is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a centre back or a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

and the Japan national team.

Club career

After growing through

Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...

youth ranks, Hiroki Ito was promoted to the first team in 2018. He debuted as a pro in March 2018 in J. League Cup, and would soon make his first appearance in

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

in August 2018. On 20 May 2022,

exercised a purchase option which tied Ito to the club with a contract until June 2025. In August 2023, he extended his contract with Stuttgart until June 2027.

International career

Ito made his debut for the senior Japan national team on 2 June 2022, during a 4–1 friendly win over

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. He scored his first goal for Japan against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

on 20 June 2023.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.

Honours

Japan U19 *

AFC U-19 Championship The AFC U-20 Asian Cup, formerly known as the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship, is a biennial international association football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-20 national teams ...

third place:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Individual *

Rookie of the Month:

November 2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

References

External links

Hiroki Ito
at j-league.or.jp
Hiroki Ito
at jleague.jp (archived)
Hiroki Ito
at

Hiroki Ito
at JFA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Hiroki 1999 births Living people Japanese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Japan men's under-20 international footballers Japan men's youth international footballers 2022 FIFA World Cup players J1 League players J2 League players Bundesliga players Júbilo Iwata players Nagoya Grampus players VfB Stuttgart players Japanese expatriate men's footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Association football people from Hamamatsu