Saki Kumagai熊谷 紗希

Saki Kumagai (熊谷 紗希, Kumagai Saki, born 17 October 1990) is a Japanese footballer who plays for German club FC Bayern Munich and the Japan national team. She plays primarily as a defensive midfielder but has also been deployed as a central defender.

Kumagai is one of the most successful East Asian footballers, of any gender, at club and international level. As of 2020, she has won one World Cup, seven French domestic titles, five European Cups and one Asian Games gold medal.

Club Career

Kumagai was born in Sapporo on 17 October 1990. After graduating from high school, she joined for Urawa Reds in 2009. The club won L.League championship in 2009 season. In July 2011, she moved to German Bundesliga club Frankfurt. After she played 2 seasons, she moved to French Division 1 Feminine club Olympique Lyonnais in June 2013. Kumagai scored the decisive penalty for Lyon in the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final, following a player-of-the-match performance.

In April 2021, Kumagai announced that she would be leaving Lyon after 8 seasons. The following month, on 12 May 2021, Kumagai would return to the Frauen Bundesliga when FC Bayern Munich announced her as their first signing of the season.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Саки Кумагаи (russian)