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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Alex Bishop in Tokyo

Mana Iwabuchi: ‘Manadona’ calls time on glittering career but stays in game

Japan’s Mana Iwabuchi causes problems for the Australian defence during their 2015 World Cup quarter-final
Japan’s Mana Iwabuchi causes problems for the Australian defence during their 2015 World Cup quarter-final, where Iwabuchi scored the only goal of the game. Photograph: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

It is a moment that every player will face sooner or later but when the time came to retire for Mana Iwabuchi she seemed, despite the tears at her farewell press conference, glad at heart and content with her decision.

A World Cup winner in 2011, Iwabuchi has had an illustrious club career, winning league titles in Japan and Germany before moving to England to play for Aston Villa and Arsenal before finishing with a loan spell at Tottenham this year.

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