Keita Saitō
Japanese footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keita Saitō (齋藤 恵太, Saitō Keita; born March 31, 1993 in Miyagi) is a Japanese professional football player.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Keita Saitō | ||
| Date of birth | March 31, 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Yamamoto, Miyagi, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2004 | Yamashita JFC | ||
| 2005–2007 | Yamashita Junior High School | ||
| 2008–2010 | Seiwa Gakuen High School | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Sendai University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | Fukushima United FC | 28 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | Roasso Kumamoto | 37 | (4) |
| 2017–2019 | Mito HollyHock | 22 | (1) |
| 2019 | → Nagano Parceiro (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2020–2024 | Blaublitz Akita | 130 | (15) |
| 2024–2025 | Fagiano Okayama | 21 | (1) |
| 2025 | → Tochigi City (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2026 | Tochigi City | 3 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
Whilst at Yamashita Junior High School, the coach of the football team rarely came to coach, so Saitō made the practice menu and provided attacking and defensive coaching for his team.[3]
Career
Saitō joined J3 League club Fukushima United FC in 2015. On 8 November 2015, he netted a hat-trick, the first of his career, in a 3–0 win over J.League U-22 Selection.[4]
On 18 December 2015, he moved to J2 League club Roasso Kumamoto.[5] He scored on his league debut against Tokushima Vortis on 6 March 2016, scoring in the 83rd minute.[6]
On 13 July 2019, Saitō joined AC Nagano Parceiro on loan.[7]
On 8 January 2020, Saitō was announced at Blaublitz Akita.[8] On 17 April 2023, the club announced he was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain and would be out for the next 12 weeks.[9] On 28 June 2023, Saitō scored against Shimizu S-Pulse in the 49th minute, which was Blaublitz Akita's 400th goal in the J League.[10]
On 20 December 2023, Saitō was announced at Fagiano Okayama.[11] He made his league debut against Tochigi SC on 25 February 2024.[12] Saitō scored his first league goal against Ehime on 7 April 2024, scoring in the 92nd minute.[13]
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fukushima United | 2015 | J3 League | 28 | 8 | 1 | 0 | – | 29 | 8 | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 2016 | J2 League | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 25 | 2 | |
| 2017 | J2 League | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 2 | ||
| Total | 37 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 4 | ||
| Mito HollyHock | 2017 | J2 League | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 1 | |
| 2018 | J2 League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | J2 League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| AC Nagano Parceiro (loan) | 2019 | J3 League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | |
| Blaublitz Akita | 2020 | J3 League | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 24 | 3 | |
| 2021 | J2 League | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 41 | 4 | ||
| 2022 | J2 League | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | 38 | 3 | ||
| 2023 | J2 League | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 | 5 | ||
| Total | 130 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 15 | ||
| Fagiano Okayama | 2024 | J2 League | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 2025 | J1 League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| Tochigi City (loan) | 2025 | J3 League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Tochigi City | 2026 | J2/J3 (100) | 3 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 273 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 279 | 31 | ||
- Includes Emperors Cup
- Includes J.League Cup