1. Mana Iwabuchi is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or attacking midfielder.
56 Facts About Mana Iwabuchi
1. 2.
Mana Iwabuchi was most recently with Tottenham Hotspur and has previously played for Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, 1899 Hoffenheim, and Tottenham Hotspur.
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Mana Iwabuchi made her full international debut in 2010, and she has since earned over 85 caps and scored 37 goals for Japan.
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Mana Iwabuchi has a silver medal to her name from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and a gold medal from the 2018 Asian Games.
5.
Mana Iwabuchi has been named in the IFFHS AFC Woman Team of the Decade, Asian Young Footballer of the Year twice, recipient of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Golden Ball, the AFC U-19 Women's Championship MVP and Golden Boot, the EAFF Women's Football Championship Golden Boot twice over, and the AFC Women's Asian Cup MVP.
6.
On 1 September 2023, Mana Iwabuchi announced her retirement from professional football.
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Mana Iwabuchi's talent was recognised early on, and she was invited to train with the older boys.
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Mana Iwabuchi attended Komazawa Women's University and was admitted to the Faculty of Intercultural Studies.
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Mana Iwabuchi's older brother Ryota, is a professional footballer currently playing for Fujieda MYFC as a midfielder.
10.
Mana Iwabuchi inherited the number 10 jersey from Sawa in the subsequent season at the age of 17.
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Mana Iwabuchi's efforts earned her the Most Hardworking Player award, and she was chosen for the league's Best Eleven.
12.
On 28 November 2012, Mana Iwabuchi joined 1899 Hoffenheim in the 2.
13.
In June 2014, Mana Iwabuchi left Hoffenheim to join Bayern Munich.
14.
On 23 June 2017, Mana Iwabuchi signed with INAC Kobe Leonessa.
15.
Mana Iwabuchi had received offers from multiple clubs, and it came as a surprise to many that she decided to sign with Kobe Leonessa, as they are considered main rivals of NTV Beleza, the club she spent her youth at and played at until her move overseas to Germany.
16.
Mana Iwabuchi revealed that she chose the club because they courted her most enthusiastically, and she wanted to play under manager Takeo Matsuda again.
17.
Mana Iwabuchi was her coach at NTV Beleza when she was around 14 or 15 years old.
18.
Mana Iwabuchi was given the captain's armband in her final season with the club, where she featured 47 times and netted 11 goals.
19.
Mana Iwabuchi returned to Europe after she signed with Aston Villa in the FA Women's Super League on 21 December 2020 and joined them mid-season in January 2021.
20.
Mana Iwabuchi's signing was described by sporting director Eni Aluko as a "statement signing" for the club, and a unique deal was constructed with CEO Christian Purslow to bring Iwabuchi to the club, ahead of many other top clubs in Europe who were interested in her.
21.
Mana Iwabuchi registered her first goal and assist for the club on her first league start against Reading on 23 January 2021.
22.
Instrumental to Aston Villa's season-long battle to survive relegation, Mana Iwabuchi secured victory against Tottenham Hotspur on 6 February 2021 by scoring the only goal of the game, a thunderous strike from 25-yards out.
23.
On 14 June 2023, Arsenal confirmed that Mana Iwabuchi will leave the club following the expiry of her contract.
24.
Mana Iwabuchi joined Arsenal's north London rival Tottenham Hotspur on loan until the end of the season in January 2023 after limited game-time with Arsenal.
25.
Mana Iwabuchi began her international career in 2008 when she was selected onto the Japan U-17 national team at the age of 15, and participated in the 2008 U-17 World Cup in New Zealand.
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Mana Iwabuchi participated in the 2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship where she led the Young Nadeshiko to their second crown at this level.
27.
Mana Iwabuchi was the fourth Japanese player in history and first female player to be nominated for this award.
28.
On 6 February 2010, Mana Iwabuchi made her debut for the Japan women's national football team in the East Asian Football Championship, held in her home country of Japan.
29.
Mana Iwabuchi made appearances in all of Japan's games during the tournament, with the exception of the semi-final against Sweden, as Japan achieved a historic maiden title.
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Mana Iwabuchi is the youngest ever recipient of the award, while the youngest person to win the honour individually is the Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
31.
Mana Iwabuchi had to walk on crutches and was forced to withdraw from the final round of Asian Qualifiers for the Olympics.
32.
Mana Iwabuchi featured in a total of 3 games over the course of the tournament, including a start against South Africa in the group stages.
33.
Similar to the previous final, Mana Iwabuchi came on as a substitute in the 76th minute.
34.
In May 2015, just a month before the start of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Mana Iwabuchi suffered a bruise to her right knee in a friendly game held during the national team training camp.
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Mana Iwabuchi's gamble paid off and Iwabuchi made headlines as she excelled in her role as a second-half impact substitute, playing a major role in Japan's two late wins in the quarter-final against Australia and then the dramatic semi-final against England.
36.
In early 2016, Mana Iwabuchi was part of the Japan team in the 2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where she scored important goals against South Korea, Vietnam and North Korea, finishing as the team's top scorer of the tournament.
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Later that year in August, Mana Iwabuchi participated in the 2018 Asian Games where she played a key role yet again, contributing 2 goals as Japan won their second-ever Asian Games gold medal.
38.
Mana Iwabuchi participated in her third consecutive World Cup competition at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.
39.
Japan progressed to the knockout stages, where they faced the Netherlands in the Round of 16, and Mana Iwabuchi provided the assist for Yui Hasegawa's equaliser, a well-worked team goal that was nominated for Goal of the Tournament.
40.
At the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship held in South Korea in December 2019, Mana Iwabuchi was given the captain's armband for the first time in the absence of Saki Kumagai, as Japan looked to bounce back from their disappointing campaign at the World Cup earlier in the year.
41.
In July 2021, Mana Iwabuchi inherited the number 10 shirt last worn by Japanese legend Homare Sawa, for the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Japan on home soil.
42.
Latching onto a long ball and finishing with an impressive first-touch strike from the edge of the penalty area, this goal meant that Mana Iwabuchi had scored for the Japan national team in five consecutive international matches, breaking the record previously held by Homare Sawa and the head coach at the time, Asako Takakura.
43.
Post-Olympics, Mana Iwabuchi was asked about her thoughts on the current state of the Japan women's national team.
44.
In line with her comments above, Mana Iwabuchi has long advocated for more Japanese players to take up the challenge of playing overseas.
45.
Mana Iwabuchi's attacking movement and close control allow her to hold up the ball and create space for teammates; her vision and passing range with both feet, despite being naturally right-footed, subsequently allows her to provide assists for on-running strikers.
46.
Mana Iwabuchi has been deployed on the left-wing due to her quick feet, dribbling ability, and low centre of gravity, which enables her to beat defenders in one on one situations before cutting inside to shoot.
47.
Mana Iwabuchi has said herself that she models her game after the Argentine forward Lionel Messi, widely considered to be the best dribbler in the world and one of the greatest dribblers of all time, who has been her idol and role model since she was young.
48.
Mana Iwabuchi's distinctive playing style has drawn comparisons to Argentine legend Diego Maradona and throughout her career she has been affectionately nicknamed 'Manadona' in her home country.
49.
One of the most visible and recognisable female athletes in Japan, Mana Iwabuchi has been a representative figure of women's football in Japan since she entered the spotlight as a teenager.
50.
Mana Iwabuchi has been outspoken about the development of the women's football scene in Japan, the steps that need to be taken to find success on the world stage once more, and her desire to be a role model for young girls who play football.
51.
Mana Iwabuchi was the first to upload it on 8 August 2021, and it soon caught on amongst many athletes and medalists within the Japanese contingent.
52.
Mana Iwabuchi has an older brother, Ryota, who is a professional footballer.
53.
Mana Iwabuchi has close friendships with several players from the Japan men's national team, most notably with Takashi Usami as they are the same age and both played for Hoffeinheim in Germany at the same time.
54.
Mana Iwabuchi was originally at Bayern Munich before transferring to Hoffenheim, while she played for Hoffenheim first before moving to Bayern Munich later.
55.
Mana Iwabuchi has a close relationship with fellow Arsenal defender and Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu, as both of them joined the club at the same time in the summer of 2021.
56.
Mana Iwabuchi is an avid dog lover, and has two toy poodles named Coco and Lala who live in her parents' home back in Japan.