is a former

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player.

Playing career

Saito was born in

Takatsuki is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is located in northern Osaka's Hokusetsu region. As of 2020, the city had an estimated population of 347,944 and a population density of 3,300 persons per km². The total area is 105.31 km². The c ...

on August 29, 1980. After graduating from high school, he joined

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

club

Kyoto Purple Sanga is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto ...

(later ''Kyoto Sanga FC'') in 1999. Although he could not play many matches until early 2002, he became a regular player as defensive midfielder from July 2002 and the club won the champions 2002 Emperor's Cup first major title in the club history. From 2003, although the club results were bad, he played many matches as regular player for a long time. However the club gain many players in 2008 and he could hardly play in the match. In July 2008, he moved to

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yas ...

club

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J2 League. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club'', Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after p ...

and became a regular player as defensive midfielder. However he lost regular position in summer 2009. Although the club was promoted to J1 from 2010 and he became a regular player from summer 2010, he could hardly play in the match in 2011. In July 2011, he moved to J2 club

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vorti ...

and became a regular player as defensive midfielder. From summer 2012, he played as center because many defenders got hurt. However he also got hurt in August and could not play at all in the match after that. He came back as center back in 2013 and returned to defensive midfielder from summer and the club was promoted to J1 from 2014 first time in the club history. However the club was relegated to J2 in a year and his opportunity to play decreased. In 2016, he moved to

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

club

Tochigi SC , commonly referred to as Tochigi SC are a football club based in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. They currently play in the J2 League. History Teachers in Tochigi Prefecture founded the club in 1953. They were initially called self-ex ...

. However he could hardly play in the match. In 2017, he moved to

Regional Leagues In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

club Kochi United SC and played in all matches in 2017 season. In 2018, he moved to Regional Leagues club

Ococias Kyoto AC Ococias Kyoto AC ( ja, おこしやす京都AC) is a Japanese football club based in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. The club split off from the original ''Kyoto Shiko Club'' when it professionalized and became today's Kyoto Sanga FC. The club now f ...

. He retired end of 2018 season.

Club statistics

Tochigi SC
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References

External links

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1980 births Living people Association football people from Osaka Prefecture People from Takatsuki, Osaka Japanese footballers J1 League players J2 League players J3 League players Kyoto Sanga FC players Vegalta Sendai players Tokushima Vortis players Tochigi SC players Kochi United SC players Ococias Kyoto AC players Association football midfielders {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1980s-stub