Shigeru Sakurai facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shigeru Sakurai | |||||||||
| Date of birth | June 29, 1979 | |||||||||
| Place of birth | Ibaraki, Japan | |||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in) | |||||||||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Sakai High School | |||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Komazawa University | |||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||
| 2002–2006 | Montedio Yamagata | 133 | (0) | |||||||
| 2007–2008 | Ventforet Kofu | 30 | (0) | |||||||
| 2009–2014 | Vegalta Sendai | 1 | (0) | |||||||
| 2015 | Tochigi SC | 20 | (0) | |||||||
| Total | 184 | (0) | ||||||||
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Honours
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Shigeru Sakurai (桜井 繁, Sakurai Shigeru, born June 29, 1979) is a former Japanese football player. He played as a goalkeeper and spent many years in Japan's professional football leagues.
Contents
Shigeru Sakurai's Football Journey
Shigeru Sakurai was born in Ibaraki Prefecture on June 29, 1979. After finishing his studies at Komazawa University, he started his professional career. In 2002, he joined Montedio Yamagata, a club in the J2 League.
Becoming a Main Goalkeeper
Sakurai quickly showed his skills. By 2003, he became the main goalkeeper for Montedio Yamagata. He played in many games for the team. However, in 2006, he lost his starting spot to another goalkeeper, Kenta Shimizu.
Moving to New Teams
In 2007, Sakurai moved to Ventforet Kofu, a team in the top league, J1 League. He didn't get to play much there because other goalkeepers, Kensaku Abe and Tatsuya Tsuruta, were often chosen. Ventforet Kofu was moved down to the J2 League at the end of the 2007 season. In 2008, Sakurai became the main goalkeeper for Ventforet Kofu.
In 2009, he joined another J2 League club, Vegalta Sendai. Vegalta Sendai moved up to the J1 League in 2010. Even though the team was in the top league, Sakurai didn't play much until 2014. Other goalkeepers like Takuto Hayashi and Kentaro Seki were usually in goal.
Final Season and Retirement
In 2015, Sakurai moved to Tochigi SC, another J2 League team. He played in many matches that season, often competing for the goalkeeper spot with Akihiko Takeshige. However, Tochigi SC finished last in the 2015 season. This meant they were moved down to the J3 League. Shigeru Sakurai decided to retire from professional football at the end of the 2015 season.
His Football Career in Numbers
Throughout his career, Shigeru Sakurai played for four different professional clubs in Japan. He mostly played in the J2 League, which is the second-highest football league in Japan.
- For Montedio Yamagata (2002–2006), he played in 133 league games.
- For Ventforet Kofu (2007–2008), he played in 30 league games.
- For Vegalta Sendai (2009–2014), he played in only 1 league game.
- For Tochigi SC (2015), he played in 20 league games.
In total, Shigeru Sakurai played in 184 league matches during his professional career. He was a dedicated goalkeeper who spent many years in Japanese football.
See also
In Spanish: Shigeru Sakurai para niños
