Kozue Ando


Kozue Ando is a Japanese football player. She plays for Urawa Reds. She played for Japan national team.

Club career

Ando was born in Utsunomiya on 9 July 1982. In 2002, when she was a University of Tsukuba student, she left university club and joined Saitama Reinas FC. In 2002 season, she scored 10 goals and she was selected Young Player Awards. She became top scorer and she was selected MVP awards in 2004 and 2009. She was also selected Best Eleven 6 times. From 2010, she played for German Bundesliga club Duisburg, Frankfurt and Essen. At Frankfurt, she won UEFA Women's Champions League in 2014–15 season. In June 2017, she returned to Japan and joined Urawa Reds.

National team career

In June 1999, when Ando was 16 years old, she was selected for Japan national team for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. At this competition, on 26 June, she debuted against Norway. She played in the World Cup four times and in the Summer Olympics three times. She was a member of the team that defeated the United States in a penalty shootout in the finals to win the 2011 World Cup; Ando started the final. She was also part of the Japanese team which won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and second place at the 2015 World Cup. At the 2015 World Cup, in the first match against Switzerland, she got a penalty kick, but she fractured her left ankle at that moment. This match was her last as part of the Japan national team. She played 126 games and scored 19 goals for Japan by 2015.

Education

Ando graduated from Utsunomiya Women's High School. She earned a PhD in Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences from University of Tsukuba in May 2018.

Club statistics

1Includes UEFA Champions League.

National team statistics

Honors

Club

;Urawa Reds Ladies
;FCR 2001 Duisburg
;Frankfurt