Life and Career
Sawa was born in Fuchū, Tokyo. Long considered Japan's finest female footballer, she made her debut in L. League, Japan's highest domestic league, at age 12. On 6 December 1993, at age 15, she 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 five FIFA Women's World Cups and the 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Olympic Games on her way to a Japanese record 186 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 and received the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards as the top scorer (5 goals during the 2011 World Cup) and MVP in the tournament. After a 2–2 tie in front of a sellout crowd in Frankfurt, Germany (with 1 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.
With the birth of the Women's United Soccer Association in 2001, she 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 club 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.
Following the WUSA's demise in 2003, she 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.
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.
On 17 July 2011, Sawa led Japan to its first ever FIFA Women's World Cup Title with a 3–1 victory over the United States in a penalty shootout. In addition, Sawa was also awarded the Golden Boot for being the tournament's leading scorer and the Golden Ball for being the tournament's MVP. Shortly after she was praised by her close friend Abby Wambach of the USWNT humorously stating 'She literally scores with her eyes closed.' in reference to her equalizing goal in the final against the US.
On 9 January 2012, Sawa was awarded the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or 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.
Read more about this topic: Homare Sawa
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