Risa Shimizu (footballer)

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For actress named Risa Shimizu, see Risa Shimizu (actress).
Risa Shimizu
清水 梨紗
Shimizu with Japan in 2019
Personal information
Full name Risa Shimizu
Date of birth (1996-06-15) June 15, 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 3
Youth career
2009–2012 Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2022 Tokyo Verdy Beleza 165 (4)
2022– West Ham United 32 (1)
International career‡
2012 Japan U-17 4 (1)
2018– Japan 73 (4)
Medal record
Representing  Japan
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jordan
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team
AFC U-19 Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 China
AFC U-16 Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place 2011 China
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:15, 17 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:15, 17 December 2023 (UTC)

Risa Shimizu (清水 梨紗, Shimizu Risa, born June 15, 1996) is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a right-back for Women's Super League club West Ham United and the Japan national team.

Born and raised in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture,[1] Shimizu played youth football for Tokyo Verdy Beleza and subsequently began her professional career with the club in 2013.[2] Shimizu moved to West Ham United in 2022.[3]

She made her senior international debut for the Japan national team in 2018 and has since won 73 caps.

Early life and career[edit]

Shimizu was born in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture on June 15, 1996. She began playing football aged seven years old, influenced by her two years older sister.[1] Her family moved to Yokohama, in Kanagawa Prefecture the following year, and she joined local club FC Susukino Ladies. By the time she was ten, Shimizu was a prolific striker for her team in national junior competitions.[4]

In 2009, aged 12, she was accepted into Menina, the nation's top youth academy of the club she would later play for, Tokyo Verdy Beleza. She initially played as a forward but was gradually converted into a midfielder, and eventually settled on the fullback position which she would specialise.[5] While at the academy, she befriended and rose through the ranks with fellow players such as Yui Hasegawa and Yuka Momiki, all of whom would go on to play for the Japan national team together.[6]

In addition to football, Shimizu was a talented runner from an early age and had competed in statewide marathon competitions at elementary level.[7]

Club career[edit]

Shimizu wearing the captain's armband for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in 2022

Tokyo Verdy Beleza[edit]

Having progressed through the youth set-up of Tokyo Verdy Beleza, the club with the most number of titles in the top flight of women's football in Japan, Shimizu was promoted to the senior team at the age of seventeen. On 23 March 2013, she made her debut in the Nadeshiko League against FC Kibi IU Charme.[2] She established herself as the first choice right-back in her first professional season, making 24 appearances in all competitions.

She scored her first goal for the club on 15 June 2014, in a match against the same opponents she made her debut with.[8] In the 2015 Nadeshiko League season, Shimizu played in every single league game and was one of the key figures who led the team to win the championship that year, ending a five-year drought for the domestic title.[9] In the years since, she has won multiple trophies with Beleza; including five successive domestic titles, five Empress's Cup, three Nadeshiko League Cup and the inaugural AFC Women's Club Championship. She had won the domestic triple crown with Beleza, having done so in consecutive year in the 2018 and 2019 season.

One of the most consistent performers in the league, Shimizu was first chosen to the Nadeshiko League Best XI in the 2017 season and has since been selected for five consecutive seasons, including the first inaugural WE League season after the league was revamped and turned fully professional.[10] In 2020, she was named captain of the club.[11] In August 2022, Shimizu left Tokyo Verdy Beleza after almost a decade with the club

West Ham United[edit]

On 28 August 2022, Shimizu signed a two-year contract with English club West Ham United.[3] She made her competitive debut for the club on 19 September 2022 in a 1-0 win over Everton.[12] She would quickly established herself as a key player to the squad, playing in all but one match across all competition and starting in all 22 league matches for the club. She would end up ranking second in total minutes for West Ham United among all players during the 2022–23 season. She scored her first goal for the club on January 21, 2024 in the 3-4 loss against Tottenham Hotspur.[13]

International career[edit]

Shimizu was first called up to a training camp for the Japan U-14 national team in 2010. The next year, she participated in the 2011 AFC U-16 Women's Championship held in Nanjing, China. In 2012, she was selected to the Japan U-17 national team for 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, where she scored in a group stage win against Mexico.[14]

She received her first senior cap for the Japan national team on 22 October 2017, in a 2–0 win against Switzerland in the MS&AD Cup.[15] At the 2018 Algarve Cup, she played in her first international tournament at senior level, coming on as a substitute against the Netherlands. Shimizu cemented her place as the starting right-back for the national team that same year, starting all the matches in Japan's victorious 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup run where they defeated Australia 1–0 in the final to win their second consecutive title.[16] This success was followed by a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games, where Japan emerged champions of yet another closely contested final, with a 90th-minute goal at the death to win 1–0 over China.[17]

She was selected to Japan's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France and the 2020 Summer Olympics in her home country. She started all matches and played full games in both tournaments.

Shimizu was also part of Japan's squad that won the EAFF East Asian Football Championship in 2019 and 2022, and she was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament in the latter, as Japan went undefeated in the competition.

On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.[18]

On August 8, she scored her first World Cup goal against Norway in the first round of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, contributing to advance to the quarterfinals.

Style of play[edit]

Shimizu is known for her high intensity, work-rate, stamina and defensive solidity.

Despite her relatively slender frame for a women's footballer, Shimizu is known for her relentless and aggressive defensive capabilities.[19] However, the qualities she has garnered the most praise for are her especially high work-rate and stamina, earning a reputation as a right-back who can make repeated overlapping runs over the course of a full match, contributing as much to attacking plays as she does to defending. This is largely thanks to her experience as a marathon runner in her youth.[20]

Shimizu is also proficient at occupying attacking spaces on the pitch and creating goalscoring opportunities for her teammates. As with many Japanese players that are noted for their technical abilities on the ball,[21] Shimizu often plays a key role in assisting goals from the high degree of accuracy on her early crosses and penetrative passes into the penalty box following dribbles down the byline.[22]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 17 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Continental[c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Tokyo Verdy Beleza 2013 Nadeshiko League 14 0 2 0 8 0 — 24 0
2014 Nadeshiko League 25 1 4 1 — — 29 2
2015 Nadeshiko League 23 0 4 0 — — 27 0
2016 Nadeshiko League 17 0 1 0 10 0 — 28 0
2017 Nadeshiko League 18 0 3 0 9 1 — 30 1
2018 Nadeshiko League 17 1 5 0 5 0 — 27 1
2019 Nadeshiko League 18 0 5 0 3 0 2 0 28 0
2020 Nadeshiko League 13 0 5 1 — — 18 1
2021–22 WE League 20 2 2 0 — — 22 2
Total 165 4 31 2 35 1 2 0 233 7
West Ham United 2022–23 Women's Super League 22 0 1 0 5 0 — 28 0
2023–24 Women's Super League 10 0 0 0 2 0 — 12 0
Total 32 0 1 0 7 0 — 40 0
Career total 197 4 32 2 42 1 2 0 272 7
  1. ^ Includes Empress's Cup, Women's FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Nadeshiko League Cup, FA Women's League Cup
  3. ^ Includes AFC Women's Club Championship

International[edit]

As of match played 3 December 2023[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National Team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2018 19 0
2019 12 0
2020 2 0
2021 11 1
2022 13 0
2023 16 3
Total 73 4


Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Shimizu goal.
List of international goals scored by Risa Shimizu
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 11 April 2021 Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Panama 2–0 7–0 Friendly [24]
2 14 July 2023 Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Sendai, Japan  Panama 1–0 5–0 [25]
3 5 August 2023 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand  Norway 2–1 3–1 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup [26]
4 1 November 2023 Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Vietnam 1–0 2–0 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament


Honours[edit]

Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Japan U19

Japan

Individual

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "UGOPAN｜人気連載「人図鑑」をWEBで公開！". 2016-01-25. Archived from the original on 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  2. ^ a b "公式記録 プレナスなでしこリーグ2013 第1節【2】" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "West Ham United Women sign Japan international Risa Shimizu". West Ham United. 28 August 2022.
  4. ^ "得点王 ： 第22回 全国少年少女草サッカー大会". www.kusa1987.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  5. ^ "【最後の青春ドラマ】公園から始まったストーリー、幼少期に培われた天賦の才とは～JFA全日本U-18女子選手権大会・清水梨紗（日テレ・ベレーザ）前編 | ストーリー | 高校年代 2019-20 冬の大会特集". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  6. ^ "【最後の青春ドラマ】チャレンジャーでありながら「違いを見せる」ために～JFA 全日本U-18女子選手権大会・清水梨紗（日テレ・ベレーザ）後編 | ストーリー | 高校年代 2019-20 冬の大会特集". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  7. ^ 日本経済新聞社・日経BP社. "サッカー女子日本代表、清水梨紗さんに聞く10のこと｜オリパラ｜NIKKEI STYLE". NIKKEI STYLE (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  8. ^ "公式記録 プレナスなでしこリーグ2014 第9節【43】" (PDF).
  9. ^ "日テレ・ベレーザが、2015プレナスなでしこリーグ1部で、5年ぶり13回目の年間優勝を果たしました。｜新着情報｜日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザとの取り組み｜駒沢女子大学・駒沢女子短期大学". www.komajo.ac.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  10. ^ "WE LEAGUE AWARDS｜WE LEAGUE公式Webサイト". WE LEAGUE | Women Empowerment League (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  11. ^ "【女子】ベレーザの新主将は清水梨紗「自分がチームを支えられるように」 - サッカーマガジンWEB". soccermagazine.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  12. ^ Khan, Danyal (2022-09-19). "Paul Konchesky admits he's 'over the moon' with West Ham's WSL win vs Everton". Football.London. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  13. ^ "'That's exactly what I'm talking about!' | Risa Shimizu makes it level against Tottenham". SkySports. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  14. ^ "Japan stay perfect, Mexico out". 2015-10-10. Archived from the original on 2015-10-10. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  15. ^ "Nadeshiko Japan | National Teams｜JFA｜Japan Football Association". www.jfa.jp. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  16. ^ "Nadeshiko Japan repeats as Champions with 1-0 victory over Australia at AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018 Final". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  17. ^ NEWS, KYODO. "Asian Games: Late winner secures women's football gold for Japan". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  18. ^ "Iwabuchi left out of Japan's World Cup squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  19. ^ "世界一へのラストステップ。前回女王ドイツに挑むヤングなでしこ（松原渓） - 個人". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  20. ^ "Ｕ19体力テスト１位・清水、長友になる/デイリースポーツ online". デイリースポーツ online (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  21. ^ Bishop, Alex (2021-07-20). "Nadeshiko Japan's path to Olympic success at Tokyo 2020: A tactical overview". The Asian Game. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  22. ^ "なでしこ期待の星！今年高校を卒業したばかりの日テレ・ベレーザ 清水梨紗選手を独占インタビュー！｜インタビュー｜スカイＡ｜CS放送のスポーツチャンネル". www.sky-a.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  23. ^ "Nadeshiko Japan | National Teams｜JFA｜Japan Football Association".
  24. ^ "Japan vs. Panama - 11 April 2021 - Soccerway". my.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  25. ^ "Starting Lineup/Result | MS＆AD CUP 2023 | Nadeshiko Japan | Japan National Team | Japan Football Association". www.jfa.jp. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  26. ^ "Fixtures/Results |FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 | Nadeshiko Japan | Japan National Team | Japan Football Association". www.jfa.jp. Retrieved 2023-08-17.

External links[edit]

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