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| 엔도 와타루 SNS |
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| From left, Baek Seung-ho, Lee Myung-jae, and Tomoki Iwata. Source = Birmingham City SNS |
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One thing that the winners of the English Premier League (EPL, Division 1), Championship (Part 2), and League One (Part 3) have in common this season is that they have a Japanese midfielder.
Captain Endo Wataru of the Japanese national team tasted an early victory for Liverpool in the 2024-2025 EPL season. He played 17 games as a substitute for Liverpool manager Arne Slot, contributing to Liverpool's victory in five seasons with four games remaining.
Compared to former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp's time in the game was significantly reduced, but the team has lost only two goals since Endo played. Endo, which has the highest number of fouls per hour in the league, was evaluated as having done its part with 'finishing agent'.
Endo was ranked as a Japanese player who won the EPL Cup after Junichi Inamoto (former Arsenal), Shinji Kagawa (former Manchester City), Shinji Okazaki (former Leicester City), and Takumi Minamino (former Liverpool).
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| 다나카 아오. AP Yonhap News |
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| Liz United SNS |
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Tanaka Ao (Liz), who plays for the Japanese national team with Endo, won the championship through the final league match on the 3rd. The league tied Burnley with 100 points in the final Championship match against Plymouth with a 2-1 victory over Solomon's theatrical goal from Tottenham. He was 12 goals ahead of the gap and won the championship. Leeds had previously confirmed their promotion to the EPL early on.
Tanaka, a former rookie of the J-League, moved to Leeds from Fortuna Düsseldorf this season and played in all games (five goals in 43 games) from the fourth round of the championship to the final round, leading the team to promotion and league championship.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Tomoki Iwata led his team's League One victory as Baek Seung-ho's midfield partner in Birmingham City. He scored six goals in a total of 39 games and was recognized for his ability to be nominated for player of the year. Birmingham secured an early win with six games remaining in the league. Baek Seung-ho is the only Korean player this season to have won in England's first to third divisions.
With Leeds' promotion to the EPL, the number of Japanese Premier Leaguers is expected to increase by one more next season. Iwata will work with Baek in a higher championship. It is unclear whether Endo, who has a narrow position, will wear Liverpool uniforms next season.
Endo and Tanaka are the first players in the world to lead the team to the 2026 North-China World Cup finals. The Japanese national team's midfield also includes Hidemasa Morita (Sporting), Leo Hatate (Celtic), and Fujita Joel Chima (Sintrawide), so Iwata has not been called by the Japanese national team coach, Hajime Moriyasu, for three years since 2022. Japan has seen a noticeable increase in European big leaguers in recent years, and now the winning players are appearing one after another.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
