What happened at Liverpool training speaks volumes as Wataru Endo praised by club staff

What happened at Liverpool training speaks volumes as Wataru Endo praised by club staff

The latest tour diary from Tokyo, Japan as Liverpool's squad get set to enjoy an afternoon of rare down-time on tour

Arne Slot attends the training session ahead of their pre-season friendly football match against Yokohama F. Marinos, in Chiba city on July 29, 2025. (Image: PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images )

Tuesday afternoon gave the Liverpool squad some rare time off and the excitement was palpable as the squad convened at the entrance of their plush hotel after open training was done with.

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Dominik Szoboszlai could be seen taking new boys - and fellow Hungarians - Milos Kerkez and Armin Pecsi under his wing, while captain Virgil van Dijk waited patiently for Cody Gakpo to complete some media duties before they set off for their afternoon adventure with Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate.

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Harvey Elliott, meanwhile, was asking for recommendations for what to do around Tokyo as the team prepared to let their hair down, if only for a few hours.

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There is sight-seeing to be done and the chatter among the players who gathered around the lobby of their Shiodome residents was of what they had lined up.

It was noted by one first-team player, wryly, that it was no coincidence that the time off had been arranged the day before the friendly with Yokohama F Marinos to avoid any overindulgence.

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Club staff were set to get together for an evening buffet at their hotel as everyone on the tour enjoys one final night before flying back almost immediately after Wednesday night's friendly in Yokohama.

For many, it seems it will be good to get back to normality but it's been a successful trip for the Reds, who are aiming to further grow their reputation this Far East having already established themselves as one of the giants among football fans in Hong Kong, a fact that was very much proven by 25,000 appearing at open training at the Kai Tak Stadium last week.

Japan captain Wataru Endo, meanwhile, had an afternoon planned with his family and was praised by staff for his patience when undergoing a partnership appearance for most of the afternoon when many others would have been itching to get away to spend some time with loved ones who he does not see as often as he might like now his career has taken him to England.

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Two players whose experiences of Japan were limited, however, are Alisson Becker and Luis Diaz, with the latter saying his goodbyes on Monday night before flying to Germany to complete his £65.5m switch to Bayern Munich.

Alisson has left the camp due to personal reasons and will link up with his team-mates when they return to Merseyside. The Brazil international goalkeeper missed the training session on Tuesday as a result and Gio Mamardashvili is now expected to start the friendly on Wednesday.

Open training earlier in the day was a useful enough workout for the players, who battled through the seating temperatures to get those fitness bases built up ahead of the big kick-off in August against Bournemouth at Anfield.

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