TEARJERKER.

That's the only way to describe the heartfelt farewell post from Daizen Maeda on social media last weekend after it was officially announced the Japanese forward had left the Hoops after four-and-a-half unforgettable seasons in the green half of Glasgow.

Mostly this column allows me to vent about the contempt I have for the men that run Celtic. But as it seems the club has remembered the PIN for Dermot Desmond's cash card and Celtic are beginning to look as though they may actually mean business, I'm happy to turn to matters more personal.

I want to tell the tale of a man who I deem the greatest to pull on the green and white shirt since the great Henrik Larsson bade farewell in 2004.

Let me take you back to January 2022, when the Japanese speedster left Yokohama for the sunshine of Glasgow to partner up with his former boss and admirer Ange Postecoglou. He made an instant impact, netting in a 2-0 victory over Hibernian to maintain the Hoops' successful pursuit of a title they had surrendered to Rangers in 2021.

He was at the very heart of the Angeball ethos, running and playing with jawdropping speed and pressing keepers and defenders with an insatiable appetite for work that made fans tired just watching him. Had he managed to smooth the rougher edges of his game a little earlier, he'd be with Real Madrid or Bayern Munich instead of heading to Ipswich.

I'm not going to bore everyone with basic statistics, rather I want to reminisce about the forward who gave me so much pleasure and joy on my travels across Scotland and Europe supporting the Hoops.

THAT cross against the Saints

My first tale is a 0-0 draw at home to St Johnstone, where I pride myself on having witnessed the worst cross to ever grace a Sunday morning football pitch, let alone a professional one.

It became a part of the Daizen Maeda highlight package, and it made me smile thinking of how perfectly it epitomises the enigmatic player that he became throughout his four-plus seasons at Paradise.

As long as I live I will never forget me and my pal watching him cut inside then slicing an horrendous cross that saw the linesman on the far side chuckle as he raised his flag for a throw-in to St Johnstone. The rest of that game is a dull drag, and quite forgettable, but that moment lives on as the epitome of Daizen.

Derby day delight

In a slog of a first season under Brendan Rodgers, Maeda was less than impressive, but the Carnlough man made it his mission to crack the enigma. And he did just that during the Japanese forward's 33-goal campaign which saw him break the record for most goals in a Champions League campaign for Celtic – surpassing Henrik Larsson.

Maeda already had a happy knack of netting in crunch games, but in the Glasgow derby he had yet to really establish himself as a key figure.

Granted, he had netted in the New Year derby for the Hoops at Ibrox under Ange, a deflected James Tavernier clearance fizzing into the net off Daizen less than 60 seconds into the game. But he was yet to establish his dominance in the fixture of fixtures.

Fast-forward to September 2024 and Celtic thrashed their bitter rivals 3-0. Maeda not only found the net, he terrorised the Ibrox back line and put the fear of god into the Rangers support as they watched him pace the top third like a ravenous greyhound, waiting for a chance to attack the ball or a defender at speed. The template was made. From here on in he was derby day torturer-in-chief.

Cup final heroics

When I look back, often through tears now I might add, and watch his highlights in green and white, many of his goals look akin to the worst player at a weekly five-a-side at Andytown Leisure Centre. He scores with his left knee whilst shooting with his right foot; he sends the ball sailing over the bar when he's looking to tuck it inside the post.

But that was just... Daizen.

And then the League Cup Final of 2024 rolled around and we saw the pearl that lay within the oyster. He latched on to a loose pass from Nico Raskin before looping the ball over the Rangers defence, taking a delicate touch mid-air and smashing the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.

It is safe to say my jaw dropped and stayed on the floor of the Roddy's big hall for a few minutes.

To cap it all off, the following shootout saw him take the winning penalty in what is one of my favourite memories as he shinned his spot-kick into the bottom corner to the feverish joy of the Hampden Park faithful.

In Bruges

Watching and listening to away fans jeer you is never a nice feeling. A freezing cold November night in Bruges, 2024. The air is thin, it's absolutely Baltic and you are 1-0 down to Club Brugge after witnessing one of the most hideous own goals ever – Cameron Carter-Vickers with a selfie on the half-hour he won't care to remember.

Turning to my pal, I said, "Am I drunk or did that happen?" On the hour mark of the same game I repeated the question despite not having consuming alcohol for almost two hours, "Did that really happen?" Maeda cut inside from the wing and somehow I just knew; I thought, "Hang on a moment, I know how this story ends." A shot from the Japanese, the ball kissed the inside of the post and my Fanta was launched in celebration of an equaliser for the ages.

Fast-forward a year and I watched him press like his life depended upon it before squaring the ball to Reo Hatate to turn the ball in and give us the lead in Rotterdam. Another surreal moment. Another Daizen moment.

A freezing night in Europe. Again. This time in Feyenoord. Watching Martin O'Neill's Celtic win an away game. 1-3. Unforgettable. Daizen Maeda up front. Iconic.

Farewell form

Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way.

It does if you want to join the Pantheon of icons at Celtic Football Club. And that status I think is deserved for the Japanese talisman. A spine-tingling end to a rollercoaster season. Maeda with an audacious, outrageous overhead kick for the goal of his career. The goal of a thousand players' lifetimes. In the Glasgow derby.

A man who was written off, laughed at, became the butt of the 'Oh, no, he's getting a game again' jokes. 

In four years he went from, 'He's got pace but no product' to 'He might be the best since Larsson.' It was a phenomenal turnaround and he firmly cemented his place among the legends for many with that 2026 post-split form that will live in the memory forever. 23 games without a goal and – boom! – nine goals in seven games.

So crazy.

So Daizen.

Funny how Henrik took almost the exact same finishing route, eh? Fairytale stuff, some might say. 

Thank you, Daizen Maeda, from the bottom of my heart and the hearts of countless other Celtic fans.

You will be missed, and you will always be loved.