footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
K League 2
The K League 2 (Hangul: K리그2) is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the K League 1.
Hi ...
club
Gyeongnam FC
Gyeongnam FC (Hangul: 경남 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in South Gyeongsang Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Its home stadium is the Changwon Football Center, located ...
Kashiwa Reysol
is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadiu ...
's youth setup in 2009, aged 16. In the 2011 summer the Spanish agent
Javier Subirats
Javier Subirats Hernández (born 2 October 1957) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder.
Most of his career was closely associated with Valencia, as a player and director. Over the course of 11 seasons, he amassed La Liga t ...
decided to represent him, after a
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
between Kashiwa and
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,reserves.
However, after failing to join the
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
ns, Sugi returned to Japan to play for
Sendai University
is a private university in Shibata, Miyagi, Japan, established in 1967. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1879. It is the only university specializing in physical education in northern Japan.
Organization Undergraduate
*Faculty of Phy ...
until October 2012, when Gaspar Campillo, coach and sporting director of Jove Español San Vicente, decided to sign him after positive reports written by Subirats. He signed an 18-month deal with the
Valencian
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...
side, but due to bureaucratic problems, was unable to play with the main squad in the
Tercera División
Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...
, and was assigned to the B-team in the regional levels.
After Jove Español's assignment as a
farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
of Hércules, Sugi was called up to the latter's first team by manager
Quique Hernández
Enrique "Quique" Hernández Martí (born 30 October 1958) is a Spanish football manager.
Football career
Born in Anna, Valencia, Hernández started managing in his early 20s. For the following twenty years, with the exception of the 1995–9 ...
. He played his first match as a professional on 11 September 2013, replacingQuique de Lucas in the 56th minute of a 2–0 home win against
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...
, becoming the first Asian to play for Hércules.
Sugi made his league debut on 17 November 2013, again from the bench in a 2–4 loss at Córdoba in the
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
, and scored his first professional goal seven days later, netting the last of a 3–0 home success against
Sabadell
Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level.
Sabadell pioneered the Ind ...
. On 22 December 2013, he renewed his link with the
Valencian
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...
side, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with a
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
10 million release clause, being definitely promoted to the main squad.
Thailand
He left Hércules in 2015, moving to
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
playing for
Pattaya United
Pattaya United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลพัทยา ยูไนเต็ด) was a Thai football club based in Pattaya, Chonburi Province. Defunct after the 2018 season, the club was renamed to Samut Prakan Ci ...
On 21 February 2017, Sugita signed a two-year deal with
Dalkurd FF
Dalkurd Fotbollsförening, commonly known as Dalkurd FF or simply Dalkurd () is a Swedish football club based in Uppsala. The club plays in the Ettan Norra, which is the third tier of football in the country. On 26 September 2004, the club was o ...
in
Superettan
Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...
, Sweden's second tier. Dalkurd won a promotion to
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...
the same season.
In 2018, Sugita established himself as a key player at Dalkurd, although the club struggled in the league and was placed at the foot of the table mid through the season.
Tractor S.C.
On 29 July 2018, Sugita signed a three-year contract with
Tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
in the
Iran Pro League
The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...
.
IK Sirius
In March 2020 he joined the Swedish Allsvenskan team
IK Sirius
IK Sirius is a Swedish bandy club located in Uppsala, currently playing in Elitserien. IK Sirius were formed in 1907 and play their home games at Studenternas Idrottsplats.
History
IK Sirius' first success was becoming Swedish runners-up in 1 ...
on a short-term loan. On 22 July 2020, the loan was extended 31 August. The loan extension was made after the
Persian Gulf Pro League
The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...
was delayed until late September.
Arar
On 26 August 2023, Sugita joined
Saudi Second Division
The Saudi Second Division , also known as the Second Division League (SDL), is a football league that is the third tier of the Saudi Arabian football league system. The league consists of 32 teams divided into two groups and was founded in 1996.
...