World Cup 2010 Blog: The Japanese Women Turn To “Supergirl”

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The Japanese Women Turn To “Supergirl” Posted: 15 May 2012 09:15 AM PDT Guess which one she is. World class keepers on the male side tend to be fairly tall, and even the bejeweled Iker Casillas is considered undersized at 182cm, or under six feet. The keepers of Europe’s better national teams typically range over 190cm – Neuer, Buffon, Cech, Hart, Stekelenburg, et cetera, et cetera. Japan’s a different story, and especially on the female side of the game. Wikipedia can give a hint. Which is why finding a 187cm female keeper is like finding the Holy Grail, enough to dub her Supergirl. One has to wonder if this project was official, maintaining tryouts and the like, or they just asked employees to be on the lookout for really tall gals during lunch hour. Erina Yamane, who at 187 centimeters (6 feet, two inches) looks down on Japan’s senior men’s goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, has made the cut for London, local media reported on Tuesday. “I thought it was a joke,” Yamane, a product of the Japan Football Association’s ‘Supergirl Project’ designed to unearth a future goalkeeper, told the Nikkan Sports newspaper. “I didn’t think I was ready to play at an Olympics,” added the 21-year-old, whose L-League team, Tepco Mareeze, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co., was shut down after last year’s nuclear crisis, forcing her to move to Chiba Ladies. “The Olympics wasn’t even on my radar to be honest. I’ll just do whatever I can for the team.” No pressure.

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