Homare Sawa
Sawa at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 6 September 1978 | ||
Place of birth | Tokyo, Japan | ||
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1] | ||
Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | INAC Kobe Leonessa | ||
Number | 10 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1991–1998 | Yomiuri Beleza | 136 | (79) |
1999–2000 | Denver Diamonds | ||
2001–2003 | Atlanta Beat | 55 | (13) |
2004–2010 | NTV Beleza | 85 | (47) |
2009–2010 | Washington Freedom | 41 | (6) |
2010 | NTV Beleza | ||
2011–2015 | INAC Kobe Leonessa | 94 | (12) |
National team‡ | |||
1993–2015 | Japan | 204 | (83) |
Honours
| |||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 November 2012. |
Homare Sawa (澤 穂希 Sawa Homare, born 6 September 1978) is a Japanese professional football player. She was captain of the Japan women's national football team that won gold at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and led the team to the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2012, she was named the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year. Sawa currently plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa in the Nadeshiko League Division 1. She previously played for the Atlanta Beat of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), NTV Beleza, and the Washington Freedom of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).
Early life
Born in Fuchū, Tokyo, Sawa began playing football when at the age of six. While watching her older brother train, she was invited by his coach to join the boys' team on the pitch.[2]
Playing career
Club
Long considered Japan's finest female footballer, Sawa made her debut in L. League, Japan's highest domestic league, at the young age of 12.[3]
Atlanta Beat
With the birth of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) in 2001, Sawa found herself playing in the highest-level professional women's league in the United States, for the Atlanta Beat. She scored the first goal in the club's history, and was a centerpiece of the Beat's three seasons in the league, helping them into the playoffs each year. Despite her diminutive stature at 5'5" (164 cm) tall and 121 lbs. (55 kg), she held her own with the mostly larger and more physical players, and was regularly among the team and league leaders in fouls taken.
NTV Beleza
Following the WUSA's demise in 2003, Sawa returned to Japan, where she played with powerhouse NTV Beleza. In 2004, she was named Women's Player of the Year for the Asian Football Confederation.
Washington Freedom
On 24 September 2008, Sawa was selected by the Washington Freedom in the first round of the 2008 WPS International Draft. She was a fixture in the Freedom midfield through the league's first two seasons before returning to Japan during preparations for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
International
On 6 December 1993, at age 15, Sawa made her Japanese international debut, scoring four goals in her first ever match, a win against the Philippines. She has subsequently remained a fixture for the Japanese national team, participating in the last six FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments and the 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympic Games on her way to a Japanese record 201 caps, and a Japanese female-best 81 international goals, including a hat trick in a 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup group stage match against Mexico.[m 1]
Sawa led the Japanese national team as captain to a world championship victory at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup . After a 2–2 tie in front of a sellout crowd in Frankfurt, Germany (with one goal by Sawa in the 117th minute), Japan won the penalty shootout 3–1, defeating the United States to win their first ever World Cup. Sawa was also awarded the Golden Boot for being the tournament's leading scorer with five goals and the Golden Ball for being the tournament's MVP. Shortly after, she was praised by her close friend Abby Wambach of the United States national team humorously stating, "she literally scores with her eyes closed" in reference to her equalizing goal in the final against the United States.
On 9 January 2012, Sawa was awarded the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in Zurich, Switzerland.[4] She announced her immediate retirement from international football in August 2012, after helping Japan win a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.[5]
Sawa returned to international competition[6] in 2014 to help Japan win the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup, scoring her 82nd international goal in the process.[7] In 2015 she returned to the national team from injury after a one year absence and marked the occasion by scoring the winning goal, on an assist by Aya Miyama, in a warm-up match against New Zealand.[8] Sawa and Brazil's Formiga will become the first footballers to appear for a record sixth World Cup at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. However Japan went on to lose 5-2 to the US.[9]
Career statistics
Club career
- As of 11 November 2012
Team | Season | League | Domestic league | Domestic playoffs | Total | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Starts | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Apps | Starts | Minutes | Goals | Assists | Apps | Starts | Minutes | Goals | Assists | |||
Washington Freedom | 2009 | WPS | 20 | 20 | 1800 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 1890 | 3 | 0 |
Total | 20 | 20 | 1800 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 1890 | 3 | 0 | ||
Career total | – | 20 | 20 | 1800 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 1890 | 3 | 0 |
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
NTV Beleza | 1991 | 13 | 5 | - | |||||
1992 | 20 | 3 | - | ||||||
1993 | 17 | 5 | - | ||||||
1994 | 17 | 11 | - | ||||||
1995 | 18 | 16 | - | ||||||
1996 | 17 | 14 | - | ||||||
1997 | 18 | 14 | - | ||||||
1998 | 16 | 11 | - | ||||||
1999 | 0 | 0 | - | ||||||
Total | 136 | 79 | - | ||||||
Denver Diamonds | 1999 | ||||||||
2000 | |||||||||
Total | |||||||||
Atlanta Beat | 2001 | 19 | 3 | - | - | 19 | 3 | ||
2002 | 21 | 7 | - | - | 21 | 7 | |||
2003 | 15 | 3 | - | - | 15 | 3 | |||
Total | 55 | 13 | - | - | 55 | 13 | |||
NTV Beleza | 2004 | 6 | 5 | - | |||||
2005 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 3 | - | 26 | 19 | ||
2006 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 2 | - | 20 | 15 | ||
2007 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 11 | |
2008 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 1 | - | 25 | 8 | ||
Total | 85 | 47 | 2 | 0 | |||||
Washington Freedom | 2009 | 20 | 3 | - | - | 20 | 3 | ||
Total | 20 | 3 | - | - | 20 | 3 | |||
NTV Beleza | 2009 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | 8 | 3 | |
Total | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | 8 | 3 | ||
Washington Freedom | 2010 | 21 | 3 | - | - | 21 | 3 | ||
Total | 21 | 3 | - | - | 21 | 3 | |||
NTV Beleza | 2010 | - | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | - | 1 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | |||
INAC Kobe Leonessa | 2011 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 0 | - | 20 | 4 | |
2012 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
2013 | 6 | 0 | |||||||
Total | 33 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 50 | 6 | |
Career total |
International
Japan | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
1993 | 4 | 4 |
1994 | 6 | 1 |
1995 | 8 | 0 |
1996 | 10 | 3 |
1997 | 7 | 13 |
1998 | 10 | 4 |
1999 | 8 | 0 |
2000 | 1 | 1 |
2001 | 8 | 6 |
2002 | 8 | 5 |
2003 | 12 | 10 |
2004 | 8 | 2 |
2005 | 9 | 3 |
2006 | 17 | 7 |
2007 | 14 | 6 |
2008 | 15 | 7 |
2009 | 1 | 0 |
2010 | 15 | 3 |
2011 | 14 | 5 |
2012 | 10 | 1 |
2013 | 2 | 0 |
2014 | 8 | 1 |
2015 | 8 | 1 |
Total | 205 | 83 |
International goals
Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments
Sawa has competed in six FIFA Women's World Cups (Sweden 1995, USA 1999, USA 2003, China 2007, Germany 2011, and Canada 2015); she and Brazil's Formiga, who competed at the same Women's World Cups, are the only players of either sex to appear in six World Cup final tournaments. Sawa has also represented Japan in four Olympics: Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. In all, she played 41 matches and scored 11 goals at those ten global tournaments.[10] Sawa was a member of the Japanese teams that won the 2011 Women's World Cup, and were runners-up at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2015 Women's World Cup.
Key (expand for notes on “world cup and olympic goals”) | |
---|---|
Location | Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred |
Lineup | Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time |
Min | The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal. |
Assist/pass | The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information. |
penalty or pk | Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.) |
Score | The match score after the goal was scored. |
Result | The final score. W – match was won |
aet | The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation |
pso | Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time |
Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament | |
Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament |
Honors
Club
- Nadeshiko.League (8): 1991, 1992, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
- Empress's Cup All-Japan Women's Football Tournament (7): 1993, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Nadeshiko.League Cup: 2007
- Nadeshiko.League: 2011, 2012, 2013
- Empress's Cup All-Japan Women's Football Tournament: 2011
- International Women's Club Championship (1): 2013
- Nadeshiko.League Cup: 2013
International
- East Asian Football Championship: 2008, 2010
- Asian Games Gold Medal: 2010
- FIFA Women's World Cup: 2011
- Olympic Silver Medal: 2012
- AFC Women's Asian Cup: 2014
Individual
- Nadeshiko.League Best Eleven (11): 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
- AFC Women's Player of the Year: 2004, 2008
- Nadeshiko.League MVP: 2006, 2008
- EAFF Women's Football Championship Best Player: 2008, 2010
- FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Ball: 2011
- FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Shoe: 2011
- FIFA Women's World Cup All-Star Team: 2011
- FIFA World Player of the Year: 2011
- Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014
References
- ↑ 2015 World Cup
- ↑ "Homare Sawa". 2012 London Olympics Committee. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ "Star bio: Japan's Homare Sawa". CBC Sports. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ "Japan's Homare Sawa is FIFA women's player of the year". BBC News. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ↑ "Japan's Sawa set to quit international football". Reuters. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ↑ "Lesser lights eye share of the spotlight". FIFA. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ↑ "Matildas fall short in Women's Asian Cup final". The Guardian. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ↑ "Sawa returns with winning goal as Nadeshiko beat New Zealand". The Japan Times. May 28, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Japan legend Sawa makes cut for sixth World Cup". Reuters. May 1, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ↑ "FIFA Player Statistics: Homare SAWA". FIFA.
- Match reports
- 1 2 "FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Japan – Mexico". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Sweden 1995: MATCH Report: Germany – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Sweden 1995: MATCH Report: Brazil – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Sweden 1995: MATCH Report: Sweden – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Atlanta 1996: Match Report: Germany – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Atlanta 1996: Match Report: Brazil – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Atlanta 1996: Match Report: Norway – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: USA 1999: MATCH Report: Japan – Canada". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: USA 1999: MATCH Report: Japan – Russia". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: USA 1999: MATCH Report: Norway – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: USA 2003: MATCH Report: Japan – Argentina". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: USA 2003: MATCH Report: Germany – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: USA 2003: MATCH Report: Canada – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004: Match Report: Sweden – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004: Match Report: Japan – Nigeria". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004: Match Report: USA – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: China PR 2007: MATCH Report: Japan – England". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: China PR 2007: MATCH Report: Argentina – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: China PR 2007: MATCH Report: Germany – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008: Match Report: Japan – New Zealand". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008: Match Report: USA – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008: Match Report: Norway – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008: Match Report: China PR – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008: Match Report: Japan – USA". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008: Match Report: Germany – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Japan – New Zealand". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany 2011: MATCH Report: England – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Germany – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Japan – Sweden". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Germany 2011: MATCH Report: Japan – USA". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012: Match Report: Japan – Canada". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012: Match Report: Japan – Sweden". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012: Match Report: Brazil – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012: Match Report: France – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012: Match Report: USA – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Japan – Switzerland". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Japan – Cameroon". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Ecuador – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Japan – Netherlands". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015: MATCH Report: Australia – Japan". FIFA.
- ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015: MATCH Report: USA – Japan". FIFA.
External links
- FIFA 2007 Women's World Cup bio page
- 2012 London Olympics player profile
- Japan Football Association English language bio page
- WPS Press Release
- Homare Sawa on Twitter
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