TOKYO – While there may be no World Cup ticket for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto at the end of the season, Coventry’s Japanese playmaker will have nevertheless enjoyed an unforgettable campaign helping his club secure promotion back to the English Premier League by comfortably winning the second-tier Championship.
Since his move from Belgian outfit Oostende in the summer of 2023, the left-footed right winger has won huge support from Coventry fans as well as their manager, Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, with his crafty play and diligent approach.
“Without a doubt, this has been my best season,” the 29-year-old Sakamoto said after his side’s 1-1 draw away to Blackburn on April 17 that cliched automatic promotion to the Premier League after 25 years away.
The former Montedio Yamagata and Cerezo Osaka attacker had his promising first season with Coventry cut short by a back injury in February 2024, and they were beaten by Sunderland in the Championship playoff semifinals last season following a fifth-place finish.
But the Sky Blues, who fell as low as fourth-tier League 2 in the 2017-18 season due to financial troubles, ended their long exile from the top division with three games to spare this time around, as Sakamoto provided a creative spark along with seven goals.
“I had lots of moments (in my career) where I could have taken a tumble if I had slacked off. I climbed my way up bit by bit, showing my worth,” the Tokyo native said. “I realized there were no downsides to the things I’d been working on.”
Sports analytics firm Opta last June rated the Championship as the sixth-strongest league in the world, above the Belgian, Portuguese and Dutch top flights, and Sakamoto joins compatriot Ao Tanaka of Leeds in winning promotion from the division to the Premier League.
His fine form at club level has not translated into a national team call-up, nevertheless. Sakamoto played for Hajime Moriyasu’s side only twice, in 2021, with younger players of similar ilk in the shape of Takefusa Kubo and Ritsu Doan ahead of him in the pecking order.
Speaking in a video posted by Coventry in March, Sakamoto was well-aware that it is “tough” to get into the Samurai Blue squad “unless I prove I can play properly in the Premier League” as he voiced his desire to play for Japan again.
After Coventry’s promotion was sealed, Sakamoto understandably had his eye on the new season, but not without taking stock of what he had already achieved in a testing environment.
“How I can cut it in the Premier League is what’s important, but first I want to compliment myself for getting this far,” he said.