It is hard to imagine an upside to a collective officiating decision so poor, that it almost called into question the neutrality of those officials involved.
Yet if the entire football world was left baffled by Alexis Mac Allister’s red card – which so clearly should have been overturned by the VAR Paul Tierney (who has a long and troubling history with Jurgen Klopp) – then it did lead directly to the most romantic moment of a wild game.
Shortly afterwards, blinking into the bright lights of Anfield, came a slightly bemused Wataru Endo for what was a remarkable Liverpool debut against Bournemouth, barely hours after his international clearance had landed. To say the signing of the Japan captain was left field is as understated as his transfer itself. It came from nowhere, and took even the midfielder himself by surprise.
“I only found out three or four days ago there was a chance!” he explained afterwards. “It was so so quick. At the beginning of the week I was getting ready to play in the Bundesliga, at the end of the week I am playing here at Anfield in front of all these fans – it is crazy!”
What is also crazy, is that Liverpool went from committing to spend £111m on a holding midfielder in Moises Caicedo, and then three days later actually spending almost £100m less on an alternative in the same position. Only in the mad world of football transfers can that happen.
Endo is 30 and hardly fits the profile of the Anfield club, who almost exclusively sign young players with the potential to develop their talent and value. Yet he has always dreamed of playing for a big Premier League and still dared to hope that his experience may get him that move.
“I understand top clubs want young talent, but you know I just try to (say to myself) ‘this is the only chance you can move to Liverpool’, because they always try to get younger players,” he explained. “To be honest I followed Liverpool’s news, that they wanted midfielders they wanted a number six, but yeah – I thought Caicedo had gone to Liverpool….!!
“So when he went to Chelsea I just thought, maybe, maybe. I thought maybe they needed experienced midfielders or something like that, because Henderson had moved, and also Fabinho had moved to another club, so I thought there may be a chance. It happened so quickly. I had to decide so fast, but actually, I couldn’t say no, because playing in the Premier League was always my dream.”
DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool’s home shirt for the 2023/2024 campaign pays homage to Bill Shankly and the legendary Reds manager’s final season in charge at Anfield. The Nike shirt features a bright red design with a bold white contrast on the colour and cuffs.
Prices start from £59.95
Klopp admitted the circumstances of Endo’s debut were “horrible”, being thrown in with just one brief training session, with barely a chance to get to know his teammates. But he was not alone in feeling like a stranger. Liverpool’s back five looked for the opening 15 minutes like they’d never met, Bournemouth capitalised with a fine goal from Antoine Semenyo, and could easily have been further ahead.
A soft Mo Salah penalty and then a fine Luis Diaz strike restored order, but it was only after Mac Allister was dismissed on his Anfield debut, that the home team finally started to look like a team – with another new boy Dominik Szoboszlai looking a real find, and Diaz excelling. But that red card means a potential three-match ban for Mac Allister – and more games immediately than Endo would have expected.
“I am an experienced player, so I need to accept and deal with even this situation,” he said afterwards with a smile. “It was hard…but it was special for me!”
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Leave a Reply