Arab News Japan

TOKYO: English Premier League champions Liverpool will face Japanese powerhouse Yokohama F Marinos on Wednesday as part of their pre-season tour of the Far East.

The Reds faced AC Milan in Hong Kong on Saturday night.

The English champions are well-known in Japan having had two prominent Japanese players on their books in recent years.

MINAMINO Takumi played for Liverpool from 2020 to 2022 and the current squad has ENDO Wataru, who signed for the Reds exactly two years ago.

While Liverpool have a high-profile in Japan, the signing of national team star Minamino brought added attention to the team. But the former Red Bull Salzburg player struggled to get into the star-studded Liverpool line-up on a regular basis and had to be content with appearances from the bench.

The same could be said of Endo, but the battling midfielder has endeared himself to the Liverpool fans with his no-holds-barred approach to the game. While the diminutive Minamino found the physical English game tough to get used to, Endo dived in feet first – sometimes literally – and has proved himself to be well-suited to the rough and tumble of the English game.

Minamino was around to see Liverpool win the F.A. Cup and the League Cup, but Endo trumped that by being an important part of the squad that clinched the Premier League title last season in Arne Slot’s first year as manager.

Endo will receive a hero’s welcome when he turns out to facethe Marinos on Wednesday, but the fans at the stadium – which hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup final – will also be there to cheer the true Liverpool superstars.

Leading the parade of footballing giants is Egyptian Mohamed Salah, arguably the best player in the Premier League and one of the best attackers in the world. He scored 29 goals with 18 assists in 38 matches last season. Salah finished the season by winning the Premier League Player of the Season award, the Golden Boot for most goals scored and the Playmaker award for most assists, making him the first player in Premier League history to win all three awards in the same season.

But Liverpool is no one-man band and the team has other superstars such as defender Virgil Van Dijk, goalkeeper Alisson, Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder Alexis Macallister and new signing from Germany Florian Wirtz, who reportedly signed for $150 million.

The Marinos have been enduring a tough spell in the J. League and have had eight managers in the last five years. They finished ninth in the J. League last season but managed to reach the semifinals of both the League Cup and the Emperor’s Cup. They have won the league five times.

Wednesday’s game kicks off at 19:30, Japan time.