Riko Ueki

Riko Ueki (植木 理子, Ueki Riko, born 30 July 1999) is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a striker for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the Japanese WE League and the Japan national team.

Riko Ueki
植木 理子
Ueki in 2021
Personal information
Full name Riko Ueki
Date of birth (1999-07-30) 30 July 1999
Place of birth Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Number 9
Youth career
2012–2015 Tokyo Verdy Beleza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016– Tokyo Verdy Beleza 79 (27)
Total 79 (27)
International career‡
2016 Japan U-17 5 (4)
2018 Japan U-20 6 (5)
2019– Japan 15 (8)
Honours
Nippon TV Beleza
WinnerNadeshiko League2016
WinnerNadeshiko League2017
WinnerNadeshiko League2018
WinnerNadeshiko League Cup2016
WinnerNadeshiko League Cup2018
WinnerEmpress's Cup2017
WinnerEmpress's Cup2018
Representing  Japan
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
2018 France
AFC U-19 Women's Championship
2017 China
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
2016 Jordan
AFC U-16 Women's Championship
2015 China
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:40, 24 November 2022

Early life and education

Ueki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on 30 July 1999. She started playing football in 2011, the year Nadeshiko Japan won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in a dramatic victory over the United States.[1] In fact, she started playing a few months before they won the World Cup, but when she shared this with Saki Kumagai (current captain and member of the winning squad in 2011), Kumagai jokingly said to her "you should change it to say that you were inspired to start football after watching our victory, and ultimately made it to the national team yourself. It'll make for a better story!"[2]

From the day she first started football, Ueki has always played as a forward and has never played in any other position throughout her career so far. She has said in multiple interviews that her role model since she was young is fellow Japanese forward Mana Iwabuchi, and she achieved one of her goals during the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup when she was selected to pair alongside Iwabuchi for the first time as the two starting strikers in Japan's semi-final against China.[3][4]

Ueki attended Waseda University, one of the most selective and prestigious universities in Japan, majoring in sports science.[5] While at college she took courses in sports management and marketing as well, declaring that "after I've retired from playing, I want to work to spread women's football and I am studying so that I have as many options as I can to do so." After a gruelling few years juggling classes in the day and practices with the club team in evenings, she successfully graduated in March 2022.[6]

Club career
Ueki after a WE League match in September 2021

She joined Nadeshiko League club Tokyo Verdy Beleza from the youth team in 2015, and was first called up to the senior team in June 2016. She marked her debut with a goal as a substitute in a League Cup match against Speranza Osaka.[7] As of August 2022, she has scored 50 goals in 119 appearances in all competitions for Beleza.[8] In the inaugural 2021–22 WE League season, Ueki was chosen amongst the recipients of the Most Outstanding Players award.[9]

International career

In 2016, Ueki was selected to the Japan U-17 national team for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[10] She played in 6 matches and scored 4 goals, and Japan finished as runners-up in the tournament.

In 2018, Ueki was selected to the Japan U-20 national team for 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[11] She played in all 6 matches and scored 5 goals, including a crucial goal in the their semi-final victory over England[12] and helped Japan win the title.[13]

On 4 April 2019, Ueki debuted for the senior Japan national team against France.[14] Later that year, Ueki was named to Japan's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup; however, she was forced to withdraw due to injury on 31 May.[15][16]

2022 proved to be a true breakout year for Ueki with the national team, as she began to establish herself as a starting striker and finished the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup as Japan's top scorer with five goals, and joint second-highest goalscorer of the tournament as a whole.[17]

National team statistics

[18]

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
201930
2020 2 0
2021 1 0
2022 9 7
Total168

International goals
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.21 January 2022Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India Myanmar1–05–02022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
2.27 January 2022 South Korea1–01–1
3.30 January 2022DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, India Thailand5–07–0
4.3 February 2022Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India China1–02–2 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)
5.2–1
6.24 June 2022Sport Center FAS, Stara Pazova, Serbia Serbia1–05–0Friendly
7.27 June 2022Veritas Stadion, Turku, Finland Finland4–15–1
8.9 October 2022Nagano U Stadium, Nagano, Japan New Zealand2–02–0

Personal life

One of Ueki's main hobbies is reading manga, also known as Japanese comics or graphic novels, and she revealed that she has a collection of over 1000 copies of such books at home.[19] She was even invited to make a cameo appearance in a television drama adaptation of the manga series Shiyakusho that aired on TV Tokyo from October to December 2019.[20]

Ueki with the Japan national team during a training camp in 2020

Honours

Tokyo Verdy Beleza

Japan U19

Japan

Individual

References
  1. "【WE INTERVIEW #38】～植木理子選手（日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ）～". WEリーグ | Women Empowerment League. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. "「10歳でサッカーを始めてからずっとFW」再開するWEリーグで植木理子（東京NB）に注目！ | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. "「10歳でサッカーを始めてからずっとFW」再開するWEリーグで植木理子（東京NB）に注目！ | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  4. "ベレーザの"同級生コンビ"植木理子と宮澤ひなたが語り合う！互いの印象、小さい頃の憧れ… | サッカーダイジェストWeb". www.soccerdigestweb.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  5. "今注目のなでしこ代表、植木選手へ聞いた東京オリンピックへの思い―『最高の瞬間なんだろうな』－". 早稲田大学 オリンピック・パラリンピック事業推進室 (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  6. "サッカー - 東京ヴェルディベレーザ・植木理子、早大生との二足のわらじ乗り越え 世界の舞台へ | 4years. #学生スポーツ". 4years (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  7. Twitter https://twitter.com/tokyoverdystaff/status/738970996099551232. Retrieved 14 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. "日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ 植木 理子選手 | 日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ / Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza". www.verdy.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  9. "WE League Awards". WEリーグ | Women Empowerment League (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  10. FIFA
  11. FIFA
  12. Kyodo (21 August 2018). "Young Nadeshiko down England to reach U20 Women's World Cup final". The Japan Times. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  13. "U-20 Japan Women's National Team wins first ever title at FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018". JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  14. Japan Football Association
  15. "Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) Squad, Schedule - FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". Japan Football Association. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  16. "なでしこ、植木理子が右膝痛め離脱、宝田沙織を招集" [Nadeshiko, Ueki Riko pains her right knee and leaves, Saori Takada called up]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 31 May 2019.
  17. "Japan's Ueki determined to continue scoring run". the-AFC. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  18. List of match in 2019 at Japan Football Association (in Japanese)
  19. "なでしこジャパンFW植木理子の趣味は「漫画とアイドル」 そこに隠れたWEリーグ集客のヒント | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  20. "女子サッカー・植木理子選手、ドラマ『死役所』第4話に出演". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
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