Although gumshields are typically associated with the likes of rugby, hockey and boxing, there are a handful of footballers who opt to protect their teeth. That includes Liverpooland Japan star Wataru Endo, who has revealed his reasoning.
A somewhat surprising move, the defensive midfielder joined the red side of Merseyside from VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2023 as one of Jurgen Klopp’s four midfield-based arrivals – alongside those of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
Now a worthy deputy in Arne Slot’s engine room, while many have borne witness to his quiet – yet steely – personality when he’s been utilised in the Dutchman’s centre of the park, what a large chunk of fans have never realised is that he wears a mouthguard.
In fact, he has done so for the last four seasons, while he was a cornerstone at the MHP Arena, since a conversation with his dentist took place. But, contrary to popular belief, the reasoning is not only to do with protecting his teeth.
Endo’s Unorthodox Usage of A Mouthguard
Per This Is Anfield, he wrote: “It’s become so important to me that I can say that I’m afraid to play soccer without it. I first started using it when I met a dentist named Jun Miyagawa who lives in Germany.
Mr. Miyagawa explained to me that: ‘Even monkeys have beautiful teeth, it’s only humans who get their teeth lose,’ and that ‘Resetting the jaw joint to its proper position will improve both the mind and body. The most important point of a mouthpiece is to protect your teeth.
“Soccer is a contact sport, and although it is not as common as rugby or American football, it is possible for teeth to break due to impact, it happens often. My first goal was to prevent that. I no longer have the fear of breaking my teeth, I started to be able to hit ‘1 vs. 1’ with all my might.
And while the primary function of the mouthguard – in all corners of the sports world, including in the beautiful game – is teeth protection, the former Stuttgart enforcer also insisted that it helps him click into game-mode when he takes to the field.
conscious of the position of my jaw it allows me to relax. It’s not an absolutely indispensable tool when I’m on the pitch.
Endo, who has made Japan an ‘unbreakable’ force according to Japanese publication Football Zone, confirmed his reasoning and added that it makes him look like a fighter, which adds further character to his all-action persona. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:
“When I was in Germany I met a Japanese dentist; he told me it’s a good mouthpiece, it makes something different about performance,” Endo told the broadcaster. “Now I just wear it to protect my teeth and also it looks like a fighter, so when I go into the pitch I just put the mouthpiece on and it’s like game mode.”
