Reo Hatate has already smoothly shown he can walk the walk at Celtic. Now Stiliyan Petrov believes that, once the Japanese can fluently talk the talk, he will explode onto new heights at Parkhead.
Petrov says he “loves” Hatate as a player having seen enough of his burgeoning talents already during an impressive five-month opening to his life in Glasgow. Arriving in January just turned 24, he, like Petrov back in 1999, had to get to grips with the various issues which surround a youngster settling into a new country and environment.
Petrov has been there. A young midfielder facing big expectations, it’s not easy to integrate straight away with a new language to learn and culture to understand. He knows what Hatate faced. He knows the frustrations he would feel at times and says the Asian ace will only get better as those limitations and restrictions ease. Asked to pick the hardest thing about adapting, Petrov smiled: “Everything!”
But as he dug down deeper into the matter, he continued: “He is miles away from family and friends and there is a language barrier. The language is a big thing. I know people say you have interpreters, but that is not going to help him all the time.
“When you are in a playing environment, players want to hear you speak. Even if you don’t speak the language they want to see you try and make the effort.
“That is why he has to understand the language and that is difficult. You listen and, when you are not involved in that and don’t understand those conversations, it is very very difficult.
“I would go home and I would not be able to discuss having something on my mind.
"Or if I was happy or unhappy, I couldn’t say it. This will be him.
“It takes time and I think the club is in a better place now too with club liaison officers.”
The fact Hatate still made such an instant impression in such a vital area of the field spoke volumes for the work of the individual, the club in helping him to settle, his team-mates and, of course, the management of Ange Postecoglou.
The Japanese is back at Lennoxtown with pre-season training underway and Petrov said: “He will have learned well from last season.
“He will understand Scottish football, the physicality, the technical side of it, the players.
“When I came to this country I had to learn a lot about Scottish football, the players I was playing against and with. It takes time.
“He started really well and then had a dip which is normal because of the way he plays. He plays with so much intensity.
“He has to get fitter and stronger and get better stamina ,but he will do that. What I expect him to do is to trust the process, trust the manager.
“If he does that then it will take his mind off the pressure because he will be thinking that there is a demand on him to score all the time. He does not have to do that.
“It will come as long as he enjoys his football and understands the demands of Scottish football.
“I love him as a player. You can see his strengths and how he loves running from behind and getting into the right position to score.
“He gets into perfect positions. But you have to take your time. Just now his running is everywhere.
“What he has to do sometimes is stand still, enjoy the game and don’t let the game pass him by. I believe the manager will help him to understand his game.”
Hatate is also now back in Glasgow with the benefit of a break.
The midfielder had just completed a J-League season with Kawasaki Frontale when he was pitched into battle for the second-half of Celtic’s successful title tilt.
Countrymen Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi will also benefit from down time as Petrov said: “Of course. They will come back refreshed and most of those players have never played European or Champions League football. There will be another level of excitement there to go and do well.”
Hatate has another potential target in sight with the World Cup Finals looming in Qatar at the end of the year.
Furuhasi and Maeda look in pole position to make the Japan squad, but Hatate, who was left out of the summer internationals, has five months to impress.
Petriv said: “That is another challenge for them too to get into the World Cup and stay in the squad.
“Then for Celtic they will have the challenge of how to manage that when they come back and how they recover for the rest of the season.”
Petrov, meanwhile, has also saluted the talents of Matt O’Riley, who joined with Hatate in January to help clinch the flag and will return to the group next week in Austria to begin stage two of his Parkhead journey.
The former Hoops ace said: “He is faster than me! He has really impressed me. For someone who didn’t have experience of a high level of football he has really fit in well.
“He seems like he is getting better. It seems like every single young player is getting better under this manager.
“The manager seems to know the strengths of every player and plays them in the right position. He uses them to change the games in the right way.
“You have to remember that most of these players have never done a pre-season together. We will see those young players improving even more.”
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