Quick Facts
Biography
Yasuhito Endō (遠藤 保仁, Endō Yasuhito, born 28 January 1980 in Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture) is a Japanese footballer, who currently plays for the J. League team Gamba Osaka. His older brother Akihiro, who retired in 2008, is also a former professional footballer, and was selected as one of Japan under-23 national football team members played at 1996 Olympics. He is considered a cult hero at Gamba Osaka and the Japan National Football Team. It is because he has formidable passing ability, leadership, and goal scoring ability. He is also known for his excellent accuracy on free kicks and is revered as one of Japan's most creative midfielders as well as one of the most talented Japanese footballers of his generation, despite only playing domestically in his home country.
Club career
In 2011, he became the first J. League player to be named in the J. League Best Eleven 9 times. In 2009, he was named "Player of the Year" by the Asian Football Confederation.
In 2012, he extended his record and became the first Japanese player to be selected in the J. League Best Eleven ten consecutive times in a row in the midfield position.
International career
Endō played 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship and Japan finished as runner-up, losing to Spain in the final. Since 2002, Endō has been a member of the senior national team, and was selected for Japan's 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup squads. He also was a member of the 2004 and 2011 AFC Asian Cup winning teams.
On 24 June 2010, Endō scored from a free-kick against Denmark in a 3–1 win as Japan qualified for the second round of the World Cup.
On 12 October 2010, he became the fourth player to earn 100th full international cap for Japan in a friendly match against South Korea. On 16 October 2012, Endo became Japan's most capped player in a friendly against Brazil. His start in this match was his 123rd appearance for the national team, surpassing Masami Ihara's previous record of 122 caps.
Endō was included in Japan's squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and scored the team's opening goal of the tournament in a 4–0 defeat of Palestine. In the team's next match, he won his 150th cap as Japan defeated Iraq 1–0.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Emperor's Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Other* | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kagoshima Jitsugyō H.S. | 1997 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Yokohama Flügels | 1998 | 16 | 1 | - | 4 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | |||
| Total | 16 | 1 | - | 4 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | 1999 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 4 | ||
| 2000 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 6 | |||
| Total | 53 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 64 | 10 | |||
| Gamba Osaka | 2001 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2002 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 6 | |||
| 2003 | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 4 | |||
| 2004 | 29 | 9 | 3 | 0 | - | — | — | 32 | 9 | ||||
| 2005 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 10 | |||
| 2006 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 1 | - | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 14 | ||
| 2007 | 34 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 2008 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 44 | 11 | |
| 2009 | 32 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 14 | |
| 2010 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2011 | 33 | 4 | - | - | 7 | 1 | - | 40 | 5 | ||||
| 2012 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | - | 44 | 9 | ||
| 2013 | 33 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 33 | 5 | |||||
| 2014 | 34 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 45 | 6 | |||
| 2015 | 34 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 58 | 6 | |
| 2016 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 507 | 95 | 44 | 10 | 47 | 4 | 56 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 669 | 122 | |
| Career total | 576 | 105 | 48 | 10 | 60 | 5 | 56 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 754 | 133 | |
*Includes other competitive competitions, including the Japanese Super Cup, A3 Champions Cup and FIFA Club World Cup and J. League Championship.
International
| Japan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 11 | 1 |
| 2004 | 16 | 2 |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 |
| 2006 | 8 | 0 |
| 2007 | 13 | 1 |
| 2008 | 16 | 3 |
| 2009 | 12 | 0 |
| 2010 | 15 | 2 |
| 2011 | 13 | 0 |
| 2012 | 11 | 1 |
| 2013 | 16 | 2 |
| 2014 | 8 | 2 |
| 2015 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 152 | 15 |
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 20 August 2003 | National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan |  Nigeria | Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2003) | ||
| 2. | 7 February 2004 | Kashima Stadium, Kashima, Japan |  Malaysia | Friendly Match (Kirin Challenge Cup 2004) | ||
| 3. | 7 July 2004 | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan |  Serbia and Montenegro | Kirin Cup 2004 | ||
| 4. | 16 July 2007 | My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam |  Vietnam | 2007 AFC Asian Cup | ||
| 5. | 6 February 2008 | Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan |  Thailand | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification | ||
| 6. | 7 June 2008 | Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat, Oman |  Oman | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification | ||
| 7. | 6 September 2008 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain |  Bahrain | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification | ||
| 8. | 14 February 2010 | National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan |  South Korea | 2010 East Asian Football Championship | ||
| 9. | 24 June 2010 | Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa |  Denmark | 2010 FIFA World Cup | ||
| 10. | 15 August 2012 | Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan |  Venezuela | Friendly | ||
| 11. | 6 September 2013 | Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan |  Guatemala | Friendly | ||
| 12. | 10 September 2013 | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan |  Ghana | Friendly | ||
| 13. | 2 June 2014 | Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States |  Costa Rica | Friendly | ||
| 14. | 14 November 2014 | Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan |  Honduras | Friendly | ||
| 15. | 12 January 2015 | Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle, Australia |  Palestine | 2015 AFC Asian Cup |
Honours
Club
- Emperor's Cup: 1998
- J. League Division 1: 2005, 2014
- J. League Division 2: 2013
- Emperor's Cup: 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015
- J. League Cup: 2007, 2014
- Japanese Super Cup: 2007, 2015
- AFC Champions League: 2008
- Pan-Pacific Championship: 2008
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2008 Bronze Medalist.
International
- AFC Asian Cup: 2004, 2011
- Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 2007
- Kirin Cup: 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009
Individual
- Asian Footballer of the Year: 2009
- AFC Champions League Best Player: 2008
- J. League MVP Award: 2014
- Japanese Footballer of the Year: 2008
- J. League Best Eleven: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015