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 and he is the currently assistant manager

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 of

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

Playing career

Sato was born in Fuji on May 11, 1976. After graduating from Shimizu Commercial High School, he joined his local club

Shimizu S-Pulse is a professional Japanese football club. Located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, S-Pulse currently competes in the J2 League (J2). The club was formed in 1991 as a founding member of the J.League (''"Original Ten"''), which began ...

in 1995. However he could hardly play in the match. In 1998, he moved to Japan Football League club

Montedio Yamagata is Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club plays in J2 League. Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio). History The club based in T ...

. He played as regular player and was elected Rookie of the Year awards. In 1999, he moved to newly was promoted 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,

. He played as right side midfielder and the club was promoted to

from 2000. He also was elected New Hero Award at

1999 J.League Cup Statistics of J. League Cup, officially the '99 J.League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, in the 1999 season. Overview It was contested by 26 teams, and Kashiwa Reysol won the championship. Results 1st round *Consadole Sapporo 1–0 ; 0–3 Avispa Fukuoka ...

. Although he played as regular player until 2001, his opportunity to play decreased behind Naohiro Ishikawa. In 2003, he moved to Yokohama F. Marinos. He played many matches as right side midfielder and the club won the champions for 2 years in a row (

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

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 ...

). However his opportunity to play decreased behind Hayuma Tanaka in late 2004. In 2005, he moved to his first club

. However he could not play many matches and he moved to J2 club Kashiwa Reysol in June 2006. He played many matches and the club was promoted to J1 from 2007. In 2008, he moved to J2 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 played in 1 season. In 2009, he move to Japan Football League club V-Varen Nagasaki and played as regular player. In 2012, although his opportunity to play decreased, the club won the champions and was promoted to J2 from 2013. He retired end of 2014 season at the age of 38.

Club statistics

Vegalta Sendai
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References

External links

* 1976 births Living people Association football people from Shizuoka Prefecture Japanese footballers J1 League players J2 League players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Japan Football League players Shimizu S-Pulse players Montedio Yamagata players FC Tokyo players Yokohama F. Marinos players Kashiwa Reysol players Vegalta Sendai players V-Varen Nagasaki players Men's association football midfielders {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub