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Aya Sameshima
Aya Sameshima in 2011.JPG
Sameshima playing for Japan against Sweden in the 2011 World Cup semi finals
Personal information
Full name Aya Sameshima
Date of birth (1987-06-16) 16 June 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Playing position Left back
Club information
Current club 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)
National team
2008–2021 Japan 114 (5)
Honours
Representing Flag of Japan.svg Japan
Olympic Games
Silver 2012 London Team
FIFA Women's World Cup
Gold 2011 Germany
Silver 2015 Canada
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Gold 2018 Jordan
Bronze 2008 Vietnam
Bronze 2010 China
Asian Games
Gold 2010 Guangzhou Team
Gold 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2018.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 April 2021

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.

Club career

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. 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.

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. Sameshima then began training with the Boston Breakers in March 2011, before signing for the club permanently, the first former Mareeze player to sign for another club. She made her debut for the Breakers against Sky Blue on 12 June as a second-half substitute for Alex Scott, becoming the first Japanese international to play for the club.

On 19 September 2011, Sameshima joined French club Montpellier, joining compatriot Rumi Utsugi at the club. She returned to Japan to play for Vegalta Sendai in 2012, before joining Houston Dash in January 2014. 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

After playing for the Japanese team at the AFC U-19 Championship in 2006, 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. 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. She was part of the Japanese team that won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also played in the 2015 World Cup where Japan were the runners-up. 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

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

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

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 May 2008 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Flag of Chinese Taipei (Olympics; 1986–2010).svg Chinese Taipei 0–1 0–11 2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup
2 20 May 2010 Chengdu, China Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar
4–0
8–0 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup
3 28 October 2014 BC Place, Vancouver Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
2–3
2–3 Friendly
4 12 June 2015 BC Place, Vancouver Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon
1–0
2–1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
5 1 April 2018 Isahaya, Japan Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana
7–1
7–1 Friendly

Honors

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Aya Sameshima para niños

  • List of women's footballers with 100 or more caps
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