Endo’s Unyielding Spirit: Liverpool Midfielder Stands Firm Amidst Criticism
Special Report》He also struggled at the Asian Cup! The "Heaven and Hell" of the Premier League, as seen by the leader of the Moriyasu Japan team
It is rare to find a player in the Premier League who has so dramatically increased his reputation and credibility. Take Japan’s midfielder Wataru Endo, 30, who joined Liverpool last summer.
Endo’s transfer was announced on August 18 last year. The new Premier League season had already begun, and he joined the team without having played a single preseason match.
However, the world’s most prestigious league is not so easy to adapt to instantly. And Endo’s new club is Liverpool, a strong club in the Premier League. In the early part of the season, his opportunities were limited, and even when he did play, he failed to make an impact in many games.
The local media were harsh on the new Japanese players. The local media were critical of the new Japanese player, saying that he lost the ball too often (Liverpool Echo) and that he could not be trusted to start in big matches in the Premier League with the way he played (club information site Dis is Anfield). It is the fate of big clubs that they are relentlessly criticized if they show even the slightest lack of performance, and Endo was no exception.
But the mentally mature Endo, who was captain of VfB Stuttgart in Germany, was looking only at his own feet. No matter how much he was beaten to the sack, he would never change his mind.
Whether I start or come off the bench, I just do what I have to do to help the team win. That is what is essential. That is how I played.
At the same time, he was constantly reevaluating his own game and confronting his issues.
At the same time, he was constantly reassessing his game and confronting the issues he faced. I was always thinking about that in every game, every match.
