Hiroki Itō (footballer, born 1999)
Japanese footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hiroki Ito (伊藤 洋輝, Itō Hiroki; born 12 May 1999) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back, left-back and defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Japan national team.
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Ito with VfB Stuttgart in 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hiroki Ito[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 May 1999 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Bayern Munich | |||||||||||||
| Number | 21 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Santos FC Academy Japan | ||||||||||||||
| –2011 | 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 | 22 | (2) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Japan U17[3] | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Japan U18[4] | 6 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Japan U19 | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Japan U20 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2018 | Japan U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022– | Japan | 28 | (1) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:26, 9 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 30 June 2026 | ||||||||||||||
Club career
Júbilo Iwata
After growing through Júbilo Iwata youth ranks, Hiroki Ito was promoted to the first team in 2018.[5] 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.[6] In 2019, he was loaned out to Nagoya Grampus, where he made nine appearances in all competitions.[7]
VfB Stuttgart
In June 2021, Ito joined Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart on loan, and was assigned to play for the second team in the Regionalliga Südwest.[8] 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.[7] Afterwards that year, on 26 November, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2–1 win over Mainz.[9] On 20 May 2022, VfB Stuttgart exercised a purchase option which tied Ito to the club with a contract until June 2025.[10]
In August 2023, he extended his contract with Stuttgart until June 2027.[11] In the 2023–24 season, he played a crucial role in his club's runner-up finish and qualification to the Champions League.[12]
Bayern Munich
On 13 June 2024, Ito signed for fellow Bundesliga club Bayern Munich until 2028,[13] after they had triggered his release clause of an estimated €30 million.[14] However, he sustained a metatarsal fracture during the summer preseason which kept him sidelined for the first half of the 2024–25 season.[15] 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.[16] Later that month, on 23 February, he scored his first goal in a 4–0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.[17] 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.[18] Later that year, on 22 November, he made his comeback from a lengthy injury absence, recording an assist as a substitute in a 6–2 victory over SC Freiburg.[19]
International career
Ito played for the youth teams of Japan, including the U23 team during the 2018 AFC Championship,[20] the U19 team in the 2018 AFC Championship,[21] and the U20 team in the 2019 FIFA World Cup.[22]
Ito made his debut for the senior Japan national team on 2 June 2022, during a 4–1 friendly win over Paraguay.[23] Later that year, on 1 November, he was selected in 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[24]
He scored his first goal for Japan against Peru on 20 June 2023 during the Kirin Challenge Cup.[25] On 1 January 2024, he was called up for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[26]
On 15 May 2026, Itō was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[27]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 23 May 2026[28]
| 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 | |
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 4[e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| Total | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 167 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 200 | 8 | ||
- Includes Emperor's Cup, DFB-Pokal
- Includes J.League Cup
- Appearances in Bundesliga promotion play-offs
- Appearance in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 29 June 2026[29]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.[29]
| 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
Júbilo Iwata
Bayern Munich
Japan U19
- AFC U-19 Championship third place: 2018[citation needed]
Individual
- Bundesliga Rookie of the Month: November 2021[33]
