LOS ANGELES — From the outside looking in, Jun Endo and Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel look like two regular Southern California friends.
Look a little closer, though, and you’ll see much more.
Both are players who have signed with the Angel City Football Club, but they come from two very different worlds. In fact, they don’t even speak the same language.
“Jun came to the U.S. for Angel City,” Ferrer Van Ginkel said. “And she did not speak English at all. When I tell you, I was like Jun, ‘How are you?’ I was like, ‘damn she has it way harder than I did.’”
And yet over the last year, they’ve created a special bond — brought together by a sport they both know and love.
“It’s passion,” Ferrer Van Ginkel explained. “We love soccer. We’re here for a reason, like we both got out of our comfort zone to be here. Me, it was four years ago and her just now, but I think that connected us a lot.”
Ferrer Van Ginkel left her home in Spain at age 18 to pursue a collegiate soccer career at West Virginia University before turning pro.
For Endo, signing with Angel City this year marked her first time living alone in a foreign country.
Having Ferrer Van Ginkel by her side, Endo said through google translate, has helped her in ways she can’t fully describe.
“Thank you for being with me,” Endo told Ferrer Vaan Ginkel. “I don’t speak English, but she’s always with me. I’m spending time remembering her gratitude.”
They have bonded over TikTok, a love of laughter and a passion for soccer. Ferrer Van Ginkel even saw a bit of herself in Endo too.
“I have lived what she is right now,” she said. “Like when I went to college, my English wasn’t that good, so I had a friend back then that helped me. So, when I saw her, I was like, ‘damn that’s me.’”
And so, she’s taken to showing Endo the ropes of life in America, from going out, to the little things like taking Endo to the nail salon.
Spending time together on and off the field, their friendship has grown by leaps and bounds. It didn’t matter that language was a barrier at first. It’s clearly not anymore.
“I love our friendship,” Ferrer Van Ginkel said. “I’m lucky to have Jun. I hope people see friendship like that. It’s about energy.”
“When I’m with Jun, I can be myself and that’s what friendship is about,” Ferrer Van Ginkel added. “It’s not always about talking all the time.”