TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese World Cup winner Yuki Nagasato, who in 2020 made history by briefly signing on loan for a men’s team, has called time on her 24-year professional career at the age of 37.
The striker played 132 times for her country, including at the 2011 World Cup where she came on as a substitute in the final as the Nadeshiko beat the United States to clinch the biggest prize in women’s football.
“For 30 years, ever since I first kicked a ball, football has been my life. I’ve chased the game, challenged myself and grown through every victory and defeat,” Nagasato said in a post on Instagram.
“The journey wasn’t always easy, but every moment had meaning. Retiring wasn’t an easy decision, but I’m excited for what’s next.”
Nagasato’s club career took her from Japan to Germany, where she won the Champions League with Turbine Potsdam in 2010, and on to Chelsea in England before she spent eight seasons in the U.S. with Chicago Red Stars, Racing Louisville and Houston Dash.
It was while she was playing for the Red Stars that Nagasato, inspired by Megan Rapinoe’s campaign for equality in the game, returned home to play five games for her brother’s team Hayabusa Eleven in Japan’s second flight.
“I thought I could show that women can also play in a men’s team,” she said. “I want to help create a community where there is no boundary regarding gender or race.”
Nagasato, who also won an Olympic silver medal at the 2012 London Games, scored 58 goals for her country to stand behind only Homare Sawa (83) as Japan’s second-most prolific international goalscorer.
“Thank you, Nagasato, for all the moving moments,” the Japanese Football Association (JFA) said in a tribute.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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