Naoki Sugai facts for kids
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Naoki Sugai | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 September 1984 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Yamagata Chuo High School | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 2003–2018 | Vegalta Sendai | 389 | (40) | ||||||||||
| Total | 389 | (40) | |||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||
Naoki Sugai (菅井 直樹, born on September 21, 1984) is a former professional Japanese football player. He was known for playing as a Midfielder and later as a right-sided defender. He spent his entire professional career with the club Vegalta Sendai.
Contents
Naoki Sugai: A Football Journey
Naoki Sugai was born in Yamagata, Japan, on September 21, 1984. After finishing high school, he started his professional football journey.
Starting His Career
In 2003, Naoki Sugai joined Vegalta Sendai, a team in the J1 League. The J1 League is the top football league in Japan. In his first year, he did not play in any matches. At the end of the 2003 season, Vegalta Sendai was moved down to the J2 League, which is the second-highest league.
From 2004, Naoki Sugai started playing many games as a defensive midfielder. He helped his team a lot from the middle of the field.
Rising to the Top
In 2006, a new manager named Joel Santana joined Vegalta Sendai. Under his guidance, Naoki Sugai changed his playing position. He became a right-sided defender and played regularly for a long time.
In the 2009 season, Vegalta Sendai won the J2 League championship. This big win meant they were promoted back to the J1 League!
In 2011, a major earthquake and tsunami hit Sendai. Despite this difficult time, Vegalta Sendai had an amazing season. They finished in 4th place in the J1 League. This was the best result in the club's history at that time.
The next year, in the 2012 season, Vegalta Sendai did even better. They finished in 2nd place in the J1 League. This high finish allowed them to play in the 2013 AFC Champions League. The AFC Champions League is a big competition for top clubs from across Asia.
Later Years and Retirement
After 2016, Naoki Sugai played less often for Vegalta Sendai. Other players, like Kazuki Oiwa, started to play more in his position.
Naoki Sugai played his last season in 2018. He retired from professional football at the end of that year. He played a total of 389 games and scored 40 goals for Vegalta Sendai during his career.
External links
- Naoki Sugai at SoccerwayLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Naoki Sugai at J.League Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
See also
In Spanish: Naoki Sugai para niños
