to playing on that pitch with fans.’
“I have been following the Celtic games, especially old highlights as well as checking the results.
“I was playing with Daizen at Marinos, so yeah, I was interested in the results of Celtic.”
On signing for the club, Ange Postecoglou highlighted the 25-year-old’s ability to play in a number of positions, primarily in the middle of midfield and defence.
Talking about what he can bring to the football club and how he can impact the starting XI, Iwata said: “The team has been winning a lot of games and is in first place in the league so this is why I’m thinking how I can contribute to the team.
“I think my strong point is stealing the ball and my fitness and I think once I fit into the team I can contribute to achieve more success.
“I think my strong point is also working hard and in terms of my playing style then dealing with balls under pressure and this is what I would like to express.
“I also played with the manager in Japan so I would like to show my play on the pitch and contribute to the team.”
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou lavished praise on full debutant Tomoki Iwata as he reflected on his side moving a step closer to retaining their Premiership crown with a 2-0 success against Ross County in Dingwall.
Andrew Smith
By Andrew Smith
Published 2nd Apr 2023, 15:42 BST
The Japanese holding midfielder was handed his first start following his January move from Yokahama F Marinos and the Australian considered that the 25-year-old’s assured display on what he regarded as an unhelpful pitch set him apart from any of those in the visiting ranks. “He was great,” the Celtic manager said. “He was the one who looked most sure-footed in terms of the pitch and the handling of the ball. He’s so clean technically. He really helped us considering it was his first 90 minutes after three months. He finished strongly at the end. I was really pleased I got him out and he showed his qualities out there.”
Postecoglou is confident Iwata will “get the benefit” of being deliberately eased in – the player only had 124 minutes under his belt before his full 90 in Dingwall – through learning from the experiences of Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate previously. Fellow transfer window arrivals Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yuki Kobayashi finding themselves in a similar position.
“Last year we found, after they [Maeda and Hatate] were thrown in quite early, they started strongly but fatigued towards the end of the season,” Postecoglou said. “[In coming to Scotland in January from the J-League and K-League] they come off a full season, so it’s a different feel for them at this stage of the season. So my inkling, if it worked out, was to have the three of them embedded slowly and give them opportunities along the way. The hope is in the last bit of the season they will be really strong. We will see the best of them after they’ve had a pre-season but after looking at it today, he [Iwata] looked really strong.”
Brendan Rodgers clears up Tomoki Iwata mystery
By Lubo98 7 December, 2023 No Comments
[Brendan Rodgers clears up Tomoki Iwata mystery]
22nd October 2023 Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh, Scotland Scottish Premiership Football, Hearts versus Celtic Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers congratulates Tomoki Iwata of https://thecelticstar.com/brendan-rodgers-clears-up-tomoki-iwata-mystery/
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has cleared up why it has taken Tomoki Iwata so long to get a start in his midfield. The Scottish Champions were 4-1 winners against Hibernian on Wednesday evening with Iwata starting in the midfield.
The former J-League Player of the Year anchored the midfielder with Matt O’Riley and Callum McGregor further forward and was excellent at breaking up play and keeping the ball moving.
Fans were rightfully impressed by the performance as they had been with cameo performances, with a goal against Hearts and an assist against St Johnstone sticking out. At various junctures throughout the season so far, fans have questioned where Iwata was and what he had to do to get a start with omissions from the first team Matchday squads.
Speaking after the game, Rodgers clarified to Sky Sports why he had taken so long to bring Iwata into the starting XI.
“Tomo is a player that I have wanted to play before but he’s had some injuries. I thought he came in and was good in the centre of midfield.”
It would appear that Iwata has had some injury that has been limiting his game time; although now, it seems that he is fit and ready to stake a claim for that third midfield jersey.
Rodgers has stated that he has been keen to bring Iwata into the starting XI before this week, suggesting he has been performing well in training. Given the fact that David Turnbull, Odin Thiago Holm and Paolo Bernardo have struggled to nail down the third midfield slot in the absence of Reo Hatate, the manager may be inclined to give Iwata a run of games to see whether he can show consistency to his game.
The former Yokohama F Marinos midfielder joined in January on a loan-to-buy deal having been signed by Ange Postecoglou. Towards the end of last season, Iwata found himself playing centre back including in the Cup Final against ICT. By the time his deal went through in June, Ange was off to London to manage Spurs and Rodgers replaced him.
Hopefully, he can prove that he is a competent addition to the team moving forward and can offer an alternative to Callum McGregor in that No.6 role.
Tomoki Iwata admits Celtic fans left him confused and fearing booing was aimed at him
Japenese midfielder reflects on moment that irritated manager Brendan Rodgers
By Graeme Macpherson
Published 2nd Mar 2024, 22:30 GMT
Comments
Tomoki Iwata admits he wondered if the boos from the Celtic fans were for him when he was taken off against Motherwell last weekend.
The large travelling support jeered the decision to replace him with Paulo Bernardo given the strength of the Japanese midfielder’s performance in his first appearance since December. That reaction irritated manager Brendan Rodgers, especially given Celtic went on to win 3-1 thanks to two injury-time goals.
Iwata was left bemused, too, and feared it was a negative response to his own display.
“At the beginning I was confused,” he revealed through a translator. “Like ‘is it toward me?’ or what? But then I think it was, in a way, a compliment and I took it very well.
“I just want to meet the expectations now. Now I’m starting to feature in games and really happy about it. Hopefully I can look to contribute more towards the team winning.
“Before that I was obviously frustrated at not being involved in the team because of injuries or different situations.
“I was hoping that I would get opportunities so, yeah, it was a difficult moment but now I’m happy. The only thing I was thinking about was how I was going to get the time on the pitch here – how I can improve myself and how I can contribute to the team.”
Iwata thanked his family for supporting him during those difficult moments on the sidelines. “I didn’t feel it was as difficult as maybe it could have been because my family supported me very well,” he added. “I’m very settled in Glasgow.”
Tomoki Iwata lifts lid on last day J-League title win and why Celtic move has been ‘below my expectations’
Japanese midfielder knows what it takes to win a title right at the death
By Graeme Macpherson
Published 27th Apr 2024, 22:30 BST
The title race could yet go down to the wire and Tomoki Iwata is ready for it if it does.
Celtic and Rangers both return to the small matter of battling for a championship on Sunday afternoon, with Brendan Rodgers’ side kicking off at Dundee barely 30 minutes after their rivals have concluded their own match at St Mirren.
Form and pedigree suggests it is now Celtic’s championship to lose as they preside over a three-point advantage but there could yet be twists and turns to draw out matters until the final fixtures on May 18.
Celtic’s Tomoki Iwata won a league title in Japan prior to his move to Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Tomoki Iwata won a league title in Japan prior to his move to Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Iwata won’t be drawn into making brash predictions about what may lie ahead but knows what it takes to win a title right at the death. That was the scenario two years ago when his former club Yokohama F Marinos needed to win on the last day of the J1 League season to be sure of holding off champions Kawasaki Frontale and duly did so.
“That season I felt a different type of pressure to what I was used to because we were going for the title,” recalls the 27-year-old. “As the games got less and less in the season – and the pressure built – we couldn’t play the way we wanted to. We felt that with maybe five games remaining. So we really started to feel how difficult it was going to be to win it.
“On the last day, both ourselves and Frontale won the games and we got the title by two points. We were ahead going into the final day against Vissel Kobe and had to make sure we didn’t lose. It was a lot of pressure but I don’t fear pressure. We had confidence that we could win the league and we managed to achieve it. It was the first title of my career so it was a fantastic moment to be there celebrating with my team-mates.”
Along the way lessons were learned that should stand the midfielder in good stead in the weeks ahead. “Experiencing that pressure with Yokohama in 2022 is definitely helping me here at Celtic because it’s similar,” he adds. “We still have some games left here this season but I don’t feel nervous or not confident enough going into it.
“We have our own style of play at Celtic and as long as we prepare properly to play our own way, we’ll be ready to get the results we want in the title race. You never know what’s going to happen in the future so I can’t comment on whether it will come down to the last day here. But we’ll be ready for it.”
Iwata is yet to make the impact expected of him after arriving at Celtic but has no regrets about his decision.
“I haven’t played as much at Celtic as I expected so, until now, it has been below my expectations. However, I certainly wouldn’t say it’s been a failure. This is still a great experience for me to learn from. It’s part of my career and my journey as a footballer.
“I only take the positives from it and I want to make more progress now. I don’t have any regrets about signing for Celtic. I’m so happy to play for this club and I’ve enjoyed every minute that I’ve been on the pitch.”