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. He played for Japan national team.

Club career

Sakai was born in Misato on 29 June 1979. He joined

JEF United Ichihara , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

from youth team in 1997. He played many matches as defensive midfielder from first season. He moved to

Nagoya Grampus Eight (formerly known as ) is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939, the c ...

in 2001. He also played as right midfielder not only defensive midfielder. His opportunity to play decreased from the middle of 2003. He moved to

Urawa Reds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

in 2004. Although he did not have much opportunity to play, the club won the 2nd place in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and 2005 J1 League and the champions

2005 Emperor's Cup The 85th Emperor's Cup was held between September 17, 2005 and January 1, 2006. The tournament was won by Urawa Red Diamonds. The J.League Division 2 clubs qualified automatically to the third round, while the J.League Division 1 clubs qualified au ...

. He moved to

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

in July 2007 and

Fujieda MYFC are a Japanese J2 League football club based in Fujieda, Shizuoka. It is funded by online subscribers and is the first of its kind in Japan. The club spent two seasons in the Japan Football League before having their application accepted in 201 ...

in 2009. From 2010, he moved to Indonesia and played for

Pelita Jaya Madura United Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club. The club is based in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. They currently play in the Liga 1. Established on 10 January 2016, Madura United FC is one of few professional clubs ...

Persiwa Wamena Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Wamena, commonly known as Persiwa Wamena is an Indonesian football club based in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. They play in the Liga 3. History Although they became the runners-up in the 2014 Liga Indonesia Premier ...

Persiram Raja Ampat Persatuan Sepak Bola Indonesia Raja Ampat, commonly known as Persiram Raja Ampat, or Persiram, was an Indonesian professional football club based in Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua. They last competed in the Indonesia Super League before being ...

and Deltras Sidoarjo. He retired in 2013.

National team career

In August 1995, Sakai was selected Japan U-17 national team for 1995 U-17 World Championship. He played full-time in all 3 matches. In April 1999, he was also selected Japan U-20 national team for 1999 World Youth Championship. He played full-time in all 7 matches as right midfielder and Japan won the 2nd place. In September 2000, Sakai was selected Japan U-23 national team for

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

who carried high hopes of the nation because Sakai's teammates included such household names as

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest Asian players of all time. Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player ...

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

and

Naohiro Takahara is a Japanese Association football, football player and manager. He played for Japan national football team, Japan's national football team. Currently, he is the manager for Okinawa SV. Club career Takahara was born in Mishima, Shizuoka, Mishim ...

. Sakai played all 4 matches. However, in the team's quarterfinal match, Sakai committed a foul inside his own box at the 90th minute, conceding the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Japan's opponents, a crucial penalty to make it 2-2. The United States went on to win the penalty shootouts after 120 minutes of play could not separate the two teams. On 20 December 2000, Sakai debuted for Japan national team against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

.Japan National Football Team Database
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Club statistics

Honors and awards

Club honors

;Urawa Reds *

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 ...

(1):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

(2):

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Country honors

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...

runner-up:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

References

External links

* *
Japan National Football Team Database
* * 1979 births Living people Association football people from Saitama Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers Japan youth international footballers J1 League players JEF United Chiba players Nagoya Grampus players Urawa Red Diamonds players Vissel Kobe players Fujieda MYFC players Expatriate footballers in Indonesia Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Pelita Bandung Raya players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Japan Japanese expatriate footballers Association football midfielders {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub