Soccer
Daichi Kamada credits his former Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner for giving him extra confidence and hails his defensive tactics as “among the best in the world”.
Kamada twice played under Glasner, first at Eintracht Frankfurt and at Palace, where the two reunited in 2024.
In Germany, Kamada made 93 appearances under Glasner in all competitions, while he made a further 89 at the Eagles, becoming a trusted part of the Austrian’s set-up.
Glasner’s influence has been key to the Japan international’s career, as it has seen him drop into a deeper-lying midfield role.
The pair also won the Europa League, Conference League and FA Cup while working together, and Kamada believes it is also his lessons from Glasner that have helped him secure a more substantial role for Japan.
“In modern football, we need more physicality, and unfortunately, I’m not such a fast player,” Kamada, who scored Japan’s equaliser against the Netherlands at the World Cup on Sunday, told Reuters.
Daichi Kamada with an 88th-minute equaliser for Japan pic.twitter.com/Swh6EKSFkv
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) June 14, 2026
“Oliver Glasner gave me the opportunity to play as a No. 6, and I’ve learned a lot about defending. Now I think we have many fast players, so that’s why I play at No. 6.
“The other 10 players make runs deep and do something different. I was always thinking I could play as a No. 6, since I was 18.
“I’ve always said his defensive tactics are among the best in the world, and Japan also play the same system, 3-4-3.
“I also can help the team with what we can improve because I’ve learned a lot from Oliver Glasner. We have improved a lot , but we’re still not a top national team.
“We have to defend well, and his tactics really work for the Japanese national team right now.”
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