Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manila: Japan U-17 women’s head coach Asako Takemoto has clinched the AFC Women’s Coach of the Year accolade for a third time during Sunday's AFC Annual Awards 2014 gala held in the Philippines.
Takemoto, who led her Japan team to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014 title, won the award ahead of Thailand's Nuengrutai Srathongvian and Gao Hong of China.
The AFC Women’s Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013 guided the Japan U-17 women’s team to the top of their group at the Costa Rica tournament with a perfect record of three wins, advancing to the quarter-finals where they downed Mexico 2-0.
Takemoto’s Young Nadeshiko then beat Venezuela 4-1 in the semis propelling them to the final against Spain who they defeated 2-0, having beaten them by the same score-line in the group stages.
The 46-year-old AFC Coaching Instructor is also one of 10 nominees for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football award, which will be handed over at the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or on January 12, 2015, in Zurich, Switzerland.
“It’s an honour to receive this award," said Takemoto. "I was able to receive this award because my players played their best in the competitions, so I would like to thank all of them. Of course, I am proud to receive this award, but I was also extremely proud to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – that was my proudest moment.
“The youth development system in Japan is very good and Japanese players have good technique, understand tactics, and have good discipline; these are qualities that go right through the generations from the youth development squads right through to the senior side.
"By receiving this award and also being U-17 Women’s World Champions, this will also help inspire upcoming players and coaches. We always want to head towards becoming World Champions again so that is the future that we will expect from our players.”