Mana Iwabuchi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mana Iwabuchi
岩渕 真奈

Iwabuchi with Japan in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-03-18) 18 March 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	Musashino, Tokyo, Japan
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
2005–2007	Nippon TV Beleza
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2012	Nippon TV Beleza	64	(30)
2012–2014	1899 Hoffenheim	30	(10)
2014–2017	Bayern Munich	24	(5)
2017–2020	INAC Kobe Leonessa	47	(11)
2020–2021	Aston Villa	13	(2)
2021–2023	Arsenal	14	(1)
2023	→ Tottenham Hotspur (loan)	13	(1)
International career‡
2007–2008	Japan U17	7	(3)
2009–2010	Japan U20	7	(6)
2010–2023	Japan	89	(37)
Medal record Representing  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 Asian Games Gold 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team AFC U-19 Women's Championship Gold 2009 China AFC U-16 Women's Championship Silver 2007 Malaysia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 June 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:39, 1 September 2023 (UTC)

Mana Iwabuchi (岩渕 真奈, Iwabuchi Mana, born 18 March 1993) is a Japanese former professional footballer. She played as a forward or attacking midfielder. She played for teams like Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, and Tottenham Hotspur. Mana also played for the Japan national team.

People know Iwabuchi as a very skilled player. She is great at passing and controlling the ball. Because she is small and can dribble past players easily, fans call her 'Manadona'. This nickname is a tribute to the famous Argentine player Diego Maradona.

Mana Iwabuchi was a key player for women's football in Japan. She joined the Japan women's national football team at age 16. She had many big successes on the world stage. She first played for the senior team in 2010. She played in over 85 games and scored 37 goals for Japan.

Iwabuchi played in three FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments. She was part of the team that won the World Cup in 2011. She was only 18 years old when she played in the final in Germany. She also won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. In addition, she earned a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games.

Mana Iwabuchi received many awards during her career. She was named Asian Young Footballer of the Year twice. She won the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Golden Ball. She also won the MVP and Golden Boot at the AFC U-19 Women's Championship. She was the MVP of the AFC Women's Asian Cup.

She is the youngest person to receive the People's Honour Award. This is a special award from the Prime Minister of Japan. She got it in 2011 as part of the World Cup-winning team.

On September 1, 2023, Iwabuchi announced she was retiring from professional football.

Early Life and Football Beginnings

Mana Iwabuchi was born and grew up in Musashino. She started playing football at age six. At that time, she also took piano and ballet lessons. Her older brother, Ryota, and his football coach asked her to join their team.

When she was eight, she joined her brother's local club, Sekimae SC. Her talent was clear very early on. She was invited to train with the older boys. The club was first called 'Sekimae Boys Soccer Club'. But because Mana was the first girl to join, they changed the name to 'Sekimae Soccer Club'.

Her older brother, Ryota, is also a professional footballer. He plays as a midfielder for Fujieda MYFC.

Club Football Journey

Playing for Nippon TV Beleza

At 14, Mana Iwabuchi joined Nippon TV Beleza. This was Japan's top women's football league. By 2008, she was a regular player. She won the Best Young Player award that year.

In the 2010 Nadeshiko League Cup Final, she scored a goal in the last minute. This helped Nippon TV Beleza win 3–2. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). The next season, she took over the number 10 jersey from famous player Homare Sawa.

In 2011, she was her team's top scorer. She was also the third-highest scorer in the league. She won the Most Hardworking Player award. She was chosen for the league's Best Eleven team.

Time with 1899 Hoffenheim

In November 2012, Iwabuchi moved to Germany. She joined 1899 Hoffenheim. She chose the number 28 shirt, her first professional number. She played her first game in March 2013. She scored her first goal later that month.

Hoffenheim won their division that season. They were promoted to the top German league, the Bundesliga. In the next season, she changed her shirt number to 13. She scored Hoffenheim's first-ever goal in the Bundesliga. She helped her team avoid being sent down to a lower league.

Playing for Bayern Munich

Iwabuchi playing for Bayern in July 2016

In June 2014, Iwabuchi joined Bayern Munich. In her first season, she scored 3 goals. Her team won the Bundesliga title without losing a game. This was Bayern's first title since 1976.

She signed a new contract in 2016. She helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title again. In March 2017, she left the club. She returned to Japan to recover from an injury.

Return to Japan with INAC Kobe Leonessa

In June 2017, Iwabuchi signed with INAC Kobe Leonessa. Many people were surprised by this move. Kobe Leonessa was a rival of her old club, NTV Beleza. She chose the club because they really wanted her. She also wanted to play for manager Takeo Matsuda again. He was her coach when she was younger.

She returned to the Japanese league in September 2017. She scored her first goal for the club in November 2017. In August 2020, she played her 100th game in the Nadeshiko League.

Iwabuchi wearing the captain's armband for INAC Kobe Leonessa in 2020

In her last season with Kobe, she was the team captain. She played 47 games and scored 11 goals.

Time with Aston Villa

Iwabuchi moved back to Europe in December 2020. She signed with Aston Villa in England's FA Women's Super League. Her signing was a big deal for the club. She said she wanted to play in England because it was the "most attractive league."

She scored her first goal and made her first assist for Aston Villa in January 2021. She scored the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur in February 2021. This goal was nominated for the league's Goal of the Season award.

Playing for Arsenal

Mana Iwabuchi joined Arsenal in May 2021. Arsenal had tried to sign her before. She scored her first goal for Arsenal in her debut game in August 2021. In her second game, she scored twice. One of her goals won the club's Goal of the Month award.

She scored her first league goal for Arsenal against her old team, Aston Villa. Arsenal won that game 4–0. On June 14, 2023, Arsenal announced that Iwabuchi would leave the club.

Loan to Tottenham Hotspur

In January 2023, Iwabuchi joined Tottenham Hotspur on loan. This was a short loan until the end of the season. She played three league games for them. She made her debut in a cup game against Chelsea. She scored her first goal for Tottenham in an FA Cup match.

International Career Highlights

Youth Team Success

Iwabuchi started playing for Japan's national youth teams in 2008. At 15, she played in the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Japan lost in the quarterfinals. But Iwabuchi was named the best player of the tournament, winning the Golden Ball. This was the first time a Japanese player won this award in a FIFA event.

She also played in the 2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship. She helped the Young Nadeshiko win their second title. She scored important goals, including the winning goal in the final. She was the top scorer and MVP of that tournament.

Because of her great play, she won the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 2008 and 2009. She was even nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2009.

Senior Team Debut

On February 6, 2010, Iwabuchi played her first game for the Japan women's national football team. She was 16 years old. She scored her first two international goals five days later. Japan won that tournament. Iwabuchi was one of the top scorers. She said she wanted to be like Messi because of his dribbling skills.

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Victory In July 2011, Iwabuchi was chosen for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was the youngest player on the team at 18. She played in almost all of Japan's games. Japan made history by winning their first World Cup title. She came on as a substitute in the final against the United States. Japan won after a penalty shootout.

This win brought great joy to Japan. The country was still recovering from a big earthquake and tsunami. The entire team received the People's Honour Award from the Prime Minister. Iwabuchi was the youngest person ever to get this award.

2012 London Olympics Silver Medal Before the 2012 Summer Olympics, Iwabuchi had an ankle injury. But she recovered in time to play in London. She played in three games.

In the gold medal match, Japan played the United States again. Iwabuchi came on as a substitute. She had a chance to score and tie the game. But the US goalkeeper saved her shot. Japan won a silver medal. Iwabuchi later said she kept a picture of that moment to remember the disappointment.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Finalist

Iwabuchi (on the ground, third from right) scoring in the FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal match against Australia on 27 June 2015

In May 2015, Iwabuchi had a knee injury. But her coach still picked her for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She was again the youngest player. She played a big role as a substitute. She scored a goal in the quarter-final against Australia. This was her first World Cup goal. Japan finished as runners-up to the USA.

2018 AFC Asian Cup Champion Iwabuchi played in the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. This tournament helped teams qualify for the 2019 World Cup. She played all five matches and scored 2 goals. She led Japan to win the championship. They beat Australia 1–0 in the final. Iwabuchi was named the MVP of the tournament.

2018 Asian Games Gold Medal Later in 2018, Iwabuchi played in the 2018 Asian Games. She scored 2 goals. Japan won their second-ever Asian Games gold medal. In the final, Japan scored a goal in the last minute to beat China 1–0.

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup

Iwabuchi signs autographs for fans after an open training session with the Japan national team in 2019

Iwabuchi played in her third World Cup in 2019. She scored Japan's first goal of the tournament against Scotland. She was named Player of the Match. Japan reached the knockout stages. They lost to the Netherlands in the Round of 16.

2019 EAFF East Asian Football Championship In December 2019, Iwabuchi was captain for the first time. She scored two goals against Chinese Taipei. She also scored three goals (a hat-trick) against China. She was the top scorer of the tournament. She led Japan to win another regional title.

2020 Summer Olympics

Iwabuchi wears number 10 for Japan, a number famously worn by Nadeshiko legend Homare Sawa

In July 2021, Iwabuchi wore the number 10 shirt for Japan. This number was famously worn by Homare Sawa. She played in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. In the first game, she scored a late goal to tie with Canada. This goal meant she had scored in five straight international matches. This broke a record held by Homare Sawa. Japan was knocked out of the Olympics in the quarter-finals.

Iwabuchi has always encouraged Japanese players to play overseas. She believes it helps them grow as footballers. As of February 2022, she played 85 games and scored 37 goals. This makes her Japan's sixth-highest goalscorer.

How Mana Iwabuchi Plays

Iwabuchi is known to drop deep, link-up with midfielders, orchestrate attacking plays, and create goal-scoring opportunities.

Mana Iwabuchi is a very flexible player. She can play as a midfielder or a forward. She has played in many attacking roles. These include attacking midfielder, second striker, and winger.

The Japan national team often uses a 4–4–2 formation. Iwabuchi usually plays as a second striker. In this role, she acts like a number 10. She helps create plays and moves all over the attacking area. She is good at holding the ball and making space for her teammates. She can also pass well with both feet, even though she is naturally right-footed. This helps her set up goals for other players.

Sometimes, she plays on the left-wing. She is quick and good at dribbling. This allows her to beat defenders and then shoot.

Iwabuchi evades Julie Ertz and Crystal Dunn in a match against the USA

Even though she is not very tall or strong, Iwabuchi is known for her great shooting. She is especially good at shooting from outside the box. People praise her technique, awareness, and smart play. She has said that her idol is Lionel Messi. She wants to dribble past any opponent and score from anywhere, just like him.

Because she is small and has amazing dribbling skills, Japanese media called her the "Female Messi" when she was young. Her playing style also reminded people of Diego Maradona. Fans and experts have also compared her to former Arsenal player Santi Cazorla.

Iwabuchi is also a hard-working team player. She runs a lot to help defend. Her coach at Aston Villa said her work ethic without the ball was often overlooked.

When she had injuries, some coaches told her to change her playing style. They wanted her to touch the ball less to protect her knees. But she refused. She said if she changed her style, she would rather retire. She worked hard to strengthen her leg muscles to keep playing her way.

Personal Life

Mana Iwabuchi has an older brother, Ryota. He is also a professional footballer. He plays as a midfielder for Fujieda MYFC.

She is good friends with some players from the Japan men's national team. She is close with Takashi Usami. They are the same age and both played for Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich in Germany. She is also close with Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu. They both joined Arsenal at the same time. She said it was helpful to have him there to speak Japanese with.

Miedema (second row, third from left) and Iwabuchi (first row, second from right) starting a match together for Bayern Munich in 2016

Iwabuchi is also best friends with her former Arsenal teammate Vivianne Miedema. They were roommates at Bayern Munich. They often speak German together. Miedema helped Iwabuchi decide to join Arsenal. Miedema said they just "clicked" on the field.

Mana loves dogs. She has two toy poodles named Coco and Lala. They live with her parents in Japan. She wrote a book about her life called Trust yourself, be yourself!. It was published in June 2021. The book talks about her football career and her experiences playing abroad.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Iwabuchi goal.

List of international goals scored by Mana Iwabuchi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	11 February 2010	National Stadium (Tokyo)	Chinese Taipei	1–0	3–0	2010 EAFF Women's Football Championship
2				2–0
3	7 March 2014	Estádio Municipal Da Bela Vista	Denmark	1–0	1–0	2014 Algarve Cup
4	27 June 2015	Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton)	Australia	1–0	1–0	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
5	2 March 2016	Kincho Stadium	South Korea	1–0	1–1	2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
6	7 March 2016	Kincho Stadium	Vietnam	1–0	6–1	2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
7	9 March 2016	Kincho Stadium	North Korea	1–0	1–0	2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
8	2 June 2016	Dick's Sporting Goods Park	United States	1–0	3–3	Friendly
9	24 November 2017	King Abdullah II Stadium	Jordan	1–0	2–0	Friendly
10				2–0
11	8 December 2017	Chiba Soga Football Stadium	South Korea	3–2	3–2	2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship (women)
12	28 February 2018	Estádio Municipal Da Bela Vista	Netherlands	2–6	2–6	2018 Algarve Cup
13	5 March 2018	Estádio Algarve	Denmark	2–0	2–0	2018 Algarve Cup
14	1 April 2018	Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki	Ghana	2–1	7–1	Friendly
15	7 April 2018	King Abdullah II Stadium	Vietnam	3–0	4–0	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
16	17 April 2018	King Abdullah II Stadium	China	1–0	3–1
17	16 August 2018	Bumi Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang	Thailand	1–0	2–0	2018 Asian Games
18	25 August 2018	Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang	North Korea	1–0	2–1
19	11 November 2018	Tottori Bank Bird Stadium	Norway	2–0	4–1	Friendly
20				3–0
21	14 June 2019	Roazhon Park, Rennes	Scotland	1–0	2–1	2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
22	6 October 2019	IAI Stadium Nihondaira	Canada	1–0	4–0	Friendly
23	11 December 2019	Busan Asiad Main Stadium	Chinese Taipei	1–0	9–0	2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
24				8–0
25	14 December 2019	Busan Gudeok Stadium	China	1–0	3–0	2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
26				2–0
27				3–0
28	5 March 2020	Exploria Stadium, Orlando	Spain	1–1	1–3	2020 SheBelieves Cup
29	11 March 2020	Toyota Stadium, Frisco	United States	1–2	1–3
30	8 April 2021	Yurtec Stadium, Sendai	Paraguay	2–0	7–0	Friendly
31				5–0
32	10 June 2021	Edion Stadium, Hiroshima	Ukraine	2–0	8–0	Friendly
33				5–0
34	13 June 2021	Kanseki Stadium, Tochigi	Mexico	1–0	5–1	Friendly
35	14 July 2021	Sanga Stadium, Kyoto	Australia	1–0	1–0	2021 MS&AD CUP
36	21 July 2021	Sapporo Dome, Hokkaido	Canada	1–1	1–1	2020 Summer Olympics

Awards and Achievements

Nippon TV Beleza

• Nadeshiko League: 2007, 2008, 2010
• Nadeshiko League Cup: 2007, 2010, 2012
• Empress's Cup: 2008, 2009

Hoffenheim

• 2. Frauen-Bundesliga: 2012–13

Bayern Munich

• Frauen-Bundesliga: 2014–15, 2015–16

Japan U19

• AFC U-19 Women's Championship: 2009

Japan National Team

• EAFF Women's Football Championship: 2010, 2019
• FIFA Women's World Cup: 2011
• Olympic Silver Medal: 2012
• AFC Women's Asian Cup: 2018
• Asian Games: 2018

Individual Awards

• Nadeshiko League Best Young Player: 2008
• Nadeshiko League Cup MVP: 2010
• Nadeshiko League Most Hardworking Player: 2011
• Nadeshiko League Best Eleven: 2011
• Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 2008, 2009
• FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Golden Ball: 2008
• AFC U-19 Women's Championship MVP: 2009
• AFC U-19 Women's Championship Golden Boot: 2009
• FIFA World Player of the Year Nominee: 2009
• EAFF Women's Football Championship Golden Boot: 2010, 2019
• AFC Women's Asian Cup MVP: 2018
• IFFHS AFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020

See also

In Spanish: Mana Iwabuchi para niños