PSS Sleman’s rebuild continues as the Super Elja announced their third signing for the 2023/24 season on Friday, in the form of Japanese attacking midfielder Kei Sano.
31-year old Kei was signed from Maltese top-flight side Sirens FC, with seven goals and four assists from 25 league matches. He will join fellow new signings Jonathan Bustos and Esteban Vizcarra as well as new head coach Marian Mihail at the Maguwoharjo Stadium for the upcoming season.
“We chose an energetic attacking midfielder from Japan, Kei Sano, to sharpen our front line and provide different attacking options. Kei is a typical hard-working player,” said PSS commissioner Rachmat Makkassau, as quoted from Viva.co.id.
Prior to his move to PSS, Kei had spent the majority of his career in Malta. Following his graduation from Aichi Gakuin University in 2015, Kei took a five-year hiatus before starting off his career at Maltese side St. Andrews FC in the 2020/21 season. Scoring eight and assisting twice, Kei spent two years at St. Andrews before moving to Sirens for the 2022/23 campaign.
Although a relative stranger to the Indonesian football community, tokusatsu fans in Indonesia may recognize Kei as being the twin brother of actor Gaku Sano, who is well-known for his role as Kouta Kazuraba/Kamen Rider Gaim in the 2013/14 tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Gaim. Interestingly, football became the central topic of the series’ 37th episode as well as its summer movie.