Daisuke Sakai
{{short description|Japanese footballer}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Daisuke Sakai
坂井 大将
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| fullname = Daisuke Sakai
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1997|1|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = Nagasaki, Japan
| height = 1.67 m
| position = Winger, attacking midfielder
| currentclub = PSM Makassar
| clubnumber = 10
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Oita Trinita
| years1 = 2014–2020
| clubs1 = Oita Trinita
| caps1 = 19
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 2015
| clubs2 = → J.League U-22 (loan)
| caps2 = 8
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2017–2018
| clubs3 = → Tubize (loan)
| caps3 = 3
| goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2018
| clubs4 = → Albirex Niigata (loan)
| caps4 = 8
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2019
| clubs5 = → Thespa Gunma (loan)
| caps5 = 5
| goals5 = 1
| years6 = 2020
| clubs6 = → Gainare Tottori (loan)
| caps6 = 27
| goals6 = 6
| years7 = 2021–2022
| clubs7 = Samut Prakan City
| caps7 = 28
| goals7 = 4
| years8 = 2022–2023
| clubs8 = Customs United
| caps8 = 37
| goals8 = 10
| years9 = 2023–2024
| clubs9 = Kerala Blasters
| caps9 = 21
| goals9 = 3
| years10 = 2024–
| clubs10 = PSM Makassar
| caps10 = 29
| goals10 = 3
| nationalyears1 = 2013
| nationalteam1 = Japan U17
| nationalcaps1 = 4
| nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 2014–2016
| nationalteam2 = Japan U19
| nationalcaps2 = 8
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 2017
| nationalteam3 = Japan U20
| nationalcaps3 = 2
| nationalgoals3 = 0
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's football}} {{Medal|Country|{{Fb|JPN}}}} {{Medal|Competition|AFC U-19 Championship}}
{{Medal|W|2016 Bahrain|}}
| club-update = 17 May 2025
}}
{{Nihongo|Daisuke Sakai|坂井 大将|Sakai Daisuke|born 18 January 1997}} is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Liga 1 club PSM Makassar.
Club career
=Youth and early career=
==Oita Trinita: Several loan spells==
Sakai spent his youth career at Oita Trinita. After coming up through various ranks, he was promoted into senior team of the club in 2014. He spent loan spells at different clubs including the Japanese clubs Albirex Niigata, Thespakusatsu Gunma, Gainare Tottori and the Belgian side Tubize.{{Cite web |title=ISL: Japanese forward Daisuke Sakai signs for Kerala Blasters |url=https://khelnow.com/football/2023-09-indian-football-isl-kerala-blasters-sign-daisuke-sakai |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Khel Now |language=English}}
=Samut Prakan Citya=
In June 2021, Sakai ended his six-year association with Oita Trinita and signed for the Thai League 1 club Samut Prakan City. He made 28 appearances for the club in the league and scored 4 goals.{{Cite web |title=Kerala Blasters rope in Japanese striker Daisuke Sakai |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/sports/football/2023/09/02/kerala-blasters-rope-in-japanese-striker-daisuke-sakai.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=OnManorama}}
=Customs United=
In July 2022, Sakai signed for the Thai League 2 club Customs United. He played in 37 games and scored 10 goals.{{Cite web |last=ഡെസ്ക് |first=സ്പോര്ട്സ് |date=2023-09-02 |title=കാത്തിരിപ്പിനൊടുവിൽ അവനും വന്നു, കേരള ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സിന്റെ ഏഷ്യൻ സൈനിങ്ങിൽ ആരാധകർക്ക് ആവേശം |url=https://www.southlive.in/sport/football/after-the-wait-he-comes-fans-excited-for-kerala-blasters-asian-signing |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=Southlive |language=ml}}
=Kerala Blasters=
On 2 September 2023, Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters announced the signing of Sakai. With this move, he became the first Japanese player to sign with the club.{{Cite web |title=26 വയസ്സുള്ള ജാപ്പനീസ് വിങ്ങര് വരുന്നു, ഏഷ്യൻ താരത്തെ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച് ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്സ് |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/sports/football/2023/09/02/kerala-blasters-fc-complete-signing-of-daisuke-sakai.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=ManoramaOnline |language=ml}} Sakai made his debut for the club on 21 September, in the season opener against Bengaluru at home, which the Blasters won 2–1.{{Cite web |title=Kerala Blasters beat Bengaluru FC 2-1 in ISL opener |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/sports/2023/09/21/adrian-luna-on-target-as-kerala-blasters-beat-bengaluru-fc-2-1-in-isl-opener.html |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=The Week |language=en}} He provided his first assist for the club on 27 October against Odisha and helped in a 2–1 victory.{{Cite web |author=Scroll Staff |date=2023-10-28 |title=Watch, highlights ISL 2023-24: Kerala Blasters come from behind to beat Odisha FC |url=https://scroll.in/field/1058250/watch-highlights-isl-2023-24-kerala-blasters-come-from-behind-to-beat-odisha-fc |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}} On 4 November, Sakai scored his debut goal for the Blasters during the match against East Bengal in the 32nd minute and helped them in 1–2 victory away from home.{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Amitabha Das |date=2023-11-04 |title=ISL 2023-24: Kerala Blasters beats East Bengal after Daisuke and Diamantakos score as Sachin saves two penalties |url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/indian-football/kerala-blasters-beats-east-bengal-isl-sachin-suresh-save-retaken-penalty-daisuke-diamantakos-cleiton-silva-goal/article67498909.ece |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=Sportstar |language=en}}
International career
In October 2013, Sakai was elected Japan U-17 national team for 2013 U-17 World Cup. He played all 4 matches and scored a goal against Tunisia. In May 2017, he was elected Japan U-20 national team for 2017 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he played 2 matches as defensive midfielder.
Career statistics
=Club=
{{updated|match played 17 May 2025}}Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, [https://www.amazon.co.jp/J1-J3%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B%E5%90%8D%E9%91%91%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E7%89%88-2018-NSK-MOOK/dp/4905411521 "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)"], 7 February 2018, Japan, {{ISBN|978-4905411529}} (p. 161 out of 289)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, [https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4905411424/ "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)"], 8 February 2017, Japan, {{ISBN|978-4905411420}} (p. 239 out of 289)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, [https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4905411335/ "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑"], 10 February 2016, Japan, {{ISBN|978-4905411338}} (p. 251 out of 289){{Soccerway|319230}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2" |Club
!rowspan="2" |Season !colspan="3" |League !colspan="2" |National cup{{efn|Includes Emperor's Cup, Thai FA Cup}} !colspan="2" |Continental !colspan="2" |Other !colspan="2" |Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goal | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="5"|Oita Trinita
|2014 |0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2015
|J2 League |4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2016
|11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2017
|J2 League |4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 6 | 1 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!19||0||7||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||26||2 | ||||||||||
| |J.League U-22 (loan)
|2015 |J3 League |8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 8 | 0 | |||
| Tubize (loan)
|{{nowrap|2017–2018}} |3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 3 | 0 | |||
| Albirex Niigata (loan)
|2018 |J2 League |8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 2{{efn|name=JLCup|Appearance(s) in J.League Cup}} | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Thespa Gunma (loan)
|2019 |J3 League |5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 5 | 0 | |||
| Gainare Tottori (loan)
|2020 |J3 League |27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 27 | 6 | |||
| Samut Prakan City
|28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 30 | 4 | |||
| Customs United
|37 | 10 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 38 | 10 | |||
| Kerala Blasters
|21 |3 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |21 |3 | ||||||||||
| PSM Makassar
|29 |3 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |5{{efn|Appearances in ASEAN Club Championship}} |1 |34 |4 | ||||||||||
| colspan="3" |Career total
!185||26||12||3|| colspan="2" |—||7||1||204||30 |
{{notelist}}
Honours
Japan U19
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FIFA player|371855}}
- {{J.League player|12062}}
- [http://www.oita-trinita.co.jp/team/player/view/?pid=19297 Profile at Oita Trinita]
- {{Soccerway|daisuke-sakai/319230}}
- [https://thaileague.co.th/v1/player-info/?id=62966 Players Profile - Thai League]
{{PSM Makassar Squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakai, Daisuke}}
Category:Association football people from Nagasaki Prefecture
Category:Japanese men's footballers
Category:Japan men's youth international footballers
Category:21st-century Japanese sportsmen
Category:Albirex Niigata players
Category:Gainare Tottori players
Category:J.League U-22 Selection players
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Kerala Blasters FC players
Category:Indian Super League players
Category:Liga 1 (Indonesia) players
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in India
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia
Category:Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Thailand