Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Japan duo Aya Miyama and Norio Sasaki have respectively been nominated for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year and FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football awards.
Miyama, a two-time AFC Women’s Player of the Year winner finds herself in the running following yet another superb showing at this year’s World Cup in Canada where the Japan captain was awarded FIFA’s Bronze Ball award following her side’s 5-2 defeat to the USA in the final.
The accolade saw the dynamic 30-year-old named the tournament’s third best player behind America’s Carli Lloyd who won the Golden Ball and France’s Amandine Henry who scooped the Silver Ball award.
Miyama, who appeared for her country at both the 2007 and 2011 Women’s World Cups, played every minute of Japan’s seven games in Canada, scoring penalties against both Switzerland and England and providing two assists during her team’s run to their title showdown with the Americans in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, Nadeshiko head coach Sasaki, who won the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football award in 2011, has been recognised for guiding his side to a third major final in four years following the 2011 World Cup title Japan won in Germany and the silver medal they claimed at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Sasaki, the 2011 AFC Coach of the Year, impressed yet again during the 2015 Women’s World Cup where he earned plaudits galore for the professional and cultured way in which he led his team.
Photo: AFP