Servus, Hiroki Ito! FC Bayern have signed the Japanese defender. We introduce you to the German record champions‘ new recruit!
Reliable and versatile defender
Before moving to Munich, Ito played for VfB Stuttgart for three years – and did so at a consistently high level. The 1.88-metre-tall left-footer, who can be deployed in the centre of defence as well as at left-back and in defensive midfield, impressed in the Swabians‘ rearguard with his solid tackling and good build-up play. In his 26 Bundesliga appearances last season, the 25-year-old came away with just 16 fouls and one yellow card. What’s more, his pass completion rate of 90.4 percent placed him just outside the top 10 in the German top flight – twice he set up a goal for a teammate.
Ito “is a ball-playing, technically gifted centre-back who has pace, defending qualities, is tall and strong in the air”, praised his former coach Sebastian Hoeneß at the start of May. It’s those strengths that firmly established him at VfB over the last couple of years. Originally planned for Stuttgart's second team, the Japanese international played his way straight to the fore during the 2021/22 pre-season and became a first-team regular in no time at all. Ito also had no teething problems in the Bundesliga, where he was named “Rookie of the Month” in November 2021.
Defensive player with offensive qualities
Up until the end of last season, Ito made 85 Bundesliga appearances, a further two in the relegation play-off and 10 in the DFB Cup for Stuttgart. The defender registered four assists and two goals in the German top flight during his time there – both of them well worth watching, incidentally. For his maiden Bundesliga goal in a 2-1 win at Mainz 05 in late November 2021, he skilfully curled the ball into the far corner. In the 3-2 victory at VfL Bochum in April 2023, on the other hand, Ito hammered the ball into the roof of the net from around 16 metres.
For the defender born on 12 May 1999 in Hamamatsu, Stuttgart was his first station outside Japan. Ito began playing football at boyhood club Júbilo Iwata, for whom he made his professional debut in April 2018 in a J.League Cup match against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Aside from a loan move to Nagoya Grampus in 2019, he stayed with Júbilo Iwata until his departure to Germany in summer 2021.
Japanese international since 2022
Ito progressed through all the age-group teams in his homeland from U15 onwards before making his debut for the Japanese senior national team in a 4-1 friendly win over Paraguay in early June 2022, just a few weeks after his 23rd birthday. Just over a year later, the defensive specialist netted his first goal for the Samurai Blue in another 4-1 friendly victory against Peru. At the start of this year, Ito took part in the Asian Cup with Japan in Qatar, where the supposed favourites for the tournament were knocked out by Iran at the quarter-final stage.
Ito has played a total of 19 international games for the Japan team (one goal), where he’s also now a key player. So, Bayern fans can look forward to an internationally experienced, tall and technically strong defender. We wish you all the best at FC Bayern, Hiroki!
The full story on the signing:
Topics of this article