Mizuho Sakaguchi

Mizuho Sakaguchi (阪口 夢穂, Sakaguchi Mizuho; born October 15, 1987) is a former Japanese footballer who played as a midfielder. She last played for Omiya Ardija Ventus in the WE League and the Japan national team.

Mizuho Sakaguchi
阪口 夢穂

Sakaguchi playing in the 2011 World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Mizuho Sakaguchi
Date of birth	(1987-10-15) October 15, 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth	Sakai, Osaka, Japan
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Speranza FC Takatsuki	21	(7)
2006–2008	Tasaki Perule FC	56	(15)
2009	FC Indiana	2	(1)
2010–2011	Albirex Niigata	28	(10)
2012–2020	Tokyo Verdy Beleza	117	(42)
2021–2022	Omiya Ardija Ventus	2	(0)
International career
2006–2019	Japan	124	(29)
Medal record Tasaki Perule FC Runner-up Nadeshiko League 2007 Winner Empress's Cup 2006 Runner-up Empress's Cup 2007 Albirex Niigata Runner-up Empress's Cup 2011 Nippon TV Beleza Winner Nadeshiko League 2015 Winner Nadeshiko League 2016 Winner Nadeshiko League 2017 Winner Nadeshiko League 2018 Runner-up Nadeshiko League 2012 Runner-up Nadeshiko League 2013 Runner-up Nadeshiko League 2014 Winner Nadeshiko League Cup 2012 Winner Nadeshiko League Cup 2016 Winner Nadeshiko League Cup 2018 Winner Empress's Cup 2014 Winner Empress's Cup 2017 Winner Empress's Cup 2018 Representing  Japan Olympic Games 2012 London Team FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Germany 2015 Canada AFC Women's Asian Cup 2014 Vietnam 2018 Jordan 2008 Vietnam Asian Games 2010 Guangzhou Team 2006 Doha Team 2014 Incheon Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of December 31, 2018

Club career

Sakaguchi was born in Sakai on October 15, 1987. In 2003, at the age of 15, she debuted in the L.League at Speranza FC Takatsuki. After graduating from high school, she joined Tasaki Perule FC in 2006. She was selected Best Eleven in 2007. However, the club was disbanded in 2008 due to financial strain. She went to the United States and joined USL W-League club FC Indiana in 2009. In 2010, she returned to Japan and joined Albirex Niigata. She was selected Best Eleven in 2011. In 2012, she moved to Nippon TV Beleza. She was selected MVP awards for 3 years in a row (2015-2017). She was also selected Best Eleven for 5 years in a row (2013-2017).

National team career

In July 2006, Sakaguchi was selected to be on the Japan national team for the 2006 Asian Cup. At this competition, on July 19, she debuted and scored 2 goals against Vietnam.^[1] She played in the 2011 World Cup where Japan won the championship; Sakaguchi scored one of the penalties in the shootout against United States in the final.^[2] She also played in the 2015 World Cup where Japan came second.^[3] She was also part of the silver medal-winning 2012 Summer Olympic team.^[4] From June 2016, she was given the number 10 shirt for Japan by new manager Asako Takakura. She played 124 games and scored 29 goals for Japan until 2018.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 June 2022

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Speranza FC Takatsuki	2003	Nadeshiko League	9	1	0	0	—		9	1
	2004	Nadeshiko League	12	6	0	0	—		12	6
	Total		21	7	0	0	—		21	7
Tasaki Perule FC	2006	Nadeshiko League	16	4	4	1	—		20	5
	2007	Nadeshiko League	20	7	4	0	0	0	24	7
	2008	Nadeshiko League	20	4	3	0	—		23	4
	Total		56	15	11	1	0	0	67	16
FC Indiana	2009	USL W-League	2	1	—		—		2	1
Albirex Niigata	2010	Nadeshiko League	12	4	3	0	4	3	19	7
	2011	Nadeshiko League	16	6	4	1	—		20	7
	Total		28	10	7	1	4	3	39	14
Nippon TV Beleza	2012	Nadeshiko League	10	2	0	0	4	1	14	3
	2013	Nadeshiko League	17	6	2	1	9	4	28	11
	2014	Nadeshiko League	28	13	4	0	0	0	32	13
	2015	Nadeshiko League	23	10	4	0	0	0	27	10
	2016	Nadeshiko League	18	7	4	1	8	3	30	11
	2017	Nadeshiko League	18	3	5	3	6	2	29	8
	2018	Nadeshiko League	3	1	1	0	0	0	4	1
	2019	Nadeshiko League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020	Nadeshiko League	8	0	2	0	0	0	10	0
	Total		125	42	25	5	27	10	177	57
Omiya Ardija Ventus	2021–22	WE League	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Career total			236	75	43	7	31	13	310	95

International

As of match played 21 April 2018^[1][5]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan	2006	7	10
	2007	5	3
	2008	17	1
	2009	0	0
	2010	4	1
	2011	14	1
	2012	14	1
	2013	7	1
	2014	17	8
	2015	12	2
	2016	6	0
	2017	13	0
	2018	8	1
Total		124	29

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sakaguchi goal.

List of international goals scored by Mizuho Sakaguchi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	July 19, 2006	Hindmarsh Stadium	Vietnam	3–0	5–0	2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup	[6]
2				4–0
3	July 21, 2006	Hindmarsh Stadium	Chinese Taipei	6–1	11–1
4				10–1
5	November 30, 2006	Al-Arabi Stadium, Doha	Jordan	5–0	13–0	2006 Asian Games
6				6–0
7				7–0
8				9–0
9				11–0
10	December 4, 2006	Al-Gharafa Stadium, Al-Rayyan	Thailand	1–0	4–0
11	February 14, 2007	Cyprus	Scotland	1–0	2–0	Friendly
12				2–0
13	August 12, 2007	National Olympic Stadium (Tokyo)	Thailand	5–0	5–0	Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification
14	March 10, 2008	Dasaki Stadium	Russia	1–0	3–1	2008 Cyprus Cup
15	November 14, 2010	Huangpu Sports Center, Guangzhou	Thailand	3–0	4–0	2010 Asian Games	[7]
16	September 3, 2011	Jinan Olympic Sports Center	South Korea	1–0	2–1	Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's Asian Qualifiers	[8]
17	August 6, 2012	Wembley Stadium	France	2–0	2–1	2012 Summer Olympics	[9]
18	September 26, 2013	Chiba Soga Football Stadium	Nigeria	2–0	2–0	Friendly	[10]
19	May 18, 2014	Gò Đậu Stadium	Jordan	3–0	7–0	2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup	[11]
20				6–0
21	September 13, 2014	Yamagata Park Stadium	Ghana	2–0	5–0	Friendly	[12]
22	September 18, 2014	Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon	Jordan	3–0	12–0	2014 Asian Games	[13]
23				4–0
24				11–0
25	September 22, 2014	Munhak Stadium, Incheon	Chinese Taipei	1–0	3–0		[14]
26	September 29, 2014	Football Stadium, Incheon	Vietnam	1–0	3–0		[15]
27	June 23, 2015	BC Place	Netherlands	2–0	2–1	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup	[16]
28	November 29, 2015	Kras Stadion	Netherlands	1–2	1–3	Friendly	[17]
29	April 13, 2018	Amman International Stadium, Amman	Australia	1–0	1–1	2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup	[18]

Honours

Tasaki Perule FC

• Empress's Cup: 2007

Japan

• FIFA Women's World Cup: 2011; Runner-up: 2015
• Asian Games: 2010; Silver Medal 2006
• EAFF Women's Football Championship: 2008
• AFC Women's Asian Cup

Champion: 2014

Individual

• L.League Best Eleven: 2007, 2011, 2013

See also

• List of women's footballers with 100 or more caps