Mana Iwabuchi

Mana Iwabuchi
Personal information
Full name Mana Iwabuchi
Date of birth March 18, 1993 (1993-03-18) (age 18)
Place of birth Tokyo, Japan
Height 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club NTV Beleza
Number 13
Youth career
2005-2007 NTV Menina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007- NTV Beleza 43 (16)
National team‡
2010- Japan 11 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 July 2011

Mana Iwabuchi (岩渕 真奈 Iwabuchi Mana?, also いわぶち まな; born March 18, 1993) is a female football player from Japan. She currently plays for NTV Beleza and its youth team, NTV Menina, and the Japan women's national football team.

Contents

Career

Iwabuchi started playing soccer at Sekimae S.C. in her second year of elementary school. She was encouraged by her brother Ryota, who played soccer on the FC Tokyo junior youth team and currently plays for the Meiji University soccer club. She joined NTV Menina in 2005, and has been a member of NTV Beleza since 2007.[1]

Iwabuchi began her international carrier in 2008 when she was selected onto Japan's Under-17 national football team at the age of 15, and participated in the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand. The team was defeated in the quarterfinals but she was awarded the tournament's MVP (adidas Golden Ball).[2] A French team coach hailed her as a "future star of women's football."[3] Iwabuchi was also awarded the Asian Young Footballer of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation in 2008. She joined the Japan national team for the East Asian Football Championship, held in early 2010, and debuted in the game against PRC national team. She scored her first goal against the Chinese Taipei national team in the same competition.

Statistics

Club Season League Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
NTV Menina 2006 - 3 0 - 3 0
NTV Beleza 2007 1 0 - 5 3 6 3
NTV Menina 2007 - 3 4 - 3 4
NTV Beleza 2008 7 3 4 2 - 11 5
2009 17 5 3 3 - 20 8
2010 18 8 1 0 5 2 24 10
Career Total 43 16 14 9 10 5 67 30

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. February 11, 2010 National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Chinese Taipei 3-0 Win 2010 EAFF Women's Football Championship
2. February 11, 2010 National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Chinese Taipei 3-0 Win 2010 EAFF Women's Football Championship

Honors and awards

Teams

Japan women's national football team
Champion (1): 2011
Champion (1): 2010
Champion (1): 2009
NTV Beleza
Champions (3): 2007, 2008, 2010
Champions (2): 2008, 2009
Champions (2): 2007, 2010

Individual

References

  1. ^ The L. League has a system where youth team players can join the top team without removing registration on the youth team). Iwabuchi is still the member of NTV Menina (as of March 2010), though she no longer plays for it.
  2. ^ Perfect tens strike gold, FIFA.com
  3. ^ Japan's Mana from heaven, FIFA.com

External links
Japan squad – 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (1st Title)