‘Incredible intelligence & work rate’: Daichi Kamada analysed
Commentator, host, producer and columnist Ben Mabley is based on Osaka, and has been covering the Premier League for Japanese channels for over a decade.
He has over 110k followers on X and his YouTube channel boasts over 40k subscribers.
Speaking to the Crystal Palace website, Ben gives his thoughts on what Palace fans can expect from their new signing, Daichi Kamada…
“He fits Glasner’s way of playing”
“Given that Palace appointed Oliver Glasner midway through last season, and the team transformed immediately, playing a wonderful style of football in this 3-2-4-1 or 3-4-2-1 system, if you want a player who fits that system and who fits Glasner’s way of playing… it’s Daichi Kamada.
“That is not only because he played with Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt and did extremely well for him there, but throughout his career and possibly by coincidence, it’s been when Kamada is playing in that sort of system – with two narrow No. 10s behind a striker – that he’s performed the best.
“I was a commentator on the Belgian league in 2018/19 when he went to a club called Sint-Truiden (STVV). He arrived there on loan from Frankfurt, because he hadn’t had much playing time. They started playing 3-4-2-1, with him as either one of the No. 10s: he could play on the left and on the right, and was absolutely superb in that shape.
“His positioning was excellent. He lurked between the lines, evaded opponents, and knew where the space was. When he was in Germany, several of his coaches called him a ‘Raumdeuter’ – a player who creates space. He could drop off, run on, hold up the play, and he linked really well. He had the technique as well so that, when he had the ball, he could take men on.
“He was just so cool in front of goal. He just made everything look easy. He scored 11 times in his first 13 games – he wasn’t that sort of striker in the past, but it was more a product of the good play he was doing between the lines.
“If needed he could drop and help out deeper in midfield – he had the vision and awareness to do that as well – but what underpins all of this is a supreme amount of confidence that he’s had ever since he was a kid.
“Also, if you look at his running stats, for 90 minute distance covered, it’s routinely over 12 kilometres. Usually in a match, the top one or two players are touching that, but he does it all the time. Without the ball he contributes because he works hard constantly, and he’s got this incredible intelligence on the ball so that, when teammates are in possession, he’s always in the right place.”
“Belgium was the turning point”
“That season on loan in Belgium was the turning point of his career. Frankfurt wouldn’t have signed him had they not rated him highly, but even when he was a kid – he was in the academy of my local team, Gamba Osaka – apparently he was small, then he shot up really quickly.
“When Kamada joined STVV in Belgium, it was their first full season after being bought out by a Japanese IT company. Suddenly they were importing a lot of Japanese players. Kamada’s explosive performances right from the get-go were absolutely brilliant for the club in terms of getting supporters’ buy-in.
“He was the one who settled and performed most quickly, but [Arsenal defender] Takehiro Tomiyasu and (to a slightly lesser extent) [Liverpool’s] Wataru Endo both had excellent seasons that same year at STVV too.
“Without any doubt, Kamada’s performances helped ensure more opportunities for other Japanese players at STVV and elsewhere in Belgium, as a stepping stone to bigger clubs in Europe.
“On a personal note, I’m absolutely delighted to see Kamada join Tomiyasu and Endo in the Premier League!”
“European success was always his goal”
“Nine of the Japanese World Cup squad in Qatar went to university. That’s been a recent trend: Japanese footballers who’ve gone to strong high schools, with a strong football setup there, and then gone to universities to continue their studies while continuing their footballing education there too.
“Kamada had the opportunity to do that – he had several offers apparently from universities – and he said at the time that maybe it was something he should do, but when you look at Europe, nobody’s starting their professional career at 22. He wanted to go to the J-League, then he wanted to go to the next place after that, so he had to do it.
“He went into the J-League and played for a club called Sagan Tosu for a few years before he moved to Europe, but what really stood out in his youth days was his work rate. The playing intelligence was there but it really came on when he moved to Europe. In Japan, that work rate and technique on the ball is what made him stand out.”
“Palace are growing in profile”
“Since I’ve been in the job, in the last 12 years, the Premier League has had a much higher profile in Japan. It used to be that Serie A was the favoured overseas European league here, and then for a while it was La Liga with Messi and Ronaldo, but the Premier League now is by far the most popular.
“Crystal Palace have been in the Premier League constantly since 2013, the era in which the Premier League has been most watched in Japan, so people are familiar. I think Japanese fans have a good impression of the supporters and the atmosphere at the stadium… Selhurst Park looks like people’s idealised image of what a traditional English stadium looks like and sounds like.
“Palace have a good record in general of getting results against the very biggest clubs. If Kamada performs anything like he can, there will be lifelong Palace fans in Japan.”
“Fans will take to him”
“I think his uncompromising work rate is the sort of thing that English supporters in general immediately recognise and immediately respect.
“Kamada’s chances of making an excellent first impression are very high. Obviously it will be his first challenge in the Premier League and the physicality is different to even the Bundesliga, but he’s overcome these challenges before. I don’t expect he’ll have too much difficulty adapting.
“He knows the system extremely well and he knows the role under Glasner because he’s got lots of experience of playing it. He knows what’s being asked of him and I expect Palace fans to really like this guy.”
Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Ben Mabley and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Crystal Palace.