Tsubasa Endoh: The Heart Of A Lion

Tsubasa Endoh knew something was wrong during a training session with the LA Galaxy late in 2022. The former Maryland men’s soccer star hadn't felt well for some time, but this was nothing like he had ever experienced before.

“As an athlete, you don’t want to miss anything, so I pushed myself, but there was clearly something wrong,” Endoh recalled. “I couldn’t eat breakfast. Once I got to the field, I couldn’t move. My calves were exploding and I couldn’t even jog around. I felt like my mind was in the sky. I didn’t know what I was doing. At the end of the game I felt like I was going to pass out.”

Bloodwork revealed that Endoh’s white blood cell count was below 500, an alarming number that led him to go to the emergency room. Once in the ER, Endoh stayed there for eight full days. On the second day, he was told he might have cancer—a sentence that turned his world upside down.

“It was the most devastating moment in my life,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Who would have thought this would happen to me’? That was my first thought and my second thought was I wanted to go back to Japan and be with my family.”

Endoh packed up his belongings and headed back across the world to be home. When he first arrived back in Japan, there was some confusion among the medical staff as to whether he had cancer or not. However, after a few weeks of feeling awful, he returned to the hospital for another bone marrow biopsy.

It was then in the middle of December of 2022 that Endoh first received his official diagnosis: acute leukemia. 

“When I heard that I was like, “Ok, what's the point of living?” I was thinking I might as well die. I had to face death. This is something I would never have thought I would have to think about.”

From that point, Endoh started chemotherapy in Japan. As is the regular process in Japan, he would stay in the hospital for the entire cycle of chemotherapy. The first cycle lasted five weeks, and Endoh wasn’t allowed any visitors during that time due to COVID-19 restrictions. After the five weeks were up, he went home to be with his family and to rest—then it started all over again. Endoh went through three cycles of chemo, with the longest lasting eight weeks, until he found a donor for a bone marrow transplant. 

For Endoh, the hardships, brutal side effects, and loneliness of going through something unimaginable were almost too much to bear at different times. One of the main things that kept him going? The outpouring of love and support he received from Maryland, the LA Galaxy, and even strangers he had never met.

“It makes you not want to give up,” Endoh said of all the support. “There are so many people and fans from previous clubs that are cheering for you and I got countless support throughout social media. It was really surreal for me to experience that.”

One of Endoh’s biggest sources of support throughout his fight has been Maryland men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski. 

Cirovski first heard the news coming off a big win against Rutgers last season when he received a call from one of his former players, Mael Corboz. Corboz was a Rutgers transfer, so Cirovski initially thought the call was about the game until Corboz, Endoh’s best friend, informed Cirovski that Endoh was seriously ill. Cirovski then called the LA Galaxy to gain more information before calling Endoh himself. 

“I didn’t really know what to do when I first heard about Tsubasa’s diagnosis, but I knew that Sash would be an important piece to that with getting him the best medical care and in helping financially,” Corboz recalled. 

After more talks with Corboz and Endoh, it became clear to Cirovski that Endoh would need financial assistance during this fight. As a result, Cirovski started a Go-Fund-Me alongside two other former Maryland men’s soccer players, Matt Di Rosa and Alex Crognale.

“We immediately jumped in and said we need to find ways to rally people so we can support him,” Cirovski said. “We pretty much told him, ‘You do the fighting, and we’ll do the funding.’ He did that and we did too.” 

The Go-Fund-Me hit its original goal in approximately six weeks and raised over $45,000 total to go towards Endoh’s medical bills as he battled leukemia.

“The way all Tsubasa’s ex-teammates stepped up, and the way all of our alumni stepped up, it’s been great to see,” Cirovski said. “It’s been exactly what you hope a family does in a time of need. We all came together and it makes me very proud.”

Cirovski's efforts to look out for his former player blew Endoh away.

“I didn’t know what to expect from Sasho because the last time I had talked to him was in 2021 when I was with Toronto FC and we had an away game in DC,” Endoh said. “The support has been immense from him. He and Mael helped me so much. I had no idea they were going to do that.”

Outside of his immediate family, arguably, no one has been there more for Endoh than Corboz has. 

“He’s been my best friend,” Endoh said. “He’s a guy I constantly talk with and he was one of the few guys that knew about my diagnosis since Day One. He’s always been there for me.”

“I’ve been in Germany for seven years now so I’ve lost touch with a lot of close friends, but with Tsubasa it’s completely different,” Corboz said. “I always know what’s going on in his life and he always knows what’s going on in mine. When I think of friends that I’ll have forever, Tsubasa is one of the first ones that comes to mind.”

Despite not having seen each other since 2018, when Endph was able to visit Corboz in Germany, the two talked every single day when Endoh was first diagnosed. Every morning, as Corboz was on his way to training in Germany, he called Endoh to check-in. 

“We talked everyday, but I didn’t really have to do a lot to keep his spirits up,” Croboz recalled. “He never acted like he was potentially fighting for his life. He would just talk about all these random things and he talked a lot about getting back on the field. He was incredibly positive the whole way. That’s one of his biggest qualities.”

The two’s strong bond dates back to their years playing together under the lights at Ludwig Field, with the relationship including a year as roommates where they would ride to practice together on Endoh’s mo-ped. 

“We had similar styles on the field and similar interests off of it,” Corboz said. “We were both very, very invested in soccer. It quickly became clear to both of us that we should probably be roommates. And once we did, we spent a ton of time together and got super close.”

“I always tell my players that if you walk out of here with one best friend, that it makes everything worth it,” Cirovski said. “And Tsubasa and Mael found that.”

Endoh never dreamed of playing college soccer, least of all in College Park. Instead, he wanted to play in England in the Premier League. However, the residency program he was in at the time in Japan found him summer camps at Maryland and Wake Forest. During his time in College Park, Endoh immediately felt a connection to the coaching staff. 

“At the end of the camp, Sasho called me and said, ‘Make sure you learn English and pass the SATs so that you can join our soccer program.’ And once I knew that, I went back to Japan and just studied English really hard, like more than anybody else, and in the end I was able to pass the SATs.”

Cirovski recalls being doubtful that Endoh would be able to accomplish what he needed to in order to actually make it to College Park. However, a few months later, Endoh called him to say he had passed his SATS thanks to traveling two-and-a-half hours by train twice a week in order to receive English tutoring. Needless to say, Cirovski was equally as shocked as he was impressed.

Endoh enrolled at Maryland in January of 2012 and starred on the field, helping the team to a pair of College Cup appearances. 

“He was a 5-foot-8, 140-pound young man that played with incredible skill and toughness and became one of our most important players during a great four-year run for us,” Cirovski said. “And then he went on and has stuck in the MLS for a number of years. And everywhere he goes, everyone loves him.”

The time he spent at Maryland is an experience Endoh wouldn’t trade for the world.

“The experience at Maryland was definitely something I didn’t expect in my life. I didn’t even know Maryland was a Division I soccer team. I just kind of jumped in. The four years that I spent there I will cherish forever. I made so many good friends, my teammates and coaches were so nice, and the environment in itself at Maryland was something I would never see in Japan. One of the most important things was for me to learn English and get the diploma and I was able to achieve that.”

In March of 2023, Endoh underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and was discharged for good. He now undergoes weekly check-ups and is on medication but is considered to be in stable condition.

But Endoh’s story isn’t over yet. He’s turned his attention to getting back on the soccer pitch. 

“Once I started treatment, I never had one thought that I wouldn’t be going back to the field or playing soccer,” Endoh said. “From Day One I wanted to be back and prove myself again. I wanted to show that I can fight back and play at the highest level again. I really believe that’s going to happen.”

The people who know him best have no doubts it will happen.

“He moved to College Park from Japan when he could barely speak English,” Corboz said. “When you think about that and how brave it is and how much difficulty he had to overcome to play a big part in a program like Maryland, that was enough to show me that he could overcome anything.” 

“The kid’s got the heart of a lion,” Cirovski added. “His journey to come to Maryland makes me believe his journey to beat this cancer and to get back into the MLS is going to happen.”