Norio Sasaki

Norio Sasaki
佐々木 則夫
Sasaki in 2015
Personal information
Full name Norio Sasaki
Date of birth (1958-05-24) 24 May 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Obanazawa, Yamagata, Japan
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Omiya Ardija Ventus (general manager)
Youth career
1974–1976 Teikyo High School
1977–1980 Meiji University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1991 NTT Kanto 25 (2)
Total 25 (2)
Teams managed
1997–1998 Omiya Ardija
2006 Japan Women U-17
2007–2010 Japan Women U-20
2008–2016 Japan Women
Honours
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Team
FIFA Women's World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2011 Germany
Silver medal – second place 2015 Canada
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Vietnam
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Vietnam
Bronze medal – third place 2010 China
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Team
AFC U-19 Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place 2009 China
Silver medal – second place 2007 China
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Norio Sasaki (佐々木 則夫, Sasaki Norio, born May 24, 1958) is a former Japanese football player and manager. He managed for Japan women's national team.

Biography

After graduating from Meiji University, Sasaki joined NTT Kanto. He was a midfielder. He contributed to the club's promotion to Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1987. He retired in 1991.

Sasaki served as the head coach of Japan Football League side Omiya Ardija in 1998, then took various other positions at Omiya, including the youth team head-coach and the head of development.

In 2006, Sasaki became the assistant coach of Japan women's national team, as well as the head coach of its U-20 team. In 2008, he was promoted to the head coach of the national team, succeeding Hiroshi Ohashi.

Under Sasaki's reign, Japan won the EAFF Women's Football Championship in 2008 and again in 2010. He also led the Japan Women to a fourth-place finish at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Sasaki was the manager of the Japan when they won the 2011 World Cup. FIFA[1] named Sasaki 2011 "Coach of the Year".[2] He also coached the national team to a second-place finish at the 2015 World Cup.

He was also coach of the women's team which won a silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics at London.[3]

Sasaki announced his retirement from coaching in 2012,[4] but was persuaded to stay on as national team coach.

In 2019, he was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame.[5]

Honours

  • FIFA World Coach of the Year, 2011[6]

References

  1. ↑ FIFA is an acronym. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association, which is the commonly used French name of the International Federation of Association Football.
  2. ↑ Kim McCauley (2012-01-09). "FIFA Women's World Coach Of The Year 2011: Norio Sasaki Wins Honor". Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  3. ↑ Baxter, Kevin. "Japanese soccer team gets upgrade ...," Los Angeles Times. August 11, 2012; retrieved 2012-8-17.
  4. ↑ Westlake, Adam. "Nadeshiko Japan coach Sasaki to step down after London Olympics," Archived 2013-03-18 at the Wayback Machine Japan Daily Press. August 9, 2012; retrieved 2012-8-17.
  5. ↑ Japan Football Association
  6. ↑ Meiji University, "Norio Sasaki, coach of Nadeshiko Japan and a graduate of Meiji University, receives the FIFA Women’s Football Coach of the Year prize, the first-ever such feat for an Asian national," January 11, 2012; retrieved 2012-8-17.

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