Former Celtic talisman Daizen Maeda has admitted the Premier League has hit him with an intensity he has “never experienced before” since swapping Celtic for Ipswich Town…
The Japan international made the £10million move south during the summer, leaving behind a hugely successful spell in Glasgow where his blistering pace and relentless pressing became hallmarks of his game.
But life in England has already presented Maeda with a very different challenge.
And the 28-year-old has now conceded he is still trying to work out how to unleash the qualities that made him such a menace for Celtic.
Speaking to Japanese media outlet Soccer Digest ahead of his country’s friendlies against Uruguay, Ecuador and Venezuela, Maeda said:
“I’m playing at an intensity I’ve never experienced before. First of all, it’s important to get used to it.
“In Scotland my strengths were speed and high pressing, but the intensity is completely different, so I’m trying to figure out how to bring out my strengths in this environment.”
It is a remarkably candid admission from a player whose game was built around being the one setting the tempo. At Celtic, Maeda could terrorise opponents –like for example the former captain of the Rangers James Tavernier – with his speed and suffocating pressure. He was capable of turning seemingly lost causes into dangerous attacking situations simply by chasing defenders down.
Now, he admits the Premier League has forced him to adapt. The intensity is different. The demands are different. And Maeda is still trying to find the formula that will allow him to make his biggest strengths count.
For Ipswich supporters, there is at least one major positive in his comments, Daizen Maeda insisting that he is enjoying the experience despite the early difficulties.
The forward says playing against some of the biggest and best-known teams in world football has made the challenge worthwhile.
“As a player, it’s a blessing to be able to play against teams that everyone knows in every match, and although it’s tough during the game, there’s a joy in playing against such teams,” the former Celtic star stated.
So while Maeda has admitted the Premier League has given him a rude awakening, there is no suggestion he regrets making the move. Instead, his message is one of adaptation.
The Celtic fans who watched him tear around Scottish grounds will know exactly what Ipswich have bought — but Maeda himself accepts that getting those same qualities to work at Premier League level is proving to be a different proposition. And that could be the key to his Ipswich career.
If Maeda can crack the code and bring his Celtic speed and pressing to the English game, the £10million investment could yet prove a major weapon for Ipswich. For now, though, the Japanese star has delivered an unusually honest verdict on life after Celtic.
The Premier League is faster. It is tougher. And Daizen is still learning how to survive — and thrive — at its intensity.
Daizen may be having problems settling into playing his football in the Premier League but he must have been shocked at what he witnessed at Celtic Park on Sunday as his old team lost once again to the Rangers.
The Japanese forward was back in Glasgow for the Glasgow Derby match in order to say his formal goodbyes and to thank the Celtic support for backing him for the four and a half years he played for the club.
Afterwards Daizen urged everyone at Celtic to ‘come together‘ amid what is a difficult period for the club.
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