1. Overview
Daichi Sugimoto (杉本 大地Sugimoto DaichiJapanese, born July 15, 1993) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Nagoya Grampus. Throughout his career, he has played for several prominent Japanese clubs, including Kyoto Sanga FC, Tokushima Vortis, Yokohama F. Marinos, Júbilo Iwata, and Vegalta Sendai. Sugimoto has achieved success by winning the J1 League title with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2019 and the J2 League title with Júbilo Iwata in 2021. Beyond his playing career, he is also involved in social activities, having established a non-profit organization focused on football.
2. Early Life and Youth Career
Daichi Sugimoto was born on July 15, 1993, in Samukawa, Koza-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. During his fourth year of elementary school, he relocated to Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, due to his parents' job transfer.
His early football development included playing for:
- Samukawa SC (while attending Samukawa Town Samukawa Elementary School)
- Yoshikawa Soccer Sports Youth Team (while attending Hamamatsu City Yoshikawa Kita Elementary School)
- From 2006 to 2008, he was part of the Yamaha Júbilo SS Hamamatsu (affiliated with Júbilo Iwata), during his time at Hamamatsu City Nanyo Junior High School.
- From 2009 to 2011, he played for Kyoto Sanga FC U-18, while attending Daiichi Gakuin High School.
After graduating from junior high school, Sugimoto was not promoted to the Júbilo Iwata youth team, leading him to join Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18. In 2011, he was registered as a 2nd-type player for the Kyoto Sanga F.C. top team, allowing him to participate in professional training and matches while still in the youth system.
3. Professional Career
Daichi Sugimoto's professional career began in 2012, and he has since played for multiple clubs across the J.League, progressing through various divisions and roles.
3.1. Kyoto Sanga FC
Sugimoto officially joined the J2 League club Kyoto Sanga FC in 2012, being promoted from their youth academy. His J.League debut occurred on May 18, 2014, in a J2 League match against Mito HollyHock, where he started due to an injury to the team's primary goalkeeper, Oh Seung-hoon. During his tenure at Kyoto, he faced significant competition for the starting goalkeeper position from players such as Oh Seung-hoon, Keisuke Shimizu (who joined from Avispa Fukuoka), and Genki Yamada. Following the arrival of Takanori Sugeno from Kashiwa Reysol, Sugimoto found himself largely out of the team's plans.
3.2. J.League U-22 Selection
Between 2014 and 2015, Sugimoto was also registered as a player for the J.League U-22 Selection, a special team composed of promising young players from J.League clubs formed to compete in the J3 League. This initiative provided young talents like Sugimoto with additional match experience and development opportunities.
3.3. Tokushima Vortis
In 2016, Sugimoto moved to Tokushima Vortis on a loan spell. During this period, he was also selected as a backup member for the Japan U-23 national team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, at Tokushima Vortis, he found himself behind both Toru Hasegawa and Takashi Aizawa in the goalkeeper pecking order, limiting his playing time.
3.4. Yokohama F. Marinos
On January 6, 2017, Sugimoto made a permanent move to J1 League side Yokohama F. Marinos. He cited the presence of goalkeeper coach Seigo Matsunaga as a key reason for his decision to join the club. Initially, he served primarily as a reserve goalkeeper. His J1 League debut came on August 17, 2019, in a league match against Cerezo Osaka, filling in due to an injury to then-starting goalkeeper Park Il-gyu. Despite this opportunity, he was unable to secure the permanent starting position from Park. Furthermore, in the summer transfer window, Yoji Nakabayashi joined the club from Sanfrecce Hiroshima as a replacement for Hiroki Iikura (who moved to Vissel Kobe), which further reduced Sugimoto's prospects for playing time, effectively making him surplus to requirements.
3.5. Júbilo Iwata
In 2020, Sugimoto transferred permanently to Júbilo Iwata. Upon joining, he initially remained a reserve goalkeeper. While he did play some matches in place of the starting goalkeeper Naoki Hatta at one point, he generally maintained his position as the second-choice goalkeeper, making eight appearances during the season. In 2021, his playing time further diminished, and he made no appearances throughout the season as Ryuki Miura established himself as the team's primary goalkeeper.
3.6. Vegalta Sendai
On December 29, 2021, Sugimoto completed a permanent transfer to Vegalta Sendai. In his first year with the club in 2022, he competed for the starting position with Yuma Obata and Nedeljko Stojisic, ultimately appearing in 15 matches. However, in 2023, the arrival of new signing Akihiro Hayashi saw Hayashi become the established starting goalkeeper, resulting in no appearances for Sugimoto during that year.
3.7. Nagoya Grampus
On March 13, 2023, Daichi Sugimoto transferred permanently to Nagoya Grampus, where he currently plays as a goalkeeper.
4. Club Statistics
The following table provides a comprehensive overview of Daichi Sugimoto's professional club career statistics.
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Total | |||||||
| 2012 | Kyoto | J2 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2014 | 7 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 2015 | J2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | Tokushima | J2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Yokohama FM | J1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | Iwata | J2 | 8 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | Sendai | J2 | 15 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | Nagoya | J1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | J1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | J1 | ||||||||||
| Career Total | 41 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 59 | 0 | |||
- In 2011, Sugimoto was registered as a 2nd-type player.
Other official competitions:
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | J-22 | J3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | ||
- J.League debut: May 18, 2014, J2 League 14th round vs Mito HollyHock (at K's Denki Stadium Mito)
5. International Career
Daichi Sugimoto has represented Japan at various youth international levels:
- U-18 Japan National Team
- 2012 AFC U-19 Championship qualification
- U-19 Japan National Team
- 2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification
- 2012 AFC U-19 Championship
- U-20 Japan National Team
- Football at the 2013 East Asian Games
- U-21 Japan National Team
- 2013 AFC U-22 Championship
- 2014 Asian Games (withdrew due to injury after selection)
- U-23 Japan National Team
- 2016 AFC U-23 Championship
- 2016 Summer Olympics (backup member)
6. Titles and Awards
Daichi Sugimoto has achieved the following club titles:
- Yokohama F. Marinos
- J1 League: 2019
- Júbilo Iwata
- J2 League: 2021
7. Other Activities
In September 2022, Daichi Sugimoto co-founded and established the non-profit organization NPO法人ツナグーFootballerNPO Hōjin Tsunagū FootballerJapanese (NPO Tunagu-Footballer). The organization's founding members include Sugimoto himself (representing Vegalta Sendai at the time), Junto Taguchi (from FC Ryukyu Okinawa), Shunya Mouri (from Zweigen Kanazawa), and Kazuto Takezawa (also from FC Ryukyu Okinawa).