{"id":323008,"date":"2024-10-03T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/?p=323008"},"modified":"2024-10-16T12:47:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T23:47:59","slug":"experienced-japanese-winger-joins-the-nix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/experienced-japanese-winger-joins-the-nix\/","title":{"rendered":"Experienced Japanese winger joins the Nix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Wellington Phoenix have added further experience and technical quality to the women\u2019s squad for the 2024-25 Ninja A-League by signing Mebae Tanaka for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Japanese winger has played professionally in Japan and South Korea and joins the Nix from Preston Lions FC, who recently finished runner-up in Victoria\u2019s National Premier Leagues (NPL) competition.

Tanaka, 28, scored 10 goals in 18 matches for Preston, including a hat-trick against Bentleigh Greens in July, and she impressed Phoenix head coach Paul Temple when she trialled with the squad at the start of pre-season training.

\u201cMebae is coming off a strong season in the Victorian NPL,\u201d Temple said. \u201cShe scored goals and has very good technical ability.\u00a0

\u201cHer background as a professional player in Japan and Korea also means she brings good professional experience with her into our environment.\u201d

Tanaka will also add much-needed depth to his roster.

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a strong squad already, so Mebae will add a lot of quality and competition for places.\u00a0

\u201cWe saw last season that you can\u2019t go a whole season with just your starting XI. You need quality in the squad, so she\u2019ll play an important part across the whole season.\u00a0

\u201cMebae will need a little time to adapt having not played in the A-League before but I\u2019m excited with what she can bring to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – OCTOBER 1: Mebae Tanaka poses during a Wellington Phoenix 2024\/25 A-League Women’s Headshot session at NZCIS on October 1, 2024 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\/Getty Images for A-Leagues)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – OCTOBER 1: Mebae Tanaka poses during a Wellington Phoenix 2024\/25 A-League Women’s Headshot session at NZCIS on October 1, 2024 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\/Getty Images for A-Leagues)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mebae Tanaka has jumped at the chance to join the Nix.

\u201cI\u2019m so happy to sign a contract with the Phoenix,\u201d Tanaka said. \u201cI moved to Melbourne in April for the NPL season with the aim of playing in the A-League.

\u201cI really enjoyed my time at Preston. They had a good coach and good people and they helped me a lot, especially with my English.

\u201cA-League players are known for their strength and speed and I want to test myself against stronger and faster players.\u201d

She believes there\u2019s a lot she can offer the Phoenix.

\u201cI am a technical player and like to dribble, play short passes, deliver crosses and do a lot of running.

\u201cTo start with I just want to play and then I want to score goals and assist others.\u201d

And Tanaka is already feeling at home in Wellington.

\u201cI enjoyed training with the Phoenix last week and getting to know the players.

\u201cIt\u2019s only been one week but I like this team. My teammates are very kind.\u201d

Mebae Tanaka will wear the no. 14 shirt for the Wellington Phoenix in the 2024-25 Ninja A-League and is the 20th<\/sup> player confirmed in the women\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":323009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,330,343,349,355],"tags":[],"competition":[],"acf":{"match_card_embed_league":null,"match_card_embed_club":null,"match_card_embed_match":false,"match_card_embed_disable":false,"auto_publish_updates":true,"reference_article":null,"article_featured_video":"","article_featured_video_tagline":"","article_byline":"","article_media_type":"news","article_video":"","gallery":"","shared_ffa_source":"keepup","shared_hide_in_app":false,"article_player":[323078],"article_team":"","article_competition":"","article_match":"","credit":"","related_articles":"","push_to_social":false,"priority":1,"sport":false,"language":"en","private_content":false,"access_level":"","article_id":"","app_featured_image":null,"article_content_group":"news"},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/experienced-japanese-winger-joins-the-nix\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Experienced Japanese winger joins the Nix","url":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/experienced-japanese-winger-joins-the-nix\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/experienced-japanese-winger-joins-the-nix\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/10\/TANAKA-Yellow-Web-1920x1080-1.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/10\/TANAKA-Yellow-Web-1920x1080-1.png"},"articleSection":"Breaking News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"brenton"}],"creator":["brenton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wellington Phoenix","logo":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/04\/cropped-Wellington_Phoenix_FC_logo-2.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2024-10-03T00:00:00Z","datePublished":"2024-10-03T00:00:00Z","dateModified":"2024-10-15T23:47:59Z"},"rendered":"