"Tales of the mentors" is a series of interviews with former mentors of the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) players. In the second article, we spoke to Coach CHO Kwi-Jae (current head coach of Kyoto Sanga FC) about ENDO Wataru, who has shown outstanding ball-winning ability in the German Bundesliga, and his time at Shonan Bellmare.

○This interview was conducted on 9 May 2022

Never repeated the same mistakes

――Do you remember the first time you saw Endo?

CHO　Of course. It was January or February 2007, when I was the coach of Shonan Bellmare Youth, and Wataru was still in his second year of junior high school. In fact, I was visiting a junior high school in Hiratsuka City to check out a different player from Minami Totsuka Junior High School (Kanagawa). Wataru was about 162 cm tall at the time. Wataru was about 162 cm tall at the time. He was a lanky centre-back, but I felt at first sight that he was different from the others. When facing a high ball, he would control the ball with his chest instead of just clearing it and connected the ball precisely to his teammates. He had good posture and was able to kick the ball well. It was his fundamental skills rather than his ability as a defender that caught my attention. I wanted to see more, so I asked him to come to our junior youth training sessions.

――How did you feel when you actually saw him in practice?

CHO　I wanted to acquire him immediately as he had the fundamental skills and decision-making abilities to compensate for his physical weaknesses. I had never seen such a clever player at the junior high school level. He must have received good coaching in primary and junior high school. I think his parents' education was also good. He told me that he was brought up being told to take care of himself.

――Did he start playing in matches in his first year at Shonan Youth?

CHO　He was a starter from the second sec. of the Prince League Kanto First Division. Originally we intended to start him from the opening match, but Wataru caught a cold and couldn't even come to the match venue. That was one of the few times I scolded him, saying that “managing your own health is a vital part of becoming a professional.” From this point on, his behaviour was remarkable as he prepared carefully for the following week's match. In the second sec. against Maebashi Ikuei High School, he used his natural instincts to compete with a team composed mainly of third-year students until the middle of the second half. This performance made me believe that he would make it to the top, and in fact, from then on he rose very quickly to play for the national teams at his age group.

――Endo became a registered U-18 player in his third year of high school and made his J1 debut in September 2010 against Kawasaki Frontale. At that time, you had been promoted as an assistant coach for the top team.

CHO　Head coach SORIMACHI Yasuharu (current JFA Technical Director) made a bold decision to start him as a defensive midfielder against an opponent who featured NAKAMURA Kengo and INAMOTO Junichi in the midfield and last season’s top scorer JUNINHO upfront. We ended up losing 1-6 and Wataru was subbed off after the first half. Yet, instead of getting discouraged by this result, we quickly reset his mind for the next match. He is capable of correcting problems before the coach points it out to him and never repeats the same mistakes.

――From 2012 to 2015, you coached Endo, this time as the top team's head coach, and mainly used him as part of the back three.

CHO　I wanted him to carry the ball from the back and be more involved in the build-up, so in the middle of the 2013 season I switched him from the centre to the right of the back three. He exceeded expectations and even started scoring goals. In the following season, he scored seven goals.

――Since moving to Europe in the summer of 2018, he has thrived as a defensive midfielder. After a stint in Belgium, he now plays for VfB Stuttgart in Germany.

CHO　Reminiscent of former Italian national team centre-back Fabio CANNAVARO, I thought his game intuition would translate well in Europe. However, to be honest, I couldn't imagine him playing that well as a defensive midfielder. I couldn't spot his ability to draw and pass the ball forward from midfield. There are players who are converted from attacking positions to defensive positions, but Wataru is the opposite. He is a unique type of player.

――For two seasons in a row (2020-21, 2021-22), he topped the Bundesliga in the number of duels won.

CHO　When I hear Wataru say, “The idea that ‘Japanese players cannot win duels’ is not true,” I realise that in order to win duels, it is not just about building muscles, but also about predicting the next move. I also think that Wataru's stellar performance in Germany has had a tremendous impact on the Japanese football community. He proved that you don't need to be physically gifted in order to reach that level, as long as you put football at the centre of your life, keep your thoughts organised and keep working hard. He will be 29 years old and in his prime for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. I am looking forward to seeing how well he can play and make his presence felt against strong opponents.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

Tournament Dates: Mon. 21 November - Sun. 18 December 2022
[Group Stage]
1st Match: Wed. 23 November 16:00 [Local Time] vs Germany National Team
2nd Match: Sun. 27 November 13:00 [Local Time] vs Costa Rica National Team
3rd Match: Thu. 1 December 22:00 [Local Time] vs Spain National Team

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