Aya Sameshima (鮫島 彩, Sameshima Aya, born 16 June 1987) is a Japanese footballer. Primarily a left back, she currently plays for Omiya Ardija Ventus in the WE League and has over 100 caps for the Japan national team.
 Sameshima playing for Japan against Sweden in the 2011 World Cup semi finals | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aya Sameshima[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 June 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Omiya Ardija Ventus | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2005 | Tokiwagi Gakuen High School | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2011 | TEPCO Mareeze | 98 | (18) |
| 2011 | Boston Breakers | 5 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Montpellier | 18 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Vegalta Sendai | 21 | (3) |
| 2015–2020 | INAC Kobe Leonessa | 73 | (2) |
| 2021– | Omiya Ardija Ventus | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 215 | (23) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2021 | Japan | 114 | (5) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 December 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 April 2021 | |||
Club career edit
Sameshima was born in Utsunomiya on 16 June 1987. She played youth football for Kawachi SC Juvenile between 1995 and 2002 and Tokiwagi Gakuen High School LSC from 2003 until 2005. In 2006, she joined TEPCO Mareeze, the club owned by the Tokyo Electric Power Company.[2] During her time at Mareeze she lived in the J-Village Sports complex in Hirono near Fukushima, and like other players, she worked at the TEPCO-run Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to earn a living whilst playing for the club.[2]
Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster, during which the team were in a training camp in the south of the country, the club pulled out of the L.League for the remainder of the season.[2] Sameshima then began training with the Boston Breakers in March 2011, before signing for the club permanently,[3] the first former Mareeze player to sign for another club.[4] She made her debut for the Breakers against Sky Blue on 12 June as a second-half substitute for Alex Scott,[5] becoming the first Japanese international to play for the club.[6]
On 19 September 2011, Sameshima joined French club Montpellier, joining compatriot Rumi Utsugi at the club.[7] She returned to Japan to play for Vegalta Sendai in 2012, before joining Houston Dash in January 2014.[8] However, due to injuries she failed to contract, and rejoined Vegalta Sendai in July 2014. She subsequently signed for INAC Kobe Leonessa for the 2015 season.
National team career edit
After playing for the Japanese team at the AFC U-19 Championship in 2006,[9] Sameshima made her full international debut on 10 March 2008, against Russia, and played in the 2008 Asian Cup that year, scoring the first goal in an 11–0 win over Chinese Taipei.[10] In 2010, she played in the 2010 Asian Games, winning a gold medal as Japan won the tournament. In 2011, she was part of the Japan squad for the 2011 World Cup, playing in every match for the World Cup Champion Japanese team.[11] She was part of the Japanese team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[12] She also played in the 2015 World Cup where Japan were the runners-up.[10] In 2018, she played at 2018 Asian Cup, helping Japan win the championship. She played 103 games and scored 5 goals for Japan.
Club statistics edit
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| TEPCO Mareeze | 2006 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | 19 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 11 | |
| 2008 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 0 | - | 24 | 5 | ||
| 2009 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 24 | 2 | ||
| 2010 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 6 | |
| Total | 98 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 120 | 25 | |
| Boston Breakers | 2011 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 5 | 0 | ||
| Montpellier | 2011–12 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | 23 | 0 | |
| Vegalta Sendai | 2012 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 8 | 4 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | - | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Total | 21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 28 | 7 | |
| INAC Kobe Leonessa | 2015 | ||||||||
| Career total | 142 | 21 | 20 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 176 | 32 | |
National team statistics edit
| Japan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2008 | 2 | 1 |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 |
| 2010 | 15 | 1 |
| 2011 | 18 | 0 |
| 2012 | 14 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 | 1 |
| 2015 | 12 | 1 |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | 13 | 0 |
| 2018 | 18 | 1 |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 114 | 5 |
National team goals edit
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 May 2008 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |  Chinese Taipei | 0–1 | 0–11 | 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup |
| 2 | 20 May 2010 | Chengdu, China |  Myanmar | 4–0 | 8–0 | 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup |
| 3 | 28 October 2014 | BC Place, Vancouver |  Canada | 2–3 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 4 | 12 June 2015 | BC Place, Vancouver |  Cameroon | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 5 | 1 April 2018 | Isahaya, Japan |  Ghana | 7–1 | 7–1 | Friendly |
Honors edit
- FIFA Women's World Cup
- Winner, 2011
- Football at the Asian Games
- Gold Medal, 2010
- East Asian Football Championship
- Winner, 2010
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 – List of Players: Japan" (PDF). FIFA. 28 July 2014. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Nadeshiko Japan resumes play in U.S. friendlies Archived 6 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine ESPN, 15 May 2011
- ^ Japan: Roster Archived 21 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Our Game
- ^ SOCCER/ Sameshima plays for fans, friends in disaster areas Asahi, 17 July 2011
- ^ Breakers Draw With Sky Blue FC, Extend Unbeaten Streak to Two Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Women's Professional Soccer, 12 June 2011
- ^ Breakers Add Japanese International Aya Sameshima To Roster[permanent dead link] Women's Professional Soccer, 13 June 2011
- ^ Signature d'Aya Sameshima Archived 26 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Montpellier HSC, 22 September 2011
- ^ Houston Dash sign Japanese international Aya Sameshima Archived 28 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Houston Dynamo
- ^ News > April 2006 Bhangra Boys
- ^ a b FIFA.com. "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ - Aya-SAMESHIMA - Matches Played". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ Aya Sameshima Soccerway
- ^ "Aya Sameshima Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ Japan Football Association(in Japanese)
- ^ List of match in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Archived 11 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, 2016, 2017 Archived 23 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, 2018, 2019 at Japan Football Association (in Japanese)
External links edit
- Aya Sameshima – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Aya Sameshima at Soccerway
- Aya Sameshima at WorldFootball.net
- Aya Sameshima at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Japan Football Association
