Hiroki Itō (footballer, born 1999)

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Hiroki Itō
伊藤 洋輝
Itō with VfB Stuttgart in 2021
Personal information
Full name Hiroki Itō[1]
Date of birth (1999-05-12) 12 May 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Bayern Munich
Number 21
Youth career
Santos FC Academy Japan
Hamamatsu Kaba SSS
2012–2017 Júbilo Iwata
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Júbilo Iwata 58 (4)
2019 → Nagoya Grampus (loan) 2 (0)
2021–2022 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 29 (1)
2022–2024 VfB Stuttgart 56 (1)
2024– Bayern Munich 6 (1)
International career‡
2015 Japan U17[2] 1 (0)
2016–2017 Japan U18[3] 6 (2)
2017–2018 Japan U19 5 (1)
2019 Japan U20 6 (0)
2018 Japan U23 2 (0)
2022– Japan 21 (1)
Medal record
Representing  Japan
AFC U-19 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Indonesia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:25, 29 March 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025

Hiroki Itō (伊藤 洋輝, Itō Hiroki, born 12 May 1999) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back and left-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Japan national team.

Club career

Júbilo Iwata

After growing through Júbilo Iwata youth ranks, Hiroki Itō was promoted to the first team in 2018.[4] He debuted as a pro in March 2018 in J. League Cup, and would soon make his first appearance in J1 League in August 2018.[5] In 2019, he was loaned out to Nagoya Grampus, where he made nine appearances in all competitions.[6]

VfB Stuttgart

In June 2021, Itō joined Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart on loan, and was assigned to play for the second team in the Regionalliga Südwest.[7] However, he was instantly promoted to the first team by coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, and started his first match in a 6–0 away win against BFC Dynamo in the DFB-Pokal.[6] Afterwards that year, on 26 November, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2–1 win over Mainz.[8] On 20 May 2022, VfB Stuttgart exercised a purchase option which tied Itō to the club with a contract until June 2025.[9]

In August 2023, he extended his contract with Stuttgart until June 2027.[10] In the 2023–24 season, he played a crucial role in his club's runner-up finish and qualification to the Champions League.[11]

Bayern Munich

On 13 June 2024, Itō signed for fellow Bundesliga club Bayern Munich until 2028,[12] after they had triggered his release clause of an estimated €30 million.[13] However, he sustained a metatarsal fracture during the summer preseason which kept him sidelined for the first half of the 2024–25 season.[14] He made his debut for the club on 12 February 2025, during a 2–1 away victory over Celtic in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs.[15] Later that month, on 23 February, he scored his first goal in a 4–0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.[16] A month later, on 29 March, he suffered another metatarsal fracture during a 3–2 victory over St. Pauli, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.[17]

International career

Itō played for the youth teams of Japan, including the U23 team during the 2018 AFC Championship,[18] the U19 team in the 2018 AFC Championship,[19] and the U20 team in the 2019 FIFA World Cup.[20]

Itō made his debut for the senior Japan national team on 2 June 2022, during a 4–1 friendly win over Paraguay.[21] Later that year, on 1 November, he was selected in 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[22]

He scored his first goal for Japan against Peru on 20 June 2023 during the Kirin Challenge Cup.[23] On 1 January 2024, he was called up for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 March 2025[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Júbilo Iwata 2018 J1 League 1 0 1 0 4 0 — — 6 0
2020 J2 League 37 2 0 0 0 0 — — 37 2
2021 J2 League 20 2 0 0 0 0 — — 20 2
Total 58 4 1 0 4 0 — — 63 4
Nagoya Grampus (loan) 2019 J1 League 2 0 1 0 6 0 — — 9 0
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2021–22 Bundesliga 29 1 2 0 — — — 31 1
VfB Stuttgart 2022–23 Bundesliga 30 1 5 0 — — 2[c] 0 37 1
2023–24 Bundesliga 26 0 3 0 — — — 29 0
Total 85 2 10 0 — — 2 0 97 2
Bayern Munich 2024–25 Bundesliga 6 1 0 0 — 2[d] 0 0 0 8 1
Career total 151 7 12 0 11 0 1 0 2 0 177 7
  1. ^ Includes Emperor's Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes J.League Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in Bundesliga promotion play-offs
  4. ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 25 March 2025[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2022 7 0
2023 6 1
2024 6 0
2025 2 0
Total 21 1
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.[26]
List of international goals scored by Hiroki Itō
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 June 2023 Panasonic Stadium Suita, Suita, Japan  Peru 1–0 4–1 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup

Honours

Japan U19

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Japan" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "U-17 Japan National Team win against U-17 Niigata Selection - International Youth Football in Niigata 2015". jfa.jp. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  3. ^ "U-18 Japan National Team squad, schedule - AFC U-19 Championship 2018 Qualifiers groupI (11/4-8@Mongolia)]". jfa.jp, 18 October 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  4. ^ "磐田、U-19日本代表MF伊藤洋輝とプロ契約「世界で活躍する選手に」 | ゲキサカ". web.gekisaka.jp. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  5. ^ "意地問われる中位対決...松本昌、大久保のW移籍後初ゴールで磐田に軍配 | ゲキサカ". web.gekisaka.jp. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Hiroki Ito: Who is the VfB Stuttgart and Japan defender?". Bundesliga. 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Hiroki Ito wechselt zum VfB" (in German). VfB Stuttgart. 23 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Zwei Premierentore bringen den Sieg" (in German). VfB Stuttgart. 26 November 2021.
  9. ^ "VfB take up purchase option on Hiroki Ito". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Hiroki Ito signs contract extension". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ Ubina, Carlos (9 May 2024). "Das macht Hiroki Ito auch für den FC Bayern und Borussia Dortmund interessant" (in German). Stuttgarter Zeitung.
  12. ^ "FC Bayern verpflichtet Hiroki Ito" (in German). FC Bayern Munich. 13 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Offiziell! Bayern verpflichtet VfB-Star" (in German). Sky Sport. 13 June 2024.
  14. ^ Hoffmann, Torben (27 January 2025). "Hiroki Ito kündigt Rückkehr ins Bayern-Mannschaftstraining ein" (in German). Sky Sport.
  15. ^ "Hiroki Ito gibt sein Debüt: Bayern München besiegt Celtic Glasgow im Hinspiel mit 2:1" (in German). Tribuna.com. 12 February 2025.
  16. ^ Merritt, Jordan (23 February 2025). "Bayern Munich 4-0 Eintracht Frankfurt: First Goal For Hiroki Ito As Bayern Dominate". Sports Illustrated.
  17. ^ "Hiroki Itō suffers metatarsal fracture". FC Bayern Munich. 30 March 2025.
  18. ^ "U-21 Japan National Team squad, schedule – AFC U-23 Championship China 2018". 26 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  19. ^ "U-19 Japan National Team squad, schedule – AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 (10/18–11/4)". JFA. 2 October 2018.
  20. ^ "FIFA U-20ワールドカップポーランド2019（5/23～6/15） U-20日本代表 メンバー・スケジュール". jfa.jp (in Japanese). JFA. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Ito debuts, Mavropanos goes the distance". vfb.de. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Samurai Blue (Japan National Team) squad – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". Japan Football Association. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Japan 4–1 Peru". Japan Football Association. 20 June 2023.
  24. ^ "SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) squad – AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023". Japan Football Association. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  25. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 53 out of 289)
  26. ^ a b Hiroki Itō at National-Football-Teams.com Edit this at Wikidata
  27. ^ "Bundesliga Rookie Award". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
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