Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kodai Sano[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 25 September 2003||
Place of birth | Tsuyama, Okayama, Japan | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | NEC Nijmegen | ||
Number | 23 | ||
Youth career | |||
FC Viparte | |||
–2021 | Yonago Kita HS | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2022–2023 | Fagiano Okayama | 48 | (5) |
2023– | NEC Nijmegen | 3 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2023– | Japan U20 | 11 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:00, 7 October 2023 (WIB) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 May 2023 |
Kodai Sano (佐野 航大, Sano Kodai, born 25 September 2003) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen.
A graduate of the Yonago Kita High School[2][3] Sano signed his first professional contract with J2 League side Fagiano Okayama in October 2021.[4][5]
,He made his professional debut for the club during the 2022 season, scoring three goals in 28 league matches.[3]
On 14 August 2023, Fagiano Okayama announced that they reached an agreement with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen for the transfer of Sano on a permanent deal;[3][6] the deal was made official three days later, as the player signed a five-year contract with the Eredivisie club.[7][8] In the process, Sano became NEC's second Japanese-born signing of the season, following Koki Ogawa.[8]
He made his debut for the club on 16 September 2023, coming on as a substitute for Rober in the 59th minute of a 4–0 league loss to PSV.[9]
Sano has represented Japan at under-20 level, having taken part in both the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup and the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[10]
Sano is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer Kaishu Sano.[4]
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Fagiano Okayama | 2022 | J2 League | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 29 | 3 |
2023 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 | ||
Total | 48 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 5 | ||
NEC Nijmegen | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Career total | 51 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 5 |