Regarded by many as one of the greatest female footballers of all time,[3][4][5] Sawa had a professional club career spanning 24 seasons, mostly with Nippon TV Beleza and INAC Kobe Leonessa.

She also spent 22 years with the Japan national team, most notably captaining them to a FIFA Women's World Cup win in 2011 and an Olympic silver medal finish in 2012.

She played for two WUSA clubs, the Atlanta Beat and the Denver Diamonds, before returning to the Japanese league in 2004.

Sawa won another nine titles with Nippon TV Beleza in four years, but left the club again in 2008.

She later captained Japan to a silver medal finish at the 2012 Summer Olympics and then retired from international football for the first time immediately after the completion of the tournament.

At the end of the year, after winning the 2015 Empress's Cup with INAC Kobe Leonessa, she retired from football completely.

While watching her older brother train, she was invited by his coach to join the boys' team on the pitch.

In 1999, NTV Beleza cancelled Sawa's contract, forcing her to move abroad to the United States.

She scored the first goal in the club's history, and was a centerpiece of the Beat's three seasons in the league, helping them into the playoffs each year.

(55 kg), she held her own with the mostly larger and more physical players, and was regularly among the team and league leaders in fouls taken.

[citation needed] Following the WUSA's demise in 2003, Sawa returned to Japan, where she played with powerhouse Nippon TV Beleza.

Sawa returned to Japan temporarily at the end of the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season, and joined Nippon TV Beleza on loan.

In January 2011, Sawa moved to INAC Kobe Leonessa due to financial strain at Nippon TV Beleza, with international players; Shinobu Ohno, Yukari Kinga, and Chiaki Minamiyama.

In the final against Albirex Niigata on 27 December, she scored the lone goal of the match in the 78th minute to secure the championship for her side.

[11] On 6 December 1993, at age 15, Sawa made her Japanese international debut, scoring four goals in her first ever match, a win against the Philippines.

[12] Sawa debuted in her first Women's World Cup tournament in 1995, making her first start at 16 years old against Germany.

After a 2–2 tie in front of a sellout crowd in Frankfurt, Germany (with one goal by Sawa in the 117th minute), Japan won the penalty shootout 3–1, defeating the United States to win their first ever World Cup.

[18] On 9 January 2012, Sawa was awarded the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in Zurich, Switzerland.

[21][22] At the 2012 London Olympics, Japan met the United States in the gold medal match where they were defeated 2–1.

[24] In October 2012, she was shortlisted for the 2012 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, where she finished 4th place in the voting.

[27][28] Sawa was absent for many months after Japan's Asian Cup win, coinciding with multiple injuries.

[30] In March 2015, Norio Sasaki left Sawa out of Japan's squad for the 2015 Algarve Cup despite her being injury-free.

She returned to the national team from injury after a one-year absence, marking the occasion by scoring Japan's match-winning goal in a friendly against New Zealand.

[32] On 8 June, she started Japan's first match of the 2015 Women's World Cup, achieving her 200th cap with 57 minutes against Switzerland.

Sawa's retirement was met with tributes from people across Japanese football, including coach Norio Sasaki, teammates Yuki Nagasato, Eriko Arakawa, and Azusa Iwashimizu, and male footballing compatriot Shunsuke Nakamura.