Weight 55 kg 1991–1998 Yomiuri Beleza Height 1.64 m | Number 10 Role Football player Name Homare Sawa Career start 1991 | |
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Date of birth (1978-09-06) 6 September 1978 (age 37) Similar People | ||
Playing position | ||
EXCLUSIVE - Japan legend Homare Sawa
Homare Sawa (澤 穂希, Sawa Homare, born 6 September 1978) is a former 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. She previously played for the Atlanta Beat of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), NTV Beleza, the Washington Freedom of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), and INAC Kobe Leonessa in the Nadeshiko League Division 1.
Contents
- EXCLUSIVE Japan legend Homare Sawa
- Homare sawa i couldn t repeat that shot
- Early life
- Club
- Atlanta Beat
- NTV Beleza
- Washington Freedom
- International
- Club career
- Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments
- Individual
- References
Homare sawa i couldn t repeat that shot
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.
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.
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.
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. She announced her immediate retirement from international football in August 2012, after helping Japan win a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
Sawa returned to international competition in 2014 to help Japan win the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup, scoring her 82nd international goal in the process. 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. Sawa and Brazil's Formiga became 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 in the final.
Club career
As of 11 November 2012Matches 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. 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.