Daizen Maeda (前田 大然, Maeda Daizen, born 20 October 1997) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Scottish Premiership side Celtic and the Japan national team.[3]
Personal information | |||||||||||||
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Full name | Daizen Maeda[1] | ||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 (age 25) | ||||||||||||
Place of birth | Osaka, Japan | ||||||||||||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||||||||||||
Position(s) | Winger, forward | ||||||||||||
Club information | |||||||||||||
Current team | Celtic | ||||||||||||
Number | 38 | ||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||
2013–2015 | Taki High School | ||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
2016–2021 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 55 | (8) | ||||||||||
2017 | → Mito HollyHock (loan) | 36 | (13) | ||||||||||
2019–2020 | → Marítimo (loan) | 23 | (3) | ||||||||||
2020 | → Yokohama F. Marinos (loan) | 23 | (3) | ||||||||||
2021–2022 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 36 | (23) | ||||||||||
2022 | → Celtic (loan) | 16 | (6) | ||||||||||
2022– | Celtic | 14 | (3) | ||||||||||
National team‡ | |||||||||||||
2018–2021 | Japan U23 | 17 | (9) | ||||||||||
2019– | Japan | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 September 2022 (UTC) |
In 2016, Maeda joined Matsumoto Yamaga FC. He got his J-League debut on 28 February 2016.[4] It was on 28 August 2016, that he scored his first goal as a professional in an Emperor's Cup game against Tokuyama University.[5]
On 6 January 2017, Matsumoto Yamaga FC announced that Maeda will be joining Mito HollyHock on a loan deal that will run from February 2017 till January 2018.[6] He ended the season while scoring 13 goals.[7]
After his loan spell at Mito, he struggled for regular playing time and was loaned to the Portuguese club, Maritimo in 2019.[8]
On 11 August 2019, he made his debut in the opening round of Portuguese League against Sporting CP when he came on as a substitute in the 57th minute.[9][10]
On 25 August 2019, Maeda scored his debut goal in a 3–2 loss to CD Tondela.[11][12]
On 3 August 2020, a loan transfer to Yokohama F. Marinos was announced.[13] He scored his first goal after the transfer in the match against Shimizu S-Pulse on 19 August, and contributed to the team's first victory in three games.[14][15]
By the end of the season, it was announced that the deal would be made permanent.[16] On 7 March 2021, he scored a brace against Sanfrecce Hiroshima[17][18] and continued his prolific run of form on 17 March, scoring four goals in one game against Tokushima Vortis.[19][20] On 25 September 2021, with a goal against Yokohama FC, Maeda became the top scorer in the J1 League.[21][22] On 6 November against FC Tokyo, he scored his second hat-trick of the season to keep his spot in the top scorers' ranking.[23] In addition to being named in the J.League Best XI at the end of the season, Maeda was also co-J.League Top Scorer with Leandro Damiao of Kawasaki Frontale, who had equalled his total of 23 goals for the campaign.[24]
On 31 December 2021, Maeda was announced to have signed for Scottish Premiership club Celtic on loan for the rest of the season, with an obligation to buy at the end of the loan.[25] On 17 January 2022, Maeda made his debut and scored his first goal in the 4th minute, in a league fixture against Hibernian at Celtic Park. Maeda signed a four-year contract with Celtic at the end of the season, when his move was made permanent.[26]
On 24 May 2019, Maeda has been called by Japan's head coach Hajime Moriyasu to feature in the Copa América played in Brazil.[27] He's also the first Matsumoto Yamaga player to ever feature for the senior's side. He made his debut on 17 June 2019 in the game against Chile, as a starter.[28]
Though primarily and initially used by both Matsumoto Yamaga and Yokohama F. Marinos as a left winger, Maeda is able to operate in a number of positions as a forward, including on the opposite flank, as an attacking midfielder or occasionally a second striker. Regarding his stamina and conditioning, former coach John Hutchinson referred to Maeda as a "machine", while Arthur Papas, who also coached Maeda during his time at Yokohama, has said Maeda "possesses athletic qualities far superior to most players at the professional level", hailing his pace and sprinting.[29]
Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Matsumoto Yamaga | 2016 | J2 League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
2018 | J2 League | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 7 | |
2019 | J1 League | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
Mito HollyHock (loan) | 2017 | J2 League | 36 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 13 |
Marítimo (loan) | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 |
Yokohama F. Marinos (loan) | 2020 | J1 League | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 30 | 3 |
Yokohama F. Marinos | 2021 | J1 League | 36 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 23 |
Celtic (loan) | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 8 |
Career total | 190 | 57 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 209 | 61 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Japan | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
2022 | 6 | 1 | |
Total | 8 | 1 |
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 10 June 2022 | Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe, Japan | ![]() | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2022 Kirin Cup |
Celtic
Individual
Celtic F.C. – current squad | |
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Japan squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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Awards | |||||
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