5 months ago
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The Japanese international has been posting in-depth analysis videos since before he joined liverpool.
Wataru Endo was certainly the least heralded of Liverpool’s signings last summer. The veteran Japanese international was seen as an emergency stop-gap for the holding midfield role, and a player who many thought may not be able to adjust to the speed of the Premier League.
After a few games to get acclimated, Endo quickly became a cult favorite for supporters of the club for his hard-nosed and no-nonsense style of play. The mouth guard-wearing midfielder willingly threw his body around to break up attacks.
While Wataru Endo was new to most Liverpool fans ahead of the season, he is a well known figure in Japan, serving as a captain for the Japanese National Team. On top of that, Endo has used his platform to post monthly video blogs on a variety of topics, from in-depth tactical breakdowns of matches to parenting. Youtuber Simon Ta, who runs the “Liverpool Fan In Japan” account described just how much of a presence Endo has in his home country.
He’s kind of a life-coach guru. A lot of players have done autobiographies and shared a lot of their playing careers via books. But in terms of online persona and really, really sharing that detail and that personal stuff, I don’t really recall anyone doing it to the extent that Endo does it.
Endo has his own following and has done over 100 videos – some are incredibly long, an hour or two hours, and some are incredibly short. He really wants to share everything about everything, so that anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps can see the reality of it, not the glitz and the glamour. With his vlog he’s showing that, ‘Don’t be afraid of where you’ve come from, your stature.’
One of the most popular series of vlog entries from Endo are his detailed tactical breakdown of matches called “Pick Up Match”. Endo records himself with a magnetic tactics board to talk through the matches he has played in. For many, this series has filled the dearth of football tactics available online in Japan. Yumiko Tamaru, the branch secretary of OLSC Japan, describes how the content includes not just the on-pitch analysis, but also the process to build relationships with his teammates and the coaching staff.
It is just incredible that a footballer goes this deep into all the matches he played in and everything he tells is so interesting. I have never heard such a detailed match analysis from any other Liverpool players. I also find it amazing that he has [such] good memory and remembers every detail very clearly.
Both his blogs and videos go deep into the details of the matches he played in – how he played, what he was thinking about and aiming at when he was playing, especially when he had to defend, how his teammates played, how he builds the relationship with his teammates during the matches, what Jürgen Klopp required, what Pep Lijnders said to him, how he values his teammates, and so on.
I think he has a huge influence on lots of footballers in Japan and he is inspiring them a lot.
While Endo probably has at least a few good years more in his playing career, he certainly seems lie someone who has the mind and communication skills to take the jump to coaching when he does decide to step away from playing.
