Tomoyuki Sakai

Football player infobox| playername= Tomoyuki Sakai


fullname = Tomoyuki Sakai


nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|6|29
cityofbirth = Misato, Saitama
countryofbirth = Japan
height = height|m=1.70
currentclub = Vissel Kobe
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder
youthyears = 1995-1997
youthclubs = JEF United Ichihara Youth
years = 1998-2000
2001-2003
2004-2007
2007-present
clubs = JEF United Ichihara
Nagoya Grampus Eight
Urawa Reds
Vissel Kobe
caps(goals) = 092 00(3)
071 00(5)
040 00(3)
010 00(0)
nationalyears = 2000
nationalteam = Japan
nationalcaps(goals) = 001 00(0)
pcupdate = 24 June 2008
ntupdate = 24 June 2008

Tomoyuki Sakai (born 29 June 1979) is a Japanese football player who currently plays for Vissel Kobe of the J-League. He was capped 1 time for the Japanese national team.

Sakai was a starter for Japan at the 2000 Olympics, who carried high hopes of the nation because Sakai's teammates included such household names as Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono and Naohiro Takahara. However, in the team's quarterfinal match, Sakai committed a foul inside his own box at the 90th minute, conceding the USA, Japan's opponents, a crucial penalty to make it 2-2. The Americans went on to win the penalty shootouts after 120 minutes of play could not separate the two teams.

Clubs

* 1997-2000: flagicon|Japan JEF United Ichihara
* 2001-2003: flagicon|Japan Nagoya Grampus Eight
* 2004-2007: flagicon|Japan Urawa Red Diamonds
* 2007-present: flagicon|Japan Vissel Kobe

Honors and awards

* FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 1999