is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger or striker for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

side

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and the Japan national team.

Club career

Matsumoto Yamaga

In 2016, Maeda joined

Matsumoto Yamaga FC or Simply Matsumoto Yamaga FC (松本山雅, ''Matsumoto Yamaga Efu Shī'') is the Japanese football (soccer) club based in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. The club currently play in the J3 League after relegation from J2 League at the end of the ...

. He got his J-League debut on 28 February 2016. It was on 28 August 2016, that he scored his first goal as a professional in an

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

game against

Tokuyama University is a public university in Shunan, Yamaguchi, Japan, established as a private university in 1971. It was formerly called Tokuyama University, but was transferred into a public university in 2022. Organisation and administration The University ...

. After his loan spell at

Mito Mito may refer to: Places *Mito, Ibaraki, capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan *Mito, Aichi, a Japanese town *Mito, Shimane, a Japanese town * Mitō, Yamaguchi, a Japanese town * Mito District, a district in the province of Concepción, Per ...

, he struggled for regular playing time and was loaned to the Portuguese club, Maritimo in 2019. He left the club in 2021 after his loan with

Yokohama F. Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times an ...

was made permanent.

Mito HollyHock (loan)

On 6 January 2017,

announced that Maeda will be joining

Mito HollyHock is a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Its nickname "HollyHock" derives from the family crest of the Tokugawa clan who governed from Mit ...

on a loan deal that will run from February 2017 until January 2018. He ended the season while scoring 13 goals.

Maritimo (loan)

On 11 August 2019, he made his debut in the opening round of Portuguese League against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

when he came on as a substitute in the 57th minute. On 25 August 2019, Maeda scored his debut goal in a 3–2 loss to

CD Tondela Clube Desportivo de Tondela () is a Portuguese professional football club that plays in Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. They are based in the town of Tondela, located in Viseu District, and play in the Estádio João Cardo ...

Yokohama F. Marinos

On 3 August 2020, a loan transfer to

was announced. He scored his first goal after the transfer in the match against

Shimizu S-Pulse is a professional Japanese football club. Located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, S-Pulse currently competes in the J2 League (J2). The club was formed in 1991 as a founding member of the J.League (''"Original Ten"''), which began ...

on 19 August, and contributed to the team's first victory in three games. By the end of the season, it was announced that the deal would be made permanent. On 7 March 2021, he scored a brace against

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

and continued his prolific run of form on 17 March, scoring four goals in one game against

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vortis ...

. On 25 September 2021, with a goal against

Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was formed by fans of Yokoh ...

, Maeda became the top scorer in the J1 League. On 6 November against FC Tokyo, he scored his second hat-trick of the season to keep his spot in the top scorers' ranking. In addition to being named in the

J.League Best XI The J.League Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in J.League. J1 League (1993–present) Multiple appearances Appearances by club Appearances by country * Only in two occasions there was a full-Japanese Best XI (20 ...

at the end of the season, Maeda was also co-

J.League Top Scorer The J.League Top Scorer is awarded by the J.League to the top scoring player of the season. Wins by club See also *List of J.League awards, J.League awards *Japanese football champions, for Japan Soccer League predecessors. References ULTRAZO ...

with

Leandro Damiao Leandro may refer to: * Leandro (given name), a male name, including a list of people with the name * ''Ero e Leandro'', a 1707 cantata by George Frideric Handel * San Leandro, California * San Leandro Creek San Leandro Creek ( es, Arroyo de San ...

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara W ...

, who had equalled his total of 23 goals for the campaign.

Celtic

On 31 December 2021, Maeda was announced to have signed for

club

on loan for the rest of the season, with an obligation to buy at the end of the loan. 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 Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

. Maeda signed a four-year contract with Celtic at the end of the season, when his move was made permanent. On 6 September 2022, Maeda came on as a half-time substitute for

Liel Abada Liel Abada ( he, ליאל עבדה, ; born ) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Israel national team. Early and personal life Abada was born in Petah Tikva ...

to make his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

debut in a 3-0 home defeat against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. On 2 January 2023, he scored the opening goal in a 2-2 draw at Rangers. His form at this time seen

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

monitor Maeda.

International career

On 24 May 2019, Maeda was called by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's head coach

Hajime Moriyasu is a Japanese football manager and former player. He made more than 250 appearances in 14 years with Sanfrecce Hiroshima, including a year on loan to Kyoto Purple Sanga, before spending his final season as a professional with Vegalta Sendai. He a ...

to feature in the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

played in Brazil. He was 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. In Japan's

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...

game against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Maeda was placed as starting striker. He was substituted in the 57th minute by

Takuma Asano is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Bundesliga club VfL Bochum and the Japan national team. His younger brother Yuya is also a professional footballer currently playing for J1 League side Sanfrecce Hi ...

. Japan advanced out of the group stage after beating

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

2–1. On 5 December 2022, Maeda scored a goal at the 43rd minute to put Japan in front during the round of 16 game against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

which eventually ended 1–1 with Japan crashing out after their defeat on penalties.

Style of play

Though primarily and initially used by both

Matsumoto Yamaga or Simply Matsumoto Yamaga FC (松本山雅, ''Matsumoto Yamaga Efu Shī'') is the Japanese football (soccer) club based in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. The club currently play in the J3 League after relegation from J2 League at the end of the ...

and

as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, Maeda is able to operate in a number of positions as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, including on the opposite flank, as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

or occasionally a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Regarding his stamina and conditioning, former coach John Hutchinson referred to Maeda as a "machine", while

Arthur Papas Arthur Papastamatis (born 12 February 1980) is an Australian professional football manager who serves as manager of Newcastle Jets. Background & Education Papas began learning his coaching skills at the age of 16 while a player and started l ...

, 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.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.''

Honours

Celtic *

: 2021–22 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 2021–22 Individual *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

Profile at Matsumoto YamagaProfile at Mito HollyHock
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maeda, Daizen 1997 births Living people Association football people from Osaka Prefecture Japanese footballers Association football forwards Japan international footballers J1 League players J2 League players Primeira Liga players Matsumoto Yamaga FC players Mito HollyHock players C.S. Marítimo players Yokohama F. Marinos players Celtic F.C. players Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in football Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games 2019 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Japan Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Portugal Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Scotland