Official 2020 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン（英語スレッド）

Hi all

It was quite a task to go through all the goals, but luckily it is a rainy day in the UK. I have tried to avoid looking at anyone else's selections. Here's my list:

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#OnThisDay in 1993, @jfa_nadeshiko legend Homare Sawa earned her first senior cap for Japan 🇯🇵🙌

She made 204 more over her international career with 84 goals, making her @jfa_en's most capped player and leading goal scorer for both men and women ⚽️🏆 pic.twitter.com/QOBE0Ek0WG

— FIFA Museum (@FIFAMuseum) December 6, 2020

 

@blissett showed me the other day some of the amazing work he's been doing on Nadeshiko League stats and results (probably already shared somewhere in this thread) and it reminded me of how much assists are overlooked.
So I thought it would be nice to also have the assists tables here:

Div1 (open) Div1 (close)

Yui Hasegawa 8
Hinata Miyazawa 7
Mana Iwabuchi 7
Hikaru Naomoto 7
Momoka Kinoshita 6
Maika Hamano 5
Jun Endo 5
Emi Nakajima 5

Rikako Kobayashi 4
Mina Tanaka 4
Yuka Anzai 4
Yui Narumiya 4
Miho Kamogawa 4

Div2 (open) Div2 (close)

Mayu Otake 7
Emi Yamamoto 6
Misaki Nara 5
Saki Takano 4
Aoi Kizaki 4
Fuka Nagano 4
Chiaki Minamiyama 4
Risa Urashima 4
Nagisa Matsuura 4
Yumi Uetsuji 4

(bold letters -> no set piece assists)

 

An article about Ami Otaki and her organization Nadecare.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2020/12/06/soccer/nadecare-ami-otaki/

 

Beleza vs Menina:

 

@blissett

Player stats from this season for top 4 teams. I don't have time to finish it for the rest of the teams. Perhaps you'll find it useful for your chart.
(minutes are counted without added time for 1st half and with added time for 2nd, assists are counted by my recognition - not an official account.)

Nadeshiko League 2020 players stats (unfinished)

 

Well, for example if good pass finds a player inside the box and then this player scores within seconds - the assist maker who created opportunity should be recognized - even if the scorer didn't take the shot immediatelly and run for a few more meters with the ball or had to beat the last defender with one move just before scoring.
That's my take.

 

Some great goals in there! This Nadeshiko League can only keep getting stronger and stronger. (Er...)

I haven't got much time to order them, so I've just chosen 16 favourites, with my top five first - hope that's okay...

 

Heh, it will get weaker next season though after 7 team will exodus to WE League.

It's fine by me (I will arrange the others below 16th to my liking )

 

Hey guys, can you help me look for confirmation on this post about the new JFA WE-League next year mandating the ASEAN Football Federation on scouting Southeast Asian talent?

Doesn't have to be in English, Japanese is fine. Been trying to scour through the JFA website. I hope it's legit because that would be awesome for our girl in pink there in that poster.

 

The 100 best female footballers in the world 2020: Nos 100-71 | Football | The Guardian...........84

 

As much as I like her, Yokoyama would struggle to make my top 10 Japanese footballers right now, let a lone the top 100 female footballers in the world!. Admittedly from what I have seen of her highlights she has looked pretty good, which makes me think that maybe the American league is the best fit for Japanese players to go to.

Most of the players that have gone to America have done well there and I think it has a lot to do with the way the Americans play. I think also that the Americans tend to respect the Japanese players a lot more. It is just a feeling I get.

Watching Yoko Tanaka struggle in the Spanish League has been quite frustrating, yet also fascinating at the same time to watch. In interviews she has said that the game is way more unpredictable and players tend to pass and take different shots compared to Japanese players. There appears to be a lot less of a system and organization. Maybe this is part of the reason why she has failed to excel in Spain?

She had started the last two games, but is back on the bench tonight. Every time Yoko starts she is on the wing. I don't know when they will give her a go in midfield. Probably never.

I think that the only other player from Japan on the Guardian list will be Kumagai.

 

Tomorrow's games:

Empress's Cup third round
Urawa vs Yamato 14:00
Jef vs Iga 11:00
Inac vs Orca 14:00
Beleza vs Harima 14:00
Nojima vs Ehime 11:00
Cerezo vs Chifure 11:00

Challenge League ranking deciding matches
Ange Violet vs JFA 14:00
Speranza vs Nagoya 15:30

 

Empess's Cup second round highlights:
https://www.jfa.jp/match/empressscup_2020/tv.html

 

The 100 best female footballers in the world 2020: Nos 100-11 | Football | The Guardian.......Saki

 

How the Guardian ranked the 100 best female footballers in the world 2020 | Football | The Guardian

 

Hasegawa would be in next year's chart.

 

Sorry my friend but this list is no different form all the others around (like ie. FIFpro). More than half of the voters haven't watched single match from leagues like Brasiliero SerieA1, CWSL, WK-League or Nadeshiko League, etc.
It's still a popularity contest of established names from UWCL/USWNT/FA WSL/BL or last WWC. Yokoyama played barely 308 minutes in Washington what is she doing on that list as 2nd best Japanaese player?
In Brazil Christiane got married and almost didn't play - she's on the list.
Her NT teammateTamires alone has 3 goal and 5 league assist - she's not listed.. and Gabi Zanotti? - the best player in Brazil right now is also missing from that list.

Tabitha Chawinga in CWSL was not only outscored by her sister Temwa but also by Barbara Banda who led Zambia to Olympics. One of the best foreign players in CWSL was Bia Zaneratto - another list no show.

Looking on stats alone: youngsters like Oberdorf, Kelly, Bonmati, Guijaro were soundly beaten by the likes of Minami, Takrada, Hayashi, Miyazawa, Kitamura, and the rest U20's Champions - but hey the "experts" hear Man City, Wolfsburg, Barcelona and from the get go they assume those player better than unfamiliar Urawa's, Beleza's, INAC's.

On a far lesser scale is our fault as well I reckon. This thread is secluded, many non registered readers, lurkers or even amateur press/podcast people looking for info from Womens' International section never do look in here.
Time has come to move this forum to international section imo.

 

To cut them a bit of slack I suppose it is to be expected given how women's football really is in its infancy, so there just isn't the inbedded infrastructure of the men's game to watch and scout players. I have been trying to watch the Spanish League and it is a shambles.

Having said that, it is hard to take the list seriously - as you rightly point out - when Yokoyama is essentially the second best Japanese player in the world right now according to the Guardian.

Maybe if Japan had performed better at the world cup more players would have been represented? I am starting to think that people in the media are already assuming that Europe = best - like the men, but as we know the difference in leagues is still no large.

I think that there are a few people who read this thread that we don't know about. Last year during the "She Believes Cup" I swear some of the commentators in the games were stating information about the Nadeshiko players that really was not common knowledge. But maybe we should movie it to the International section?

Lately I have been thinking we should do our own podcast. I don't think too many people would listen to it, and it would be a lot of work for the person editing it, but it might be fun.

 

The Guardian top 100 female players

"It is hard to take the list seriously"...........enough said