[/floatr]Japan went out to England at the quarter-final stage of the FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup in New Zealand, despite being heavily favoured to advance. However, fifteen year old Mana Iwabuchi has been winning all the plaudits at the tournament. Here's an article following the game against the US:FIFA.com: Japan's Mana from heaven
"What a player! She's young - only 15, I think - but you can she is a future star of women's football." These words, echoing the thoughts of everyone inside Hamilton's Waikato Stadium, belonged to France coach Gerard Sergent, and were devoted to Japan's brilliant No10, Mana Iwabuchi. Sergent had just watched the Young Nadeshiko playmaker provide arguably the outstanding individual performance of New Zealand 2008 to date, thrilling the Kiwi crowd and tormenting favourites USA with a display of grace, skill and cunning...more...
This is the article following their loss:
FIFA.com: Sad end to Japanese love affair
Mana Iwabuchi wasn't the first player to cry at New Zealand 2008 and you can rest assured she will not be the last. Yet although tears have followed each and every side's exit from this competition, there was something especially heart-rending about the sobbing of a player who had provided such joy to the watching public. Hamilton, in particular, fell head over heels in love with Japan's brilliant No10, an outstanding natural talent who on three separate occasions captivated the northern city with her darting, elusive dribbling and eye-popping improvisation. So moved were the Hamilton public by Iwabuchi's brilliance, in fact, that as the 15-year-old tried in vain to choke back the tears, one stadium volunteer instinctively gave the midfielder a hug, while another asked the team's interpreter to translate a message of thanks for the entertainment she had provided. At this, the diminutive 15-year-old's sobbing stopped, for a time at least, as she bowed her head respectfully in a gesture that made clear the gratitude was mutual...more...
