THE BEST WOMAN PLAYER in AFC 2020 by IFFHS : SAKI KUMAGAI (JAPAN/OLYMPIQUE LYON)
Picture : Saki Kumagai won her fifth UEFA Champions League with Lyon in 2020 !
A VITAL ROLE
World champion and 5 time UEFA Women's Champions league winner, Saki Kumagai continues her high class performance in world stages. The 30 years old Japan National Team captain, who gained more than 100 caps, is already recognized as one of the most influential Asian footballers in The World. Born in Sapporo city in Hokkaido Island, North Japan, Saki debuted for Japan at the age of 17. Kumagai was part of the Japan team which won the Women's World Cup in 2011 and second place in 2015. Also she won Olympic Silver for Japan.
Raised through the school football system, Saki joined Urawa Reds in Japan before moving to a strong German Bundesliga team FFC Frankfurt. After a 2 years display, she joined the world's best women’s football side Olympique Lyonnais. As a strong defensive midfielder ,Saki played a vital role in Olympique Lyonnais victories. Sometimes she deployed in Center defense to utilize her vast experience. It was Saki who scored the penalty to decide UWCL champion in 2016 and brought back Lyon from a defeat against Juventus women's in December 2020. She enjoyed Asian footballer of the Year in 2019 and two times selected to IFFHS women’s worlds team of the year in 2018 and 2020.
Saki Kumagai was crowned sovereign as THE BEST WOMAN PLAYER 2020 in AFC before Samantha Kerr (Australia) and Ji So-yun (South Korea).