Marcell Jansen, president of second division side Hamburger SV, scathingly criticised the three leaders of the team – Gotoku Sakai included – for a disappointing season, local newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt reported.

Hamburger were relegated to the second division for the first time in their club’s history last season, and in a bid to return to the top flight, they extended the contracts of three players who were deemed team leaders: former German internationals Aaron Hunt and Lewis Holtby, as well as former club captain Sakai.

However, Hamburger’s first season in the second division had turned out worse than expected. While Jansen, who was elected as club president in January this year, did not name the players explicitly, he suggested the new captain (Hunt) and vice-captains (Holtby and Sakai) did not fulfill their roles and as a result, the team “was lacking stability”.

He said, “The leaders did not produce the results competitively,” and continued his criticism, “Not only that, they also turned into the team’s biggest weakness.”

Hamburger finished the season in 4th and missed out on promotion, and it seems like the responsibility of the failure has been placed primarily on the three players.

Holtby has already left the club, while Hunt and Sakai are contracted until 2020.

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Source: Yahoo

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