Remember when I posted some months back about the media’s shady narrative on our Japanese players not being rated by their national coach? It happened after he had gone on a tour of various clubs and watched games in various leagues, but reports from Japan didn’t include Scotland or Celtic in the list of places he was going to visit.
This guy has made some daft and even contradictory comments about our Japanese players, selecting Maeda even when Kyogo was battering goals in for fun and ignoring Hatate altogether, but at no time was there the slightest suggestion they were not in his plans. This was entirely confected by our media, and we know exactly why they did it.
Well today, to nobody’s surprise, he announced that Maeda, Hatate and Kyogo have all been selected for his next squad. Turns out, he was able to watch them after all as most of our games are now shown over there in Japan!
Who would have thought that, eah?
Oh wait … all of us thought it and a lot of us pointed it out at the time.
One by one, the media’s presumptions and ridiculous assertions have collapsed over the course of this campaign, and of course every one that blows up in their faces is replaced by another one which is just as daft, and this idea of us needing a full-scale squad rebuild is just the latest of them.
Our Japanese players were never going to be ignored by the national coach for long, and especially when so many people over there are watching us and wondering why they’re not in the side.
The irony of course is that they’ve been called up at a time when we’re not actually playing that well, and when you might not have expected them to feature.
Still, their opportunity to impress him has arrived and we know they are all capable of doing that.
I am not terribly thrilled whenever our players are out on international duty, but nor do I want any idea to take root about they won’t get games for their countries whilst they play for our club.
This is one that needed squashed, and it glad it finally is.
For the sake balance it would be nice to know
how many full internationalist players are still active at
the BigDome. Oh wait……
Ipox, the Residential Care Home for unfit, injured, low quality International
football (sic) players.
All’s well that ends well in the Land of the Rising Sun. I’m happy for the players and it certainly does no harm to the Celtic global brand.
Just another issue that Ange has to manage in an extended season, due to the nonsense of putting a world Cup in the middle of it.
We still are facing the prospect of a number of players been involved in international matches after the cup final.
So a very short break awaits for all those involved as pre season will be upon them before they know it.
No idea how Ange plans to manage our japanese players with a pre season tour also planned to Japan, maybe they join up upon arrival in Japan?
I know Ange is a fan of having players involved in international football, not so myself as starting to become a bigger factor in player fatigue I believe.
Only need to look at Mooy and meada to see that on show at present.
With the football calender the way it is at present then a club v country is becoming more relevant for players, and have to put club before country in interests, made far easier with Ireland struggling in the manner that they are