European football journalist Matt Ford recollects the journey of the Japanese midfielder, from Daichi Kamada's success in Germany to his struggles in Lazio, after completing his move to Crystal Palace.
Player analysis: Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace)
The working relationship between Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner and his latest signing Kamada is perhaps best summed up by a period of a few months in early 2022.
On the 19 February that year, Kamada had given the ball away to gift Cologne a winning goal over Eintracht Frankfurt. Glasner, having only brought the Japanese midfielder on at half-time, dragged him off again before the final whistle and gave him a very public dressing-down.
Three months later, on 18 May, Kamada, having played almost every single minute of Frankfurt's UEFA Europa League campaign, stepped up to take his team's third spot-kick in a penalty shootout in the final against Rangers in Seville - and slotted it home, as Frankfurt went on to lift the trophy.
"Even during periods where I wasn't playing so well, he protected me," Kamada said of Glasner. "I value him so much as a coach, but above all, he's an outstanding person."
And so it came as little surprise when, following Glasner's appointment as head coach in February, and with Kamada enduring a difficult time on the bench at Lazio, rumours began circulating of a potential reunion in south London.
Why Kamada was compared to Thomas Müller
Initially a discovery of Frankfurt's scouting operation in Japan, Kamada arrived in Germany in 2017 before going on loan to Belgian side Sint-Truidense VV in 2018. It wasn't until the 2019/20 season that Kamada broke through at Frankfurt under former head coach, Adi Hutter.
A dynamic central midfielder who combines a goal threat with a deceptively physical approach to tackling, he quickly established himself in Frankfurt's midfield - especially in European competition, where he notably scored both goals in a 2-1 win at Arsenal in November 2019 and a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over Red Bull Salzburg in the round of 32.
His best moment of the season, however, came in a 4-1 success at Hertha Berlin in June 2020 when, towards the end of the pandemic-delayed campaign, he dribbled into the box past four Hertha defenders before cutting back to striker Andre Silva, who finished the move with a fine backheel. The move won the football TV programme Sportschau's "Goal of the Month" award.
Watch Kamada's goal v Hertha
"Kamada is a technically gifted player who, under Hutter, was something of a Raumdeuter - a 'space interpreter' - in the mould of Thomas Muller," recalls Christopher Michel, a German journalist who covered Kamada's career closely in Frankfurt, and was among the first to report on talks between Palace and Kamada.
"Like Muller, you often didn’t know where Kamada had suddenly appeared from."
How Kamada led Frankfurt to Europa League glory
But the best was yet to come. Under Glasner, who took over at Frankfurt in 2021, Kamada excelled as a No 10 alongside Danish forward Jesper Lindstrom and behind striker Rafael Borre.
He was Frankfurt's top goalscorer in their triumphant Europa League campaign, during which he also scored the winner at West Ham United in the semi-final first leg. Clearly, London football grounds suit him.
"In Frankfurt, thanks to his performances in the Europa League and then later in the Champions League, Kamada became known as 'Euro-Daichi'," says Michel. "He's got strong nerves and converted his penalty in the Europa League final with aplomb."
Nevertheless, Kamada felt his days were numbered that summer when Frankfurt brought Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning goalscorer Mario Gotze back to the Bundesliga - a player who would surely take Kamada's place in attacking midfield?
Glasner, however, had a solution and remoulded Kamada as a more defensive midfielder alongside Swiss international Djibril Sow and Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode. And it worked, with Michel recalling Frankfurt's "best football in 20 years" with Kamada as the "key pivot" in midfield.
"Kamada might look a bit slim and lightweight but he's incredibly snappy in the tackle," says Michel. "When he's in the right frame of mind, he's very robust and difficult to win the ball against."
Kamada and Lazio - a year to forget
And when it comes to Kamada, frame of mind is key. The 27-year-old Japan international rightly believes in his own abilities - and so do his advisers, who have perhaps been guilty of demanding too much for their client in the past.
After opting not to extend his contract with Frankfurt last summer, negotiations with Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid all broke down, leaving Kamada without a club for two months before Lazio offered him a deal.
Kamada's Roman adventure didn't go to plan, however, and ended with a dispute over a new deal that has allowed him to head to Palace on a free.
Kamada and Glasner reunited at Palace
With bridges seemingly burnt in Rome, Kamada has welcomed the opportunity to swap the Tiber for the Thames and rejoin his old mentor Glasner at Selhurst Park.
"I've always followed his instructions closely," Kamada said of the Austrian last year - even after being dragged off in Cologne. "He demanded a lot, especially in terms of defensive work and tactical discipline without the ball. I've developed my defensive game a lot under him and he gave me a degree of freedom offensively, for which I'm very grateful."
Now, after Palace finished the 2023/24 campaign strongly, Glasner will be hoping that Kamada's experience and flexibility in midfield can help the Eagles push for a top-half finish this season - and maybe even more.
That's where "Euro Daichi" could really come into his own.
Matt Ford (@matt_4d_) is a freelance journalist specialising in German football, fan culture and sports politics.
