WATARU ENDŌ

Liverpool FC’s No.3 arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2023 from VfB Stuttgart and has already opened his goalscoring account with a header against Toulouse FC in a 5-1 UEFA Europa League win. “I’m not a goal-getter,” said Endō, “but to score my first goal for Liverpool is a special moment.” Captain of Japan, Wataru moved to Europe in 2018 to initially play in Belgium having won the AFC Champions League with former club…

URAWA RED DIAMONDS

Founded 73 years ago in 1950 as Mitsubishi Motors FC, the Reds play in the J1 League and have been champions on five occasions. They’ve also won the Emperor's Cup six times, most recently in 2021, and were Champions of Asia for a third occasion in 2022. Their Saitama Stadium 2002 is the largest specific football stadium in Japan with a capacity of 63,700 and they also have a women’s team called Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies, a former club of…

FŪKA NAGANO

Asian Young Footballer of the Year in 2016, the central midfielder signed for Liverpool FC Women in January 2023 and is hugely popular with fans, who sing her name to the tune of ‘Tomorrow’ from the musical Annie. Fūka had been playing in America with North Carolina Courage before her move to Merseyside and also had a spell in South Korea with Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels WFC. Aged 24, she was born in Edogawa, a ward in the city of…

TOKYO

The most populous city in the world, capital of Japan and home of Kodansha, LFC’s official publication partner and Japan’s largest publisher, Tokyo has hosted two Liverpool FC cup finals. In 1981, Bob Paisley’s European Champions faced Brazil’s CR Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup final in Tokyo’s National Stadium, but lost 3-0, and three years later Joe Fagan’s European Champions lost 1-0 to Argentina's Club Atléletico Independiente at the same venue. Fagan’s Reds also lifted the league and League Cup in 1984, trophies won by…

TAKUMI MINAMINO

‘Taki’ was the first Japanese player to make a first-team appearance for Liverpool FC following his arrival from RB Salzburg in January 2020. He proved to be a useful squad player, netting 14 goals and contributing three assists in 55 appearances for the Redmen. A winner of six Austrian Bundesliga titles, a Premier League title and League Cup, Minamino played for Japan U23s in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio when the team was captained by…

WATARU ENDŌ

As he continued to settle into life at Liverpool FC and English football, Endō tended to start games in the UEFA Europa League and Carabao Cup, a competition he got his first assist in. The 30-year-old defensive midfielder has since become a Red's favourite and one of the mainstays in the Midfield this season. He is ambitious for success. “We want to win all competitions, the Premier League, Europa League and the cup tournaments,” he said. “I want to get those trophies, but we have to make sure in every game we try to win and we will see at the end of the season…”. He achieved he first of these trophies by playing a key part in the success over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup Final, which is hopefully the first of many of his honours in a red shirt.