is a professional footballer who plays as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

Cambuur SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch Association football, football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league sy ...

. Born in the Netherlands, he is a former youth international for Japan.

Club career

Early career

Van Wermeskerken was born in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, to a Dutch father and a Japanese mother. When Sai was only 2-years old, his family moved to Japan after his father had got a job there. The van Wermeskerken family settled down in

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the ...

. Van Wermeskerken started his career at Yatsugatake Hokuto at age eight, before joining

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French ...

youth academy in 2008.

Dordrecht

After several years in the Kofu youth system, van Wermeskerken was rewarded with a contract by

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

in July 2013. He made his first appearance for Dordrecht on 10 May 2015, in the

match against

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...

SC Cambuur

On 21 August 2017, van Wermeskerken signed for

SC Cambuur SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...

PEC Zwolle

On 9 July 2019, van Wermeskerken signed a two-year deal for Eredivisie side

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

on a free transfer.

Return to Cambuur

On 10 August 2022, van Wermeskerken returned to

for one season.

International career

On 14 March 2016, Sai received his first call-up to the

Japan national under-23 football team The Japan national under-23 football team（Japanese: U-23サッカー日本代表）is a national association football youth team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association. The team won the gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games an ...

for the friendly match against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

References

External links

Sai van Wermeskerken
official Instagram * *

at Japan Football Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Wermeskerken, Sai van 1994 births Living people Citizens of Japan through descent Japanese footballers Men's association football fullbacks Japan men's youth international footballers Japanese people of Dutch descent Footballers from Maastricht Dutch footballers FC Dordrecht players SC Cambuur players PEC Zwolle players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Dutch people of Japanese descent Sportspeople of Japanese descent