What's it take to be a fan favorite? Jun Endo does it with pink hair and a lethal left foot

TOKYO — Jun Endo grabs the attention right away.

First, it’s the Japan winger’s pink hair. Next, her quick moves, agility and the curling left-foot crosses. These have made her a fan favorite at California club Angel City FC.

Look for her to get similar attention when Japan opens in the Women’s World Cup in Group C against Zambia. Spain and Costa Rica are also in the New Zealand-based group.

“She creates an expectation that something will happen when she has the ball,” Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda told The Associated Press. “She is a player who is trying new things in search of her own development in the league in the United States.”

Endo played on Japan’s 2019 World Cup team, which was knocked out in the round of 16; a disappointment for a country that won the 2011 Women’s World Cup and was the runner-up in 2015.

In an interview with the AP, Endo described herself as “rookie” on that 2019 team.

“I picked up some minutes but I really didn’t show as well as I wished,” she said. “This time I feel I have to show more of the experience I have gained over four years. I want to be an example to the younger players.”

Endo said she has learned to express herself — on and off the field — playing two seasons with Angel City. She played previously in Japan’s new WE League. She said it’s more difficult to stick out in Japan, which often values conformity over creativity.

She may have been referring to an expression in Japanese that sums up the issue.

“Deru kugi wa utareru.” Roughly translated, it means the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.

“When I came to Los Angeles and started looking, walking on the streets, I saw that freedom to be yourself without being looked at," Endo said. "Japanese society on the whole is not like that. That doesn’t mean I disrespect anybody in a different culture, but I love expressing myself.”

The hair and her untiring style of play turned her into a near-celebrity player in Los Angeles, which she said she didn't intend or foresee. The hair she said was more of a fashion statement, but it transitioned to the soccer field.

“I simply like making changes and having fun. I’m into fashion, hairstyle,” the 23-year-old Endo said. "I didn’t think of myself when I arrived at Angel City as the Energizer-Bunny kind of player. But now I’m often told I play like I’m having fun, and I’m enjoying it.

"Compared with how I played in Japan, I am enjoying it more. But there is also something about becoming more mature and thinking how I can support my teammates as a leader.”

Endo was a hit from the start. In Angel City’s first game — a 2-1 victory over the North Carolina Courage — she had an assist and a goal.

Her only setback has been an injured left knee, which she said is almost back to full strength.

Endo’s childhood was marred by upheaval. She grew up in northeastern Fukushima prefecture. She was a child in 2011 when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors took the lives of thousands.

Her family lived inland and the impact was not as great, but she has said in interviews that she was not allowed to go outside for a year. Endo watched on television in 2011 as Japan beat the United States on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the title game.

Roughly a dozen players on Japan’s team this time — Endo included — played for Ikeda when he coached national under-20 teams. The under-20 team in 2018 won the world title, and the 2022 squad was the runner-up. Both finals were against Spain.

Endo repeated several times her growing confidence to express herself on the field. To take a chance, which she suggested Japan’s women will have to do to compete. The Japanese are famous for their ball skills, but she said the team might need more aggression despite often being smaller than the opposition.

“Individual players have to pick up the intensity, have that added hunger to score goals or to win that 50-50 ball,” she said. “Japan is slightly lacking that.

"Compared to Japanese in general, other players in other countries tend to take their chance and take a big swing at it. Not being afraid to take a shot or take a chance. Japan will need that.”

Look for it to come from Jun Endo.