is a former Japanese football player.

Playing career

Sakurai was born in

Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefectur ...

on June 29, 1979. After graduating from

Komazawa University , abbreviated as 駒大 ''Komadai'', is one of the oldest universities in Japan. Its history starts in 1592, when a seminary was established to be a center of learning for the young monks of the Sōtō sect, one of the two main Zen Buddhist tra ...

, he joined

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Ya ...

club

Montedio Yamagata is Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club plays in J2 League. Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio). History The club based in ...

in 2002. He became a regular goalkeeper in 2003. However he lost his position behind

Kenta Shimizu is a Japanese football player who plays for Kamatamare Sanuki. Playing career Shimizu was born in Matsudo on September 18, 1981. After graduating from high school, he joined J1 League club Kashiwa Reysol based in his local Chiba Prefecture ...

in 2006. In 2007, he moved to

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the ...

club

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French ...

. However he could hardly play in the match behind

Kensaku Abe is a former Japanese football player. Club statistics References External links * 1980 births Living people University of Tsukuba alumni Association football people from Kanagawa Prefecture Japanese men's footballers J1 League pla ...

and

Tatsuya Tsuruta is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Tsuruta was born in Fuji on September 9, 1982. He joined J1 League club Shimizu S-Pulse from youth team in 2001. However he could not play at all in the match behind Masanori Sanada. In 20 ...

and Ventforet was relegated to J2 end of 2007 season. In 2008, he became a regular goalkeeper. In 2009, he moved to J2 club

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J2 League. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Founded in 1988 as '' Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club'', Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after ...

. Although Vegalta was promoted to J1 end of 2010 season, he could hardly play in the match behind Takuto Hayashi and

Kentaro Seki is a Japanese football player for Renofa Yamaguchi. Club statistics ''Updated to 18 February 2019''.Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社"2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 99 ...

until 2014. In 2015, he moved to J2 club

Tochigi SC , commonly referred to as Tochigi SC are a football club based in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. They currently play in the J2 League. History Teachers in Tochigi Prefecture founded the club in 1953. They were initially called self-exp ...

.Vegalta Sendai
/ref> He played many matches while battling with Akihiko Takeshige for the position. However Tochigi finished at the bottom place in 2015 season and was relegated to

J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of . It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The third-tier nationwide league is a relatively recent development in Japanese football with a first attempt ...

. He retired end of 2015 season.

Club statistics

References

External links

* * 1979 births Living people Komazawa University alumni Association football people from Ibaraki Prefecture Japanese footballers J1 League players J2 League players Montedio Yamagata players Ventforet Kofu players Vegalta Sendai players Tochigi SC players Men's association football goalkeepers {{Japan-footy-goalkeeper-stub