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7 Yasuhito Endo
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| Position: MF
| | Born:28-Jan-1980
| | Height/Weight:177/70
| | Birthplace:Kagoshima |
| Previous Teams:Sakurajima Jr.HS, Kagoshima Jitsugyo HS, Yokohama Flugels, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Gamba Osaka |
| Matches (J1/J2):279/0 | Goals: 59/0 |
| First Appearance: 21-Mar-1998 Yokohama Flugels -vs- Yokohama FC (at Yokohama Int'l Stadium) |
| First Goal : 01-Aug-1998 Yokohama Flugels -vs- Kashima Antlers (at Yokohama Int'l Stadium) |
| Year | Team | Appearances | Goals |
|---|
| 1998 | Yokohama Flugels | 16 | 1 |
| 1999 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 24 | 4 |
| 2000 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 29 | 5 |
| 2001 | Gamba Osaka | 29 | 4 |
| 2002 | Gamba Osaka | 30 | 5 |
| 2003 | Gamba Osaka | 30 | 4 |
| 2004 | Gamba Osaka | 29 | 9 |
| 2005 | Gamba Osaka | 33 | 10 |
| 2006 | Gamba Osaka | 25 | 9 |
| 2007 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 8 |
| TOTAL | 279 | 59 |
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Yasuhito Endo epitomizes the "defensive bulldog" variety of defensive midfielder, with a short, stocky frame, a hunger for the ball and powerful defensive capabilities. However, despite some laudable skills, it has taken him a considerable amount of time to work his way into the full national team. Endo was one of the "golden generation" that rocketed to stardom following their success as runners up at the 1999 World Youth Championships.
| However, for reasons that are not particularly easy to understand, he failed to progress apace with U-20 teammates like Shinji Ono, Junichi Inamoto and Koji Nakata into the Olympic team and subsequently the full national team. Phillippe Troussier's preference for hard-running, obedient automatons at the defensive midfield position gave the position to pretenders such as Kazuyuki Toda and Tomokazu Myojin, while Endo was dropped from the Oympic squad just before the Olympics themselves. He lingered at the fringes of the national team, winning an occasional call-up now and then, but failing to see any action.
But Endo continued to develop as a player, blooming into a highly dependable, hard-working and technically skillful player for Gamba Osaka. When teammate Junichi Inamoto moved overseas, Endo took over as the enforcer in the Gamba midfield and began to gain prominence as one of the most respected two-way midfielders in the league. His hard work eventually paid off, as Zico recognised his potential and began offering him cameo appearances in the NT in early 2003. His breakthrough came at the Confederations Cup in France, in June 2003, when an injury forced Shinji Ono to withdraw from the lineup and Endo was forced to step in as a last-minute replacement at starting volante. Endo put on an impressive showing, especially in the contest against France, and followed this up with his first National Team goal in the subsequent match against Nigeria. |  |
Endo's rise as a key player in defensive midfield put Zico in a bit of a quandry which may have had an adverse impact at the 2006 World Cup, as he had difficulty deciding who to use as his defensive midfielders. This uncertainty may have contributed to some of the weaknesses shown by the midfield in Germany. But there is no doubt Endo is a valuable presence for the national team, as well as contributing tremendously to the solidity of Gamba Osaka's J.League prospects. Unfortunately, in mid-2006 Endo was diagnosed with type-C Hepatitis, and spent several months recuperating from severe exhaustion. Since hepatitis is a disease that is supposedly "incurable", Endo will have to carefully manage his health for the remainder of his life. It is too soon to say how much this will impact his football career, but it is sure to at least force coaches to monitor his condition closely during busy stretches of the season.
Knowing Endo's battling personality, however, he is sure to respond to this as just another challenge to be overcome. We have no doubt that he will remain an important contributor to the Gamba midfield for several years to come.
National Team Data & History |
 | NT Caps: 55 |
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| NT Goals: 4 |
Tournaments:
World Youth Championships (1999)
Confederations Cup (2003)
Asian Cup (2004)
World Cup (2006)
Asian Cup (2007) |
| | Date | Vs. | Score | Location | Status | Min. | G |
|---|
| 11-20-2002 | Argentina | 0-2 | Saitama Stadium | Sub | 23 | 0 |
| 4-16-2003 | Korea | 1-0 | Seoul, Korea | U.R. | -- | -- |
| 5-31-2003 | Korea | 0-1 | Nat'l Stadium | Sub | 25 | 0 |
| 6-8-2003 | Argentina | 1-4 | Nagai Stadium | U.R. | -- | -- |
| 6-11-2003 | Paraguay | 0-0 | Saitama Stadium | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 6-18-2003 | New Zealand | 3-0 | St.Denis,France | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 6-20-2003 | France | 1-2 | St.Etienne,France | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 6-22-2003 | Colombia | 0-1 | St.Etienne,France | Start | 82 | 0 |
| 8-20-2003 | Nigeria | 3-0 | Nat'l Stadium | Start | 90 | 1 |
| 9-10-2003 | Senegal | 0-1 | Niigata Stadium | Start | 73 | 0 |
| 10-8-2003 | Tunisia | 1-0 | Tunis, Tunisia | U.R. | -- | -- |
| 10-11-2003 | Romania | 1-1 | Bucharest, Romania | U.R. | -- | -- |
| 11-19-2003 | Cameroon | 0-0 | Oita Stadium | Sub | 10 | 0 |
| 12-4-2003 | China | 2-0 | Nat'l Stadium | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 12-7-2003 | Hong Kong | 1-0 | Saitama Stadium, | Start | 67 | 0 |
| 12-10-2003 | Korea | 0-0 | Yokohama Int'l St. | Start | 67 | 0 |
| 2-8-2004 | Malaysia | 4-0 | Nat'l Stadium | Start | 75 | 1 |
| 2-12-2004 | Iraq | 2-0 | Shizuoka Stadium | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 2-18-2004 | Oman | 1-0 | Shizuoka Stadium | Start | 64 | 0 |
| 3-31-2004 | Singapore | 2-0 | Jalan Besar Stadium | U.R. | -- | -- |
| 4-24-2004 | Hungary | 2-3 | Hungary | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 4-28-2004 | Czech Rep. | 1-0 | Sparta Prague Stadium | Sub | 26 | 0 |
| 5-30-2004 | Iceland | 3-2 | Manchester, England | Sub | 26 | 0 |
| 7-10-2004 | Slovakia | 3-1 | Oita Stadium, Japan | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-13-2004 | Serbia | 1-0 | Yokohama Int'l Stadium | Start | 90 | 1 |
| 7-20-2004 | Oman | 1-0 | Chongqing, China | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-25-2004 | Thailand | 4-1 | Chongqing, China | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-28-2004 | Iran | 0-0 | Chongqing, China | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-31-2004 | Jordan | 1-1 (PK4-3) | Chongqing, China | Start | 120 | 0 |
| 8-04-2004 | Bahrain | 4-3 (OT) | Chengdu, China | Start | 38 | 0 |
| 8-18-2004 | Argentina | 1-2 | Shizuoka Stadium, Japan | Sub | 33 | 0 |
| 11-17-2004 | Singapore | 1-0 | Saitama Stadium, Japan | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 12-16-2004 | Germany | 0-3 | Tokyo National Stadium | Sub | 30 | 0 |
| 1-29-2005 | Kazakhstan | 4-0 | Yokohama Intl | Start | 87 | 0 |
| 2-2-2005 | Syria | 3-0 | Saitama Stadium | Start | 72 | 0 |
| 2-9-2005 | North Korea | 2-1 | Saitama Stadium | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 6-8-2005 | North Korea | 2-0 | Bangkok Thailand | Sub | 5 | 0 |
| 6-15-2005 | Mexico | 1-2 | Hannover, Germany | U.R. | -- | 0 |
| 6-19-2005 | Greece | 1-0 | Frankfurt, Germany | Sub | 16 | 0 |
| 7-31-2005 | North Korea | 0-1 | Daejon, Korea | Start | 76 | 0 |
| 8-17-2005 | Iran | 2-1 | Yokohama Stadium | Start | 79 | 0 |
| 2-10-2006 | USA | 2-3 | San Francisco | Start | 45 | 0 |
| 5-09-2006 | <Bulgaria | 1-2 | Nagai Std., Osaka | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 5-13-2006 | <Scotland | 0-0 | Nagai Std., Osaka | Start | 73 | 0 |
| 8-18-2006 | Yemen | 2-0 | Niigata Stadium | Start | 71 | 0 |
| 9-1-2006 | Saudi Arabia | 0-1 | Saudi Arabia | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 9-6-2006 | Yemen | 1-0 | Sanaa, Yemen | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 3-24-2007 | Peru | 2-0 | Yokohama Stadium | Start | 68 | 0 |
| 6-01-2007 | Montenegro | 2-0 | Shizuoka Stadium | Start | 79 | 0 |
| 6-05-2007 | Colombia | 0-0 | Saitama Stadium | Start | 80 | 0 |
| 7-09-2007 | Qatar | 1-1 | Hanoi, Vietnam | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-13-2007 | UAE | 3-1 | Hanoi, Vietnam | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-16-2007 | Vietnam | 4-1 | Hanoi, Vietnam | Start | 68 | 1 |
| 7-21-2007 | Australia | 1-1 | Hanoi, Vietnam | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-25-2007 | Saudi Arabia | 2-3 | Bangkok, Thailand | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 7-28-2007 | South Korea | 0-0 | Bangkok, Thailand | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 8-22-2007 | Cameroon | 2-0 | Oita "Big Eye" Std | Start | 63 | 0 |
| 9-07-2007 | Switzerland | 4-3 | Klagenfurt, Austria | Start | 87 | 0 |
| 9-11-2007 | Austria | 0-0 | Klagenfurt, Austria | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 10-17-2007 | Egypt | 4-1 | Nagai Stadium, Osaka | Start | 74 | 0 |
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| 1-26-2007 | Chile | 0-0 | Natl Stadium, Tokyo | Start | 90 | 0 |
| 1-30-2007 | Bosnia | 3-0 | Natl Stadium, Tokyo | Start | 90 | 0 |
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