Another defensive midfielder who is almost certain to spend most of his time in Germany warming the substitutes bench. Endo broke into the national team set-up shortly after the last World Cup finals and has won more than 40 caps since then. He started his club career with Yokohama F Marinos, before joining Kyoto Purple Sanga, while he has been with Gamba Osaka for the last five years. Known as a physical, tough-tackling performer, Endo may prove to be suited to the expected quicker pace of the games in cooler European conditions.