Last season for manager Jurgen Klopp. Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo joined Liverpool from German side Stuttgart. Initially, he was baffled by the intensity and speed unique to the Premier League, but as the season progressed, he started more and more often.
Although his appearances have decreased with the arrival of a new manager, he has been very consistent in his short playing time and manager Arne Slot has expressed his confidence in him.
He will certainly be a valuable member of the team for the second half of the season, when he starts to tire.
The national team’s defensive midfielder has been playing at the top level in the world’s best leagues, and he said that the players have developed together by working from daily training as if they were playing in the Premier League.
“The Premier League is very hard,”
“It took me some time to adapt but here I play in Liverpool, so even in training the intensity is so high. We have a lot of quality players. I think it’s also a good thing for me to adapt to the Premier League as well.”
“We train like we play in the Premier League every day – I think that made us and me stronger.”
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The veteran midfielder, who has also wrapped the captain’s mark in Stuttgart and is the captain of his country’s full national team, analysed his strengths.He said that he behaves on the pitch in a way that maximises the strength of the team and his team-mates.
“I think defensively it’s about getting the ball back and trying to have good organisation in midfield,”
“I think that’s my style.”
“I would always try to maximise our team. I always try to help my teammates play well. I think that’s also my strong point.”
“If I play in the number six [role], I need to do the dirty job, of course! I need to have a good connection with defenders, but also help my teammates.”
“If we want to be top players, you have to be both defensive and offensive as well. Of course, I need to defend well at least, but I always try to make a difference. I try to play very simple; I don’t feel like I can be more creative, but I try to play simple and play forward and try to change sides.”
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