is a Japanese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for the Japan national team starting in 2003, and from 2012 to 2016 served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the team. She appeared in four

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

between 2003 and 2015, including the team that won the 2011 World Cup for Japan. Miyama also led Japan to a silver medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Club career

Early career

Miyama was born in

Ōamishirasato file:Oami sta.jpg, 260px, Area around Ōami Station is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,019 in 21,860 households and a population density of 840 persons per km². The total a ...

, Sanbu District,

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

, on 28 January 1985 . She started her career as a football player in the club her father founded. She later joined

Nippon TV Beleza is a women's football team which plays in Japan's WE League. History The club was founded as named ''Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza'' as women's club of Yomiuri SC (currently ''Tokyo Verdy'') by Yomiuri Shimbun in 1981.L.League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respective ...

side

Okayama Yunogo Belle The Okayama Yunogo Belle is a Japanese women's football club based in Mimasaka, Okayama, Japan.Results
...

in 2001, having received an invitation from Midori Honda, the coach.

WPS

On 24 November 2008, Miyama was selected by

Los Angeles Sol The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The team was co-owned and operated by Blue Star, LLC and AEG, a subsidia ...

of the U.S.

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS) in the 2008 WPS International Draft, and joined Sol in 2009. In the

2009 Women's Professional Soccer season The 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season served as the inaugural season for WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on March 29 and ended on August 9, with the postseason being held ...

, she had 6 assists but no goals. When the Sol disbanded in early 2010, she was taken by

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte S ...

. Miyama signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Beat on 10 June 2010.

Return to Japan

Miyama returned to

Okayama Yunogo Belle The Okayama Yunogo Belle is a Japanese women's football club based in Mimasaka, Okayama, Japan.Results
...

in September 2010. She left the club at the end of the 2016 season.

International career

At the 2007 World Cup held in China, Miyama performed brilliantly in Japan's match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, scoring the team's two goals both from direct free kicks as they held on to a draw. In Japan's first group stage match of the 2011 World Cup, she scored the go-ahead goal in Japan's win against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from another free kick in the 68th minute, and was named Player of the Match. At the 2011 World Cup in Germany, Miyama scored the winner – a curling free kick – to help Japan beat New Zealand, and netted Japan's first goal in the final against the USA. Miyama also scored Japan's first penalty of the eventual

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

in the final which ended 2–2 after extra time. Her team won 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out, making them the first

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

team to win the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. In the moment of victory, Miyama did not join her teammates in celebration, but instead went to the American players to hug and congratulate them. This has been reported both by

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Aft ...

and the Japanese media as evidence of Miyama's sportsmanship and respect for her opponents. Miyama was named the AFC Women's Footballer of the Year in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. At the

, Miyama led Japan to the silver medal as captain. At the 2015 World Cup, she also captained the team and lost in the final to the USA. At the 2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Japan failed to qualify for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. Following the tournament, she retired from the national team. She played 162 matches and scored 38 goals for Japan.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honors

Japan *

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

; runner-up:

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

runner-up:

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

Gold Medal:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* East Asian Football Championship:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Individual *

All-Star Team:

* FIFA Women's World Cup Bronze Ball:

Best player:

* AFC Women's Player of the Year:

, 2015 *

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

Best player:

L.League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respective ...

Division 1 Best Eleven (6):

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* L.League Division 2 Best Player:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

* L.League Division 2 top scorer:

* FIFPro: FIFA FIFPro World XI

* IFFHS AFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020

References

External links

* * * *
Japan Football Association

Okayama Yunogo Belle player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyama, Aya 1985 births Living people Association football people from Chiba Prefecture Japanese women's footballers Japan women's international footballers Nadeshiko League players Women's Professional Soccer players Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza players Okayama Yunogo Belle players Los Angeles Sol players Saint Louis Athletica players Atlanta Beat (WPS) players Japanese expatriate footballers Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Olympic footballers of Japan Olympic medalists in football Olympic silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games FIFA Century Club Women's association football midfielders