Mana Iwabuchi


Mana Iwabuchi is a Japanese football player. She plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa and Japan national team.

Club career

Nippon TV Beleza (2007–2012)

Iwabuchi was born in Musashino on March 18, 1993. On October 21, 2007, when she was 14 years old, she debuted in L.League at Nippon TV Beleza. She was selected Best Young Player awards in 2008 season. She was also selected Best Eleven in 2011 season.

Hoffenheim (2012–2014)

On 28 November 2012, Iwabuchi joined Hoffenheim in the 2. Bundesliga and was given the number 28 shirt. On 17 March 2013, she made her debut in a 6–2 away victory against SV Bardenbach, coming on as a substitute in the 46th minute. On 31 March 2013, she scored her first goal in a 3–2 win over 1. FFC Niederkirchen. Iwabuchi finished the 2012–13 season with four goals in nine appearances as Hoffenheim won the Southern division and were promoted to the Bundesliga. In the following season, she changed her shirt number to 13. On 8 September 2013, she scored Hoffenheim's first ever goal in the top-flight in a 1–0 home victory against VfL Sindelfingen. She finished the 2013–14 season with six goals in 22 appearances in all competitions.

Bayern Munich (2014–2017)

In June 2014, Iwabuchi left Hoffenheim to join Bayern Munich. On 30 January 2016, she signed a two-year contract extension. However, in March 2017 she announced on her blog that she had terminated her contract with the club, in order to return to Japan and concentrate on recovering from injuries.

INAC Kobe Leonessa (2017–present)

On 23 June 2017, Iwabuchi signed with INAC Kobe Leonessa.

National team career

Iwabuchi began her international career in 2008 when she was selected onto the Japan U-17 national team at the age of 15, and participated in the 2008 U-17 World Cup in New Zealand. The team was defeated in the quarterfinals but she was awarded the tournament's MVP. A French team coach hailed her as a "future star of women's football." Iwabuchi was also awarded the Asian Young Footballer of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation in 2008. She joined the Japan national team for the East Asian Football Championship, held in early 2010, and debuted in the game against China. She scored her first goal against the Chinese Taipei national team in the same competition. In 2011, she played at the 2011 World Cup and Japan won the championship. She played as a substitute in the final against United States. She also played 2012 Summer Olympics and 2015 World Cup. Japan won 2nd place at both tournaments. In 2018, at 2018 Asian Cup, she played full-time in all matches and scored 2 goals. Japan won the championship and she was selected MVP awards. She played 61 games and scored 20 goals for Japan.

National team statistics

Honours

Club

;Nippon TV Beleza
;Hoffenheim
;Bayern Munich