Official 2016 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン(英語スレッド)

Discussion in 'Japan' started by blissett, Jan 1, 2016.

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  1. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    And here we are! A good Nadeshiko year to everyone! :)

    It's a tradition that we post our wishes for the new year. In 2015 it was all about WWC, and we at least got a second place that keeps us in the Great Powers of women's football. :)

    This year, it's of course all about Olympics! We have to cross fingers not only for the Games in Rio themselves, but also for the qualifier in February/March, that will be more difficult than ever. Compared to that, the famous London 2012 qualifier in September 2011 (the one where Yukari Kinga cried for giving away a goal to North Korea at the last minute, a goal that could have costed dearly to Japan, but ultimately amounted to nothing) was a cakewalk... -_-"

    So, most of our wishing energies have to concentrate there, this year, and it won't be difficult for it's so close, just a pair of months away! (It will be in the time of the year when we used to play Algarve Cup, that we'll obviously skip this year).

    But I don't forget that there are at least two other big events this year: U-17 WWC in Jordan in September-October and U-20 WWC in Papua New Guinea in November-December. :) Both tournament are super-important, as these are the generations that will have to bear the burden of substituting the "veterans" and of bringing us to Tokyo 2020 (and, hopefully, to Japan 2023). Nadeshiko Japan teams of respective age-classes already qualified for both tournaments. Our U-20 girls' backbone is formed by U-17 World Champions of 2014, in Costa Rica, and I am sure that, under Asako Takakura, they will be strong as ever and they'll be the team to beat in New Guinea. U-17 have to defend the title their "older sisters" won in 2014: a big responsability, but I am sure they're prepared and up to the task. :)

    So, these are my main Nadeshiko-related wishes for 2016:
    - Senior Team qualification for Rio;
    - subsequently, a medal in Rio (ok, can i wish for Gold? Wishing doesn't cost anything, and this is the only big international title that we miss... :p);
    - U-20 WWC title (it's the only logical follow-up to our U-17 title! :p);
    - a good result at U-17 WWC (ok, I'd want a title here too, but if I have to choose, I prefer U-20 to win, because I grew fond of the Costa Rica champions, one of the best and best-directed groups I've ever seen in football, men's and women's alike).

    That's it. Did I forget any important appointment of 2016? o_O I am sure I did, so someone else will correct me, integrate me and help me there. :D

    Also, I didn't express any particular wish about club football. Here, everyone will have his favourite clubs (mine will be INAC this year too; Shark oblige :rolleyes:). I just hope that Nadeshiko League will be as fought-up and interesting as it's been this year.

    Oh, a last line for individual awards and careers. We have Miyama fighting for FIFA POTY in a few days, at the Gala in Zürich (the ceremony will take place on 11th of January): honestly, I guess that she can maybe overcome Celia Sasic, but the fight against Carli Lloyd is uphill, as the US player was the lead actor of WWC 2016, final match included. But we anyway root for our captain. :giggle:

    I want to end this first post of 2016 with a special wish for Homare Sawa. She simply "was" women's football to me, and, while I was compiling the final statistics for 2015, I couldn't believe that this was the last time her name was written on a score-sheet. :cry: Maybe it's not the last time her name is written on a match report at all (I could envision a coach career for her, despite the fact that she's not sure about that).
    Anyway, I want to wish Homare all the best for "the second part of her life", whatever she wants to make of it. :)
     
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  2. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    There was so much about this video, that I wouldn't even know what to start with! :geek:

    I passed an hour of pure delight, while reharsing full Sawa's career. And consider that I didn't even understand most of what was being said! :x3::p And I would like to know if there is anything very important (or very funny) that I missed beacuse of the language barrier (they had some laughs quite often, for instance at the beginning, when Kawasumi took off that kind of kilt-handkerchief... :cautious:).

    Most of the important things were quite understandable, though, also because of the video-footage, the gestures, some sparse words in Japanese that I knew, some interviews in English (the one with Wambach, and the other with what I suppose was Sawa's foster's family in USA? o_O). Or when that sweet 5-older said "Sawa-san bye-bye", and everyone in studio (Sawa included) cried out "Kawaii!". :giggle: Also, most of the hosts who said farewell to Sawa in the videos were well-known faces (including Sawa's mama, who's back again: did she said anything about the marriage? :giggle:). The unplugged song from Naoto Inti Rayni was awesome too!
    When Wambach said that Homare is fluent in English and even learnt swear-words, I remembered there were some stories about her starting to use those words even when she was back playing in Japan (probably it was Ohno who had jokingly disclosed that, in the past... :laugh:).
    Among the videos, there was also one about the Athens 2004 qualifier match vs South Korea that I had recalled some days ago, while I was talking about our current qualifier tournament. That match is one of the most awesome Nadeshiko Japan matches that I ever saw, and I urge everyone here who never saw it to quick search for it and to watch it entirely. Did I see right that there were more than 31.000 supporters at the stadium that day? :eek: That's exactly the kind of support that I'd want to see for this year's qualifier matches!!!! Has something been said explicitly in studio, to compare that event with 2016's qualifiers? Has Sawa made that plea to supporters to come watching the next NT matches that I had hoped for? :cautious:

    Oh, and last thing: in this video I heard that famous "Oh Christmas!", just at the beginning of the broadcast, but this time I finally knew that it was a "ookurishimasu"! (And later, of course, there was also "ookurishimashita" :giggle:). Thank you very much unepomme! Merry ookurishimasu! :ROFLMAO:
     
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  3. And G

    And G Member+

    Jan 31, 2010
    Club:
    Okayama Yunogo Belle
    Let me just say real quick at the beginning of this year that I'm still in favour of splitting this thread as mentioned before:
    Since 2012, the Nadeshiko threads have always grown to several hundred pages by the end of the year, sometimes by three or four pages per day with a flurry of posts on completely unrelated topics, and that can make it hard to keep up. If we could bring some order into the chaos that would be great.

    Also akemashite omedetou and all that stuff.
     
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  4. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    My position about this subject should be quite well-known here, but I repeat it, for the sake of clarity: I guess that the size of this Nadeshiko thread is not a weakness, but its force, that makes it possible to keep it alive and thriving.

    Many people are quite attracted here by the abundance of stuff, including the marginally-related one and even the properly off-topic one, and they enjoy the sense of community this thread gives to its members.

    I am not sure that the problem that prevented people pre-2011 from making a multiple-threads' system work couldn't arise again if we tried that: people around here are not as many as they seem, especially if we talk about the real "regulars", that are supposed to keep things in motion. As humongous as this thread can seem, it's anyway severely downsized compared to last year's one (by a 50% factor), and this happened in a WWC year, that should have made it grow instead, so I am not sure that posters are enough to keep different threads alive. You could retort this argument by saying that it's indeed the size of the thread and the difficulty to keep oneself updated with it that it's causing its (relative) decline, but I am not persuaded that this is a real problem with most of the posters and readers.
    With multiple threads, in my opinion, some of them would have nothing relevant to post for entire months and this fact would undermine the sense of community and would easily lead them to slowly die down. Beyond that, there are subjects (that are interesting to many people here) that wouldn't be easily separated into single threads: where do news about Sawa's retirement would belong? NT thread? Nadeshiko League thread? Empress' Cup thread, since it happened during that tournament? I believe that the intertwining of various subjects regarding Nadeshiko football at all levels enhances the overall experience of these news more than it would be possible if they were scattered through single threads.

    I admit that sometimes this system can be taxing, especially if some people are interested in some kinds of information only and not in others, but anyway I think that through scrolling & searching one should be able to find everything he/she cares for, without being stuck forever into other stuff.

    That's my point of view, but it's obvious that I respect yours, And G, and other members' ones also, so I guess the best thing would be for people to speak up and give their opinion about the single thread/multiple threads debate. :coffee:
     
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  5. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    Apparently Cho So-Hyun, our women's national team captain and also the KFA player of the year, is pushing for a move to Japan.
     
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  6. frideswide

    frideswide Member+

    Kumamoto Renaissance FC
    Feb 27, 2014
    København
    Club:
    Brøndby IF
    #6 frideswide, Jan 1, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2016
    Would be great for the Nadeshiko League if it happens, particularly if she goes somewhere other than INAC.

    Also rumoured has been Jeon Ga-Eu's move to the NWSL.. any truth to that?

    Finally, what does it all mean for the WK-league?
     
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  7. zdrstvte

    zdrstvte Member+

    Aug 27, 2012
    Club:
    West Ham United FC
    Jeon Ga-Eul's move to WNY Flash is official.



    Losing both Jeon and Cho would be a big loss for Incheon Red Angels, but they will still win the league as usual. Also, I doubt there would be an exodus of top players given that WK-League given that it pays better than most leagues around the world.
     
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  8. frideswide

    frideswide Member+

    Kumamoto Renaissance FC
    Feb 27, 2014
    København
    Club:
    Brøndby IF
    Well, they certainly pay better than the Nadeshiko League, that's a fact.

    Anyway .. first Korean player in the NWSL (if I'm not mistaken). Congratulations. She is a terrific player and we'll certainly follow her progress with interest.
     
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  9. unepomme

    unepomme Member+

    Jan 21, 2010
    Club:
    Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC
    I've recently thought about it a little more, because I think some might be fed up with my f***ing trivial info about domestic competitions or else.:D
    For example, I'm going to post a lot about the high school and U18 tournament which will start tomorrow; there must be some people who are not interested in those at all.
    Why don't you collect votes like Lechus7 did, or collect PM to you about he or she is interested in which one (NT, League or abroad)?
     
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  10. INACc4ever

    INACc4ever Member

    Jan 25, 2015
    Club:
    Vancouver Whitecaps
    あけおめ!
    So starting today, there are only 60 days until the gals play for only 2 spots for the Rio Olympicss.
    It will be interesting to see who gets short listed and make it to the final roster. Also as the leagues are in winter break, it would be key to begin practices sooner rather than later.
    Any thoughts on who you would like to see playing?
     
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  11. frideswide

    frideswide Member+

    Kumamoto Renaissance FC
    Feb 27, 2014
    København
    Club:
    Brøndby IF
    :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: Your English is really improving unepomme..
     
  12. unepomme

    unepomme Member+

    Jan 21, 2010
    Club:
    Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC
    I'm not sure if you can see this high school tournament, but every game is aired on net.
    http://www.tbs.co.jp/joshisoccer/

    Tomorrow's game to watch is Hinomoto vs Tokiwagi (13:45), which was the last year final.
    Hinomoto might be better because Kobayashi Rikako is absent.
    A team I'm paying attention to is Fujieda Junshin which played very good vs Beleza in the Empress's Cup; Kono Fuuka's goal was magnificent. Another one is Seisa Shonan. It was 7th in Kanto preliminaries, but Miyazawa Hinata was one of the most outstanding players in the U17 Asian Championship.
     
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  13. INACc4ever

    INACc4ever Member

    Jan 25, 2015
    Club:
    Vancouver Whitecaps
    _20160101_143949.JPG
    2016 schedule:
    Jan 18~26 training camp in Okinawa
    Feb 13 ~19 training camp in Okinawa
    Feb 22 ~ 28 training camp in Osaka
    Feb 29 vs. Australia
    Mar 02 vs. S. Korea
    Mar 04 vs. China
    Mar 07 vs. Vietnam
    Mar 09 vs. N. Korea
     
  14. Titus Sol

    Titus Sol Member

    Jul 7, 2015
    Club:
    --other--
    Like you, I also didn't understand the show's conversation (except certain subtitles/captions in Kanji which I can recognize them :p), but I enjoyed it a lot! Thanks to the person who uploaded this video. I think Nadeshiko fans shouldn't miss this wonderful special about Sawa. It's definitely worth for watching. :thumbsup:
     
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  15. unepomme

    unepomme Member+

    Jan 21, 2010
    Club:
    Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC
    While every game of the high school tournament is aired, U-18 championship is not at all.

    But it has as many good players like Nagano, Endo, Nishida, Kanno, Ueki etc.
    Menina won it five years in a row, but Urawa beat it in Kanto League this year because Menina's golden generations already went to the top.
    So Urawa may be the favorite, but I'm interested in how Cerezo will play against them.
     
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  16. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I like a lot this kind of updates! Especially in a year where we have an upcoming U-17 and U-20 WWC! :D

    I wouldn't know those players as well as needed, if it wasn't for your posts, unepomme. ;) Everything is intertwined...
     
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  17. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I hope they work a lot and they work well in the Okinawa camps! Also, I hope the number of players that will take part to these camps will be quite broad, because Sasaki needs to see who the most fit are. It's not just a question of the best players "in a vacuum", but also a question of the best players "at the moment of the competition", when most clubs are preparing but the season actually didn't start yet.

    The fittest players, actually, could be those playing in Europe, who are in the middle of the season, but the real question is: Sasaki can count on them? Will the clubs realease them for the qualifier matches? o_O Does anyone know if these are FIFA dates, so the clubs must release their players? I hope we won't find ourselves in the situation of qualifiers for WWC 2015, id est AFC Asian Cup 2014, when we had to play without some players and others, as Ogimi, had to get back in Europe after group stage. Yes, we anyway won that cup, but the qualification process was way easier, since there were 5 places up to grab instead of 2.
    I doubt that the European players will be available for the training camps (although I hope so), but they are absolutely needed for the tournament itself: in my opinion the one that we need the most, in the post-Sawa era, is Utsugi. Montpellier, this year, is actually battling for the title vs OL, so it will be hard for them to release Rumi, if they're not forced to do so. Same for Kumagai, for same reason. Ogimi and Ando in Germany aren't always starters, so maybe it's a little easier there. Does anyone know if Iwabuchi recovered from her injury? :cautious: She seemed quite relaxed, in the interview for the Sawa-special (and she also said funny things that made everyone laugh but I didn't understand :giggle:).

    Anyway, before making my predictions for Sasaki's nomination, I would like to know more about the fundamental question of euro-based players.
     
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  18. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    He's like Sawa. ;)
     
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  19. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Not sure if my count of sesonal scorers could actually be considered a "successful feature", but it's anyway a piece of statistics that I like to compile. I followed about the same rules as a year ago, thus considering club play and Nadeshiko League Div. 1 clubs only (sorry Yokoyama! You will be with us next year, though...). A difference is that the number of different competition keeps decreasing: when I started counting these seasonal goals, in 2013, there were Nadeshiko League, Nadeshiko League Cup, Mobcast Cup and Empress' Cup; in 2014, Nadeshiko League Cup disappeared, so we had one less competition (since Regular Season and Exciting Series are a single Nadeshiko League ranking). This year we also lost Mobcast Cup/Nestlé Cup (that, anyway, didn't use to up the count of goals so much), so we just have Nadeshiko League + Empress' Cup. :p

    There is anyway an interesting twist in this year's rankings: normally, in past years, Nadeshiko League's top-scorer (Gobel-Yanez in 2013, Sugasawa in 2014...) was also overall seasonal scorer; this year instead, Mika Tanaka, with her 7 goals in Empress' Cup, passed ahead of Yuika Sugasawa, who didn't score at all in the second competition.
    As usual, I highlighted in bold differences of 5 or more goals compared to last season.
    It's top-22, instead of usual top-20, because there were a boatload of players tied at 7 goals! :p



    Nadeshiko League Seasonal scorers

    1- Mina Tanaka – Nippon TV-Beleza - 21 (14 / 7)(+12!)
    2 - Yuika Sugasawa - Jef United Ichihara Chiba Ladies - 15 (15 / 0)(-6!)
    3 - Rika Masuya - Inac Kobe Leonessa - 11 (8 / 3) (+5!)
    4 - Mizuho Sakaguchi - Nippon TV-Beleza - 10 (10 / 0)(-3)
    - Yuri Kawamura - Vegalta Sendai Ladies - 10 (9 / 1)(+6!)
    - Marumi Yamazaki - Albirex Niigata Ladies - 10 (9 / 1)(-3)
    - Rie Azami – AS Elfen Saitama - 10 (8 / 2)(=)
    - Megumi Takase – INAC Kobe Leonessa - 10 (7 / 3) (-1o!)
    9 - Kiko Seike - Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies - 9 (9 / 0)(-2)
    - Megumi Kamionobe – Albirex Niigata Ladies - 9 (8 / 1)(+3)
    - Sayaka Oishi – Albirex Niigata Ladies - 9 (6 / 3)(+4)
    12 - Chinatsu Kira – Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies - 8 (7 / 1)(-5!)
    - Ami Sugita- Iga FC Kunoichi - 8 (6 / 2)(+4)
    14 - Mai Kyokawa - INAC Kobe Leonessa - 7 (7 / 0)(-1)
    - Hitomi Ono – Vegalta Sendai Ladies - 7 (7 / 0)(+2)
    - Kaoruko Suzuki – Iga FC Kunoichi - 7 (7/ 0)(+3)
    - Aya Miyama - Okayama Yunogo Belle - 7 (6 / 1)(-10!)
    - Ayaka Inoue - Vegalta Sendai Ladies - 7 (6 / 1)(+6!)
    - Yui Narumiya - Speranza FC Osaka Takatsuki - 7 (6 / 1)(can't be compared properly: in Challenge League last season)
    - Yuka Nicole Momiki - Nippon TV Beleza - 7 (5 / 2)(-3)
    - Aya Saeki - Albirex Niigata Ladies - 7 (5 / 2)(+3)
    - Saori Arimachi - Vegalta Sendai Ladies - 7 (5 /2)(-5!)
     
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  20. unepomme

    unepomme Member+

    Jan 21, 2010
    Club:
    Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC
    OK, I will introduce U-16 and U-19 members in both competitions.

    High School Tournament
    Tokiwagi
    Ichise Nana
    Maebashi Ikuei
    Kogure Chiaki (GK)
    Hinomoto
    Yonezawa Moeka (GK) Kanehira Risa (DF) Ushijima Riko (DF)
    Seisa Shonan
    Miyazawa Hinata

    U-18 Tournament
    Menina
    Tanaka Momoko (GK) Ono Nana (DF) Kanno Oto (MF) Ueki Riko (FW) Miura Narumi (MF)
    Urawa
    Matsumoto Mamiko (GK) Kanekatsu Rio (DF) Nagano Fuuka (MF) Kojima Seira Takahashi Hana Miura Haruka (FW) Minami Moeka (DF)
    Jef
    Ichinose Chisato
    Albi
    Karahashi Mayu (MF)
    Cerezo
    Wakisaka Rena (DF) Takarada Saori Morinaka Hina (DF) Nishida Meika (MF) Hayashi Honoka (MF) Matsubara Shiho (MF)
     
  21. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Although we all already had suspected that, this Japan Times article confirms that, since they knew about Sawa's retirement, INAC Kobe Leonessa's players' only thought was making Sawa lift the trophy on her retirement's day, and this was the fuel that made them overcome any obstacle. They also squarely played to make her score.

    Some significant quotes from the article:

    «INAC coach Takeo Matsuda said his team wasn’t able to perform as well as he would’ve liked, but that a close game came down to Sawa’s play.

    “In our meeting, I told our players to look for Sawa and have linkage with her,” Matsuda said. “And we ended up winning with her goal. She’s such a great player and considering we won’t have her next year, I feel that we’ve lost a big presence.”

    Kobe captain Shinobu Ono said the entire team played to help Sawa achieve the best possible ending to her career, hinting that it gave the team an extra boost during the knockout tournament.

    “We shot for nothing but the championship for Sawa’s sake, that was the only thing we had on our minds,” said Ono, who also played with Sawa on the Japan national team. “We didn’t think that we’d beat Niigata easily, but it feels great that we came away with the win for Sawa.”

    Sawa, who won her 13th Empress’ Cup title between her time with INAC and NTV Beleza, was thankful her teammates and the INAC staff gave her the chance to hang up her cleats in a triumphant fashion.

    “Both in practice and games, they talked to me and said that they would win for me,” Sawa said. “I had so much support behind me.”»

    Edit: also announced in this article. :)
     
  22. frideswide

    frideswide Member+

    Kumamoto Renaissance FC
    Feb 27, 2014
    København
    Club:
    Brøndby IF
    5 matches in 10 days.. pretty tough schedule, especially considering each team is only allowed 17 outfield players + 3 goalkeepers. How the coaches manage their squads and the condition of their players will be crucial.

    First game vs. the Matildas (FIFA rank 9) should be entertaining -- their record against the Nadeshiko in the past 18 months has been a draw and two narrow losses, and they looked sharp in their win over S. Korea in November. They will surely feel this is their moment.

    The other 'banner' opening day match will, of course, be the North vs. South Korea (FIFA ranks 6 & 17, respectively). Osaka has a large ethnic Korean population, so I expect the match will be well-attended, and hard-fought as usual.
     
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  23. Sirtel

    Sirtel Member

    Oct 28, 2015
    #23 Sirtel, Jan 2, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2016
    Happy New Year everyone :)
    The only thing I can't do without is a certain CM duo;) (and Miyama, obviously). It would be nice to see some young players given more chances as well. And, I know that this one is unlikely since the roster is limited, but I'd like to see Ohno and Ando one last time in a major tournament.
    I recall reading somewhere that teams are obliged to release their players for the final round of Olympic qualification (but this is really unreliable info :D). And I think the fact that these players were also called for the trip to Netherlands probably means that Sasaki expects them to be there.
    Looking forward to another epic game vs N. Korea (especially if qualification is still at stake for both teams). These games are always entertaining, their playing style is so effective against Japan .
    I really wanted to see Cerezo... Anyway, it will be interesting indeed to see how they fare against Menina and Urawa.
    Thanks for this, I was checking the rosters earlier for familiar names. Other players that might be known are Miyagawa (Menina's captain), and Kamogawa (JEF) who played for the senior team. Also pretty sure I've seen Chiba (Fujieda Junshin) play for Japan, she was the captain of a young Nadeshiko team in the past, no?
     
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  24. unepomme

    unepomme Member+

    Jan 21, 2010
    Club:
    Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC
    Thank you for the info.
    I forgot to include the former world champions.:p
    So in addition to the two you mentioned I also have to name Sato Mizuka (Jef), Hiratsuka Maki (Hinomoto), Kono Fuuka (Junshin) and of course the popular Endo Yu (Urawa).
    I don't get who she is.:confused:
     
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  25. INACc4ever

    INACc4ever Member

    Jan 25, 2015
    Club:
    Vancouver Whitecaps
    In advance of Sakaki's announcement, here's my prediction for the AFC Rio qualifier squad.

    GK (3) - Yamane, (2?), (3?)
    DF (6) - Kinga, Iwashimizu, Sameshima, Ariyoshi, Kitahara, Kumagai
    MF (7) - Miyama, Kawasumi, Kamionobe, Sakaguchi, Utsugi, Kawamura, (Masuya or Nakajima)
    FW (4) - Ogimi, Sugasawa, Takase, Yokoyama

    At goalkeeper, I think Yamane is a lock-in, the other 2 spots could go to a veteran like Fukumoto and "newbie" like Takenaka or Yamashita.

    At defense, I think Sasaki will stay with the tried and true line-up. Players like Kinga, Ariyoshi and Sameshima could run upfield and play some offensive roles. I picked players with versatility who would be needed with a shortened bench. However, Iwashimizu needs to redeem herself from her poor showing at the WWC final and I would not be surprised if she is left out.

    At midfiled, Sakaguchi will need to be excellent as she is the heir to Sawa. Utsugi can play both mid and defense and complements Sameshima play style. I think she will become THE critical player for the team's success at this tournament. Miyama is the clear leader on and off the field and should be able to bring team continuity. Others in my list were selected because of the offensive nature of their play. For family pride I hope Emi gets selected.

    At forward, I'm hopeful that Ogimi will join the squad, Takase should have a lot to prove after missing the WWC but probably still not 100% fit. I put Iwabuchi and Ando off the list due to their fitness likely being lesser than Takase.

    Anyway this is my speculation for the tournament. The stakes are high given that only 2 spots are available. Sasaki, will probably rely on the veterans and those who have some familiarity to get a spot.
     
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