It has been a long journey for Homare Sawa and a harrowing one for Aya Sameshima.
On Sunday, though, it will reach its conclusion when the two Japanese players take the field against the U.S. in the final of the 2011 Womens World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany.
If Japan wins and becomes world champion, it is difficult to know which player will deserve it more —Sawa, Asias brightest star, or Sameshima, who since March 11 has represented the hope that all of Japan clings to in the wake of an unthinkable disaster.
The world has long known Sawa and has long praised her talent.
She hunts down the ball, shes the fulcrum of Japans build-up play, and she scores goals too. S
