Ko Itakura

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]

Kō Itakura
板倉 滉

Itakura with Vegalta Sendai in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Kō Itakura[1]
Date of birth	(1997-01-27) 27 January 1997 (age 28)[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	75	(6)
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 Representing  Japan Asian Games 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team AFC U-19 Championship 2016 Bahrain
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 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

Club

As of match played 17 May 2025^{[16][17][18][1][19]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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	32	4	2	1	–		–		–		34	5
	Total		76	7	5	1	–		–		–		81	8
Career total			194	15	18	1	9	0	3	1	2	0	226	17

1. Includes Emperor's Cup, KNVB Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Includes J.League Cup
3. Includes AFC Champions League
4. Includes J1 League Championship, Eredivisie European play-offs

International

As of match played 25 March 2025^[20]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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]

List of international goals scored by Kō Itakura

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

• J1 League: 2017^[1]

Vegalta Sendai

• Emperor's Cup: runner-up 2018

Schalke 04

• 2. Bundesliga: 2021–22^[21]

Individual

• Tag Heuer Young Guns Award: 2018^[22]
• Groningen Player of the Year: 2020–21^[23]
• Borussia's Player of the Month: August 2023
• Japan Pro-Footballers Association Best XI [ja]: 2022, 2023, 2024^[24]
• IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the Year: 2024^[25]