Reo Hatate
Hatate playing for Celtic in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-11-21) 21 November 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 41
Youth career
FC Yokkaichi
2013–2015 Shizuoka Gakuen HS
2016–2019 Juntendo University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Kawasaki Frontale 62 (10)
2022– Celtic 57 (12)
International career‡
2017 Japan U20
2017–2021 Japan U23 31 (8)
2017–2019 Japan (University) 8 (5)
2022– Japan 8 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 January 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 January 2024

Reo Hatate (旗手 怜央, Hatate Reo, born 21 November 1997) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Japan national team.

Early life

Hatate was born in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture and played youth football for FC Yokkaichi before studying at Shizuoka Gakuen High School and later, the Juntendo University.[2][3] While studying at the Juntendo University, it was announced that Hatate would sign for J1 League side Kawasaki Frontale in 2020, when he graduates.[4][5] He joined Frontale in 2018 as a designated special player and was approved to continue as a designated player in 2019.[2][6]

University

Rated as one of the country's most promising university prospects,[7][8][9] Hatate was called up to the Japanese University Team to play at the 2017 Summer Universiade, where he scored three goals, helping Japan to win the title for the sixth time.[10] He also featured at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship, however he did not score in this competition.[11][12]

Hatate helped Japan to the 2019 Summer Universiade title in July 2019, scoring two goals, including one against Brazil in the final.[13][14][15]

Club career

Hatate made his debut at the end of the 2019 J1 League season, coming on as a substitute for Hiroyuki Abe in a 2–1 win over Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.[16]

The following season, he would go on to establish himself in the Kawasaki Frontale team. Due to his versatility, he was utilised mostly as a left wing-back, but also played as an attacking midfielder, and on both wings.[17] He finished the season with six goals in 38 appearances in all competitions, as Frontale went on to win the 2020 J1 League.

Celtic

On 31 December 2021, Hatate was announced to have signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Scottish Premiership club Celtic for a fee believed to be in the region of £1.4 million.[18] On 17 January 2022, he made his debut in a 2–0 win against Hibernian and was awarded man of the match.[19] On 2 February, Hatate recorded two goals and one assist in a 3–0 Old Firm win against Rangers.[20] Hatate would go on to help Celtic win the 2021–22 Scottish Premiership league title that year.

In the following season, Hatate made his UEFA Champions League debut against Real Madrid at Celtic Park.[21] Although Celtic lost the match 3–0, Hatate was praised highly by fans and media outlets alike for his performance against Los Blancos.[22][23]

On 24 December 2022, due to the unavailability of Josip Juranović and an injury to Anthony Ralston - Hatate started as a right-back in their Scottish Premiership home fixture against St Johnstone,[24] where Hatate would go on to score a brace in a 4–1 home win for Celtic. Hatate was given another man of the match award for this showing, with his ability to be versatile in a number of positions being highlighted by Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.[25][26][27]

On 29 September 2023, Hatate has signed a new five-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2028.[28]

International career

Reo Hatate with Japan U20 in 2017.

In 2019, he gained international recognition for his performances at the Toulon Tournament, where he scored two goals to help Japan to the final, where they were eventually defeated on penalties by Brazil.[29] Hatate missed Japan's final penalty, handing the title to Brazil.[30][31][32]

Having represented Japan at youth level, Hatate was called up to the Japan U24 team for the 2020 Olympics.[33] On 29 March 2022, Hatate made his debut for Japan against Vietnam in a World Cup Qualifier.[34]

Despite his form at Celtic during the 2022-23 season, Hatate was not included in the Japan squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This came as a surprise to many supporters and media outlets at the time, where Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu justified his decision by saying: "We selected players who will be on the same wavelength as a team, who will be able to move and link up together, who through their organisation will be able to make use of their individual strengths".[35][36]

Other work

Hatate has written articles for Japanese website From the Athlete, where he reflects on his footballing career so far. His first piece was published shortly after his debut for Celtic, where he spoke about his development at Kawasaki Frontale and his time with Japan under-23s at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[37][38]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 January 2024[39]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kawasaki Frontale 2018 J1 League 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
2019 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – 1 0
2020 31 5 2 0 5 1 – – 38 6
2021 30 5 3 1 0 0 4[a] 0 1[b] 0 38 6
Total 62 10 5 1 5 1 4 0 1 0 75 12
Celtic 2021–22 Scottish Premiership 17 4 3 0 0 0 1[c] 0 – 21 4
2022–23 32 6 4 2 3 1 6[d] 0 – 45 9
2023–24 8 2 0 0 0 0 3[d] 0 – 11 2
Total 57 12 7 2 3 1 10 0 0 0 77 15
Career total 119 12 12 3 8 2 14 0 1 0 154 27
  1. ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance in Japanese Super Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 31 January 2024[40]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2022 1 0
2023 4 0
2024 3 0
Total 8 0

Honours

Kawasaki Frontale

Celtic

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Reo Hatate". Celtic F.C. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b "「フロンターレに貢献できるように頑張ります! 応援よろしくお願いします。」" [I will do my best to contribute to Frontale! Thank you for your support.] (in Japanese). Kawasaki Frontale. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  3. ^ "旗手怜央の出身高校や大学！父親が凄い選手で性格や評判がいい！？" (in Japanese). Sports News Delivery. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  4. ^ "川崎、三笘薫と旗手怜央が2020年加入内定…東京五輪世代の目玉選手" (in Japanese). Soccer Digest Web. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. ^ "【連載・東京2020】旗手怜央／中編「"静学の10番"を背負えたのは"唯一の能力"があったから」" (in Japanese). Soccer King Japan. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  6. ^ "川崎F内定の五輪世代・大学生コンビ旗手怜央&三笘薫、特別指定選手に承認" (in Japanese). Gekisaka. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ^ "来季プロ入りする大学サッカー界の"二枚看板"。三笘薫と旗手怜央の対照的な現状" (in Japanese). Soccer Digest Web. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ "川崎が獲得した2人の大学3年生。伊藤宏樹スカウトが語る「逆算」。" (in Japanese). Number (Bungeishunjū). 10 November 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  9. ^ "五輪世代FW旗手怜央vs.上田綺世が、インカレで濃厚なマッチアップ。" (in Japanese). Number (Bungeishunjū). 21 December 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  10. ^ "J注目FWは"KKコンビ"先輩の息子！旗手怜央、心技体ともに父親譲り。" (in Japanese). Number (Bungeishunjū). 26 October 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  11. ^ "U21日本代表、田川亨介と齊藤未月が遠征不参加…神谷優太、旗手怜央を招集". Soccer King Japan. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  12. ^ "[MOM479]順天堂大FW旗手怜央(2年)_エースの意地「このまま終われば自分のせい」" (in Japanese). Gekisaka. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  13. ^ "大运会男足 日本大胜巴西卫冕" (in Chinese). See Hua Daily News. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  14. ^ "世界大学生运动会 日本轻取巴西卫冕" (in Chinese). Kwong Wah Yit Poh. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Match Report - BRA vs JPN" (PDF). Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1-2 Kawasaki Frontale". int.soccerway.com. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  17. ^ "五輪サッカー日本代表 静学出身の旗手怜央選手メンバー入り「優勝目指してがんばりたい」". news.yahoo.co.jp (in Japanese). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  18. ^ Cuddihy, Pauk (31 December 2021). "Celtic delighted to welcome three new signings". Celtic F.C.
  19. ^ "Postecoglou hails 'very talented' Reo". BBC Sport.
  20. ^ "Celtic 3-0 Rangers". The Guardian.
  21. ^ UEFA.com. "Celtic-Real Madrid | Line-ups | UEFA Champions League 2022/23". UEFA.com. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  22. ^ Robertson, Euan (6 September 2022). "Celtic player ratings vs Real Madrid as Reo Hatate outstanding despite defeat". footballscotland. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  23. ^ Banks, Ben (6 September 2022). "Celtic player ratings v Real Madrid as two Hoops stars shine amid Euro lesson". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Scots Prem (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Reo Hatate speaks after man-of-the-match performance vs St Johnstone". Celtic Way. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  26. ^ Media, P. A. (24 December 2022). "Hatate and Furuhashi doubles ease Celtic to victory over St Johnstone". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  27. ^ Ange Postecoglou On The Match | Celtic 4-1 St Johnstone, retrieved 31 December 2022
  28. ^ "Celtic delighted as Reo Hatate signs new five-year deal". www.celticfc.com. Celtic FC. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  29. ^ "U22日本、大量6得点で2連勝！ 旗手怜央のハットトリックでチリを一蹴！" (in Japanese). Soccer King Japan. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  30. ^ "U－22日本代表、トゥーロン国際初制覇ならず…PK戦の激闘の果てブラジルに屈す" (in Japanese). Soccer King Japan. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  31. ^ "小川航基が今大会無失点のブラジルから同点弾も…日本はPK戦で屈してトゥーロン国際準優勝" (in Japanese). Gekisaka. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  32. ^ "Brazil Beat Japan on Penalties to Win 2019 Toulon Tournament Final". Bleacher Report. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  33. ^ "U-24 Japan National Team Squad - Games of the XXXII Olympiad (Tokyo 2020)【7/21-8/7】, KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2021【7/12＠Osaka, 7/17＠Hyogo】". jfa.jp. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  34. ^ Young, Graeme (29 March 2022). "Reo Hatate gets Celtic respite after Japan debut". Daily Record. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  35. ^ McDougall, Mark (1 November 2022). "Kyogo and Hatate's World Cup absence explained as Japan boss decision laid bare". footballscotland. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  36. ^ "Celtic's Maeda in Japan squad as duo miss out". BBC Sport. November 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  37. ^ "Across the sea". FROM THE ATHLETE. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  38. ^ "Endless Trip". FROM THE ATHLETE. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  39. ^ Reo Hatate at Soccerway
  40. ^ Reo Hatate at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  41. ^ "Dundee United 1–1 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side reclaim league title". BBC Sport. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  42. ^ Watt, Martin (7 May 2023). "Heart of Midlothian 0–2 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side seal back-to-back titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  43. ^ Duncan, Thomas (3 June 2023). "Celtic 3–1 Inverness CT: Ange Postecoglou's side win Scottish Cup to claim treble". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  44. ^ Moffat, Colin (26 February 2023). "Kyogo strikes twice as Celtic beat Rangers in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  45. ^ Cassidy, Peter (9 May 2023). "Seven Celtic players in PFA team of the year but star duo miss out". STV Sport. Retrieved 9 May 2023.

External links

Celtic F.C. – current squad
Japan squads
Awards
Categories