is a former
Japanese 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
Sugai was born in
Yamagata on 21 September 1984. 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
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 ...
in 2003. He could not play at all in the match and Vegalta was relegated
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 ...
end of
2003 season
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
. He played many matches as defensive midfielder from 2004. In 2006, he was converted to right side back under new manager
Joel Santana
Joel Natalino Santana (born 25 December 1948) is a Brazilian football coach and former player. The last team he coached was Vasco da Gama, in 2014.
Biography
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Santana played his entire career as a central defender in his ...
and played many matches as regular player for a long time. Vegalta won the champions in
2009 season and was promoted to J1.
Although
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
occurred in Sendai immediately after the opening
2011 season, Vegalta finished at the 4th place which is best results in the club history. In
2012 season, Vegalta won the 2nd place and qualified for
2013 AFC Champions League
The 2013 AFC Champions League was the 32nd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 11th under the current AFC Champions League title. The defending champions, Ulsan Hyu ...
. His opportunity to play decreased behind
Kazuki Oiwa
Kazuki Oiwa (大岩 一貴, born 17 August 1989) is a Japanese football player for Shonan Bellmare.
Career statistics
Club
''Updated to 7 August 2022''.Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社"2017 J1&J2&J3選手 ...
from 2016. He retired end of 2018 season.
Club statistics
Vegalta Sendai
/ref>
References
External links
*
*
*
1984 births
Living people
Association football people from Yamagata Prefecture
Japanese men's footballers
J1 League players
J2 League players
Vegalta Sendai players
Men's association football midfielders
{{Japan-footy-midfielder-1980s-stub