 | This biographical articleis writtenlike a résumé. Pleasehelp improve it by revising it to beneutral andencyclopedic.(July 2020) |
 Sasaki in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Norio Sasaki | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-05-24)24 May 1958 (age 67) | ||
| Place of birth | Obanazawa,Yamagata,Japan | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1974–1976 | Teikyo High School | ||
| 1977–1980 | Meiji University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1991 | NTT Kanto | 25 | (2) |
| Total | 25 | (2) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Omiya Ardija | ||
| 2006 | Japan women U-17 | ||
| 2007–2010 | Japan women U-20 | ||
| 2008–2016 | Japan women | ||
| 2021 | Omiya Ardija Ventus | ||
| 2024 | Japan women (interim) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Norio Sasaki (佐々木 則夫,Sasaki Norio; born 24 May 1958) is a Japanesefootball coach and former player.[1] He is best known for leading the Japanese women's national team to their first and onlyFIFA Women's World Cup win in2011 over theUnited States on penalty shootouts.[2] He retired as head coach in March 2016 after eight years.[3] Sasaki also coached theJapan women's U-20 national team starting in 2007.[citation needed]
Sasaki studied at and played for Teikyo High School andMeiji University. At Teikyo High School, he won the national inter-high school competition as team captain. His high school club also advanced to the semi-final at theAll Japan High School Soccer Tournament.
After graduating from Meiji University, Sasaki started to work forNippon Telegraph and Telephone and joined company clubNTT Kanto. He was a midfielder/defender. He contributed to the club's promotion toJapan Soccer League Division 2 in 1986.
Sasaki retired from playing at the age of 33.
Sasaki served as the head coach ofJapan Football League sideOmiya Ardija in 1998, then took various other positions at Omiya, including the youth team head-coach and the head of development.
In 2006, Sasaki became the assistant coach ofJapan women's national football team, as well as the head coach of itsU-20 team. In 2008, he was promoted to the head coach of the national team, succeedingHiroshi Ohashi.
Under Sasaki's reign, Nadeshiko won theEAFF Women's Football Championship in2008 and again in2010. He also led the Japan Women to a fourth-place finish at the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing.
Sasaki and his team won the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, which upset host nationGermany and thenSweden to reach the tournament final, and beat theUnited States 3–1 in apenalty shoot-out in the final. Nadeshiko became the 19th recipient of Japan'sPeople's Honour Award for winning the World Cup. On 9 January 2012, Sasaki was awarded the Women's Best Coach Award in the2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or.[4]
At the2012 Summer Olympics, Sasaki led Japan to their first Olympic medal, a silver, after reaching the final but losing 2–1 to the United States in the final.
At the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup inCanada, Sasaki, who attempted to become only the 2nd coach sinceVittorio Pozzo's Italian team77 years ago to win two FIFA World Cup finals, oversaw a 2nd-place effort, as the Japanese lost 5–2 to the US in the final.
At2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, following Japan's failure to qualify for the2016 Olympics in Brazil, Sasaki stepped down as head coach of the team.[3] He was succeeded byAsako Takakura.
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
