is a Japanese football coach and former player who is currently the general manager of

Omiya Ardija Ventus is a Japanese women's association football team which plays in WE League. and become the women's section of J. League club Omiya Ardija. History The team started in 1996 as an old girls' club for students of Jumonji Middle School in Toshima ...

. He is best known for leading the Japan women's national team to their first and only FIFA Women's World Cup win in 2011 over the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on penalty kicks. He retired as head coach in March 2016 after eight years. Sasaki also coached the Japan women's U-20 national team starting in 2007.

Playing career

Sasaki studied at and played for Teikyo High School and Meiji 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 the

All Japan High School Soccer Tournament The All Japan High School Soccer Tournament (全国高等学校サッカー選手権大会, Zenkoku kōtō gakkō sakkā senshuken taikai, 全国高校サッカー選手権大会, Zenkoku kō kō sakkā senshuken taikai) of Japan, commonly known a ...

. After graduating from Meiji University, Sasaki started to work for

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone , commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked 55th in ''Fortune'' Global 500, NTT is the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue, as well as the third la ...

and joined company club NTT Kanto. He was a midfielder/defender. He contributed to the club's promotion to

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

Division 2 in 1986. Sasaki retired from playing at the age of 33.

Coaching career

Sasaki served as the head coach of

Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership a ...

side

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

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 of

Japan women's national football team Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, as well as the head coach of its U-20 team. In 2008, he was promoted to the head coach of the national team, succeeding Hiroshi Ohashi. Under Sasaki's reign, Nadeshiko won the

EAFF Women's Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship is an international football competition in East Asia for national teams of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF). The competition between women's national teams is held alongside men's competition. History ...

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; ...

and again in 2010. He also led the Japan Women to a fourth-place finish at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Sasaki and his team won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, which upset host nation

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and then Sweden to reach the tournament final, and beat the

3–1 in a

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 pe ...

in the final. Nadeshiko became the 19th recipient of Japan's People's Honour Award for winning the World Cup. On 9 January 2012, Sasaki was awarded the Women's Best Coach Award in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. At the 2012 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 the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Sasaki, who attempted to become only the 2nd coach since

Vittorio Pozzo Vittorio Pozzo (; 2 March 1886 – 21 December 1968) was an Italian football player, manager and journalist. The creator of the '' Metodo'' tactical formation, Pozzo is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and is the only man ...

's Italian team 77 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. At

2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The 2016 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was the 4th edition of the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the quadrennial international football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine which wome ...

, following Japan's failure to qualify for the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

in Brazil, Sasaki stepped down as head coach of the team. He was succeeded by

Asako Takakura , also known as Asako Takakura-Takemoto or Asako Takemoto due to her marriage, is a Japanese football manager and former player. She played for Japan national team. She is a former manager of the Japan national team. Her husband is former foot ...

Honours

Managerial honours

;Japan Women *

, 2010 * Asian Games: 2010, Runner-up:

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 ...

* FIFA Women's World Cup: 2011, Runner-up: 2015 * Olympic Silver Medal:

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 gat ...

* AFC Women's Asian Cup:

;Individual *

AFC Coach of the Year The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the National Football League (NFL) head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disp ...

: 2011 * FIFA World Women's Coach of the year: 2011 *

Japan Football Hall of Fame is housed at the Japan Football Museum ( :ja:日本サッカーミュージアム), in JFA House in Bunkyo, Tokyo. The Hall aims to celebrate the achievements of the all-time top Japanese football players, managers, and other persons who have been ...

: Inducted in 2019 ;Decorations * People's Honour Award: 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sasaki, Norio 1958 births Living people Meiji University alumni Association football people from Yamagata Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan Soccer League players Omiya Ardija players Japanese football managers J2 League managers Omiya Ardija managers Japan women's national football team managers 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup managers 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup managers FIFA Women's World Cup-winning managers Association football midfielders Olympic silver medalists for Japan