Kō Itakura
Japanese footballer (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kō Itakura (板倉 滉, Itakura Kō, born 27 January 1997) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as centre-back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Japan national team.[3]
 Itakura with Vegalta Sendai in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kō Itakura[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 January 1997[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Yokohama, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Borussia Mönchengladbach | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2014 | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Kawasaki Frontale | 7 | (0) |
| 2015 | → J. League U-22 (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Vegalta Sendai (loan) | 24 | (3) |
| 2019–2022 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | → FC Groningen (loan) | 56 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Schalke 04 (loan) | 31 | (4) |
| 2022– | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 71 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Japan U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Japan U20 | 8 | (1) |
| 2018–2021 | Japan U23 | 24 | (6) |
| 2019– | Japan | 37 | (2) |
Medal record | |||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025 | |||
Club career
In January 2019, Itakura joined Premier League club Manchester City and was immediately loaned to Eredivisie club Groningen, until the summer of 2020.[4] On 24 July 2020, his stay with Groningen was extended with one more year after both clubs agreed.[5]
On 19 August 2021, Itakura signed a season-long loan deal with 2. Bundesliga club Schalke 04 with an option to make the move permanent for £5 million.[6] At the end of the season, he was promoted to the Bundesliga with Schalke, but the club did not activate the option due to financial reasons.[7]
On August 19 2023, he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga against Augsburg, and on September 2, he scored a goal against Bayern Munich, which had the most wins and were the champions of the previous year.[8] On September 8th, he was selected as the team's MVP for August.[9]
International career
Itakura was selected for the senior Japan national football team for 2019 Copa América and made his debut on 20 June 2019 in the game against Uruguay, as a starter.[10][better source needed]
On March 29, 2021, he scored two goals against the Argentina national under-24 football team, and was also selected to represent Japan at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing in 4th place.[11]
In November 2022, he was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Japan National team for the first time.[12] Participated in all group stage matches and became the first Asian team to win first place in an overseas World Cup group league, contributing to advance to the final tournament for two consecutive tournaments. His long ball was the starting point of the come-from-behind goal against Germany. He was also named in the first group stage best eleven by Spanish Marca and Italian Sky Sport.[13] The former named him one of the players to double his value in the World Cup and described him as "the most consistent performance of the entire tournament".[14]
On March 28, 2023, he served as captain for the first time in the second match of the second term of Moriyasu Japan against Colombia.[15]
Career statistics
Summarize
Perspective
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental[c] | Other[d] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2015 | J1 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | J1 League | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | J1 League | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Vegalta Sendai (loan) | 2018 | J1 League | 24 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 3 | ||
| Manchester City | 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Groningen (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |||
| Total | 56 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 59 | 1 | ||||
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 32 | 4 | |||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 22 | 3 | ||||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 30 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 72 | 6 | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | 77 | 7 | |||||
| Career total | 190 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 222 | 16 | ||
- Includes Emperor's Cup, KNVB Cup, DFB-Pokal
- Includes J.League Cup
- Includes AFC Champions League
- Includes J1 League Championship, Eredivisie European play-offs
International
- As of match played 25 March 2025[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 2 | |
Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.[20]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 May 2021 | Fukuda Denshi Arena, Chiba, Japan |  Myanmar | 10–0 | 10–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 19 November 2024 | Xiamen Egret Stadium, Xiamen, China |  China | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Kawasaki Frontale
Vegalta Sendai
- Emperor's Cup: runner-up 2018
Schalke 04
Individual
References
External links
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