Ritsu Dōan

Ritsu Dōan (堂安 律, Dōan Ritsu; born 16 June 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg and the Japan national team.^[2]

Ritsu Dōan
堂安 律

Dōan with Japan at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name	Ritsu Dōan[1]
Date of birth	(1998-06-16) 16 June 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	SC Freiburg
Number	42
Youth career
2005–2010	Nishinomiya Soccer School
2011–2015	Gamba Osaka
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2018	Gamba Osaka	15	(3)
2017–2018	→ Groningen (loan)	29	(9)
2018–2019	Groningen	34	(6)
2019–2022	PSV	43	(10)
2020–2021	→ Arminia Bielefeld (loan)	34	(5)
2022–	SC Freiburg	97	(22)
International career‡
2014	Japan U16	4	(1)
2016	Japan U19	19	(5)
2017	Japan U20	5	(3)
2019–2021	Japan U23	11	(6)
2018–	Japan	57	(10)
Medal record Representing  Japan AFC Asian Cup Runner-up 2019 United Arab Emirates AFC U-19 Championship Winner 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

Gamba Osaka

Coming through the youth system, Dōan joined J1 League club Gamba Osaka in 2015.^{[citation needed]} On 27 May, he debuted against FC Seoul in the 2015 AFC Champions League.^{[citation needed]} In 2016, he mainly played for their Gamba Osaka's newly-established reserve team Gamba Osaka U-23 in the J3 League.^[3]

Groningen

In June 2017, Dōan moved to Eredivisie club FC Groningen on loan with an option to purchase on a three-year contract.^{[citation needed]} The option was exercised on 23 April 2018, and Dōan transferred to Groningen on a permanent basis on 1 July 2018.^[4]

On 15 April 2018, against Roda, Dōan scored his eighth goal of the season, equaling the total of goals Arjen Robben scored as a teenager for Groningen.^[5]

PSV Eindhoven

Dōan joined PSV Eindhoven on a five-year contract in 2019.^[6]

Loan to Arminia Bielefeld

In September 2020, he moved on loan to Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld for the 2020–21 season.^[6] Dōan made his debut in the opening game of the season, a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.^{[citation needed]} Dōan scored his first goal for Bielefeld in a 4–1 home defeat against Bayern Munich.^{[citation needed]}

SC Freiburg

On 5 July 2022, SC Freiburg announced that they had signed Dōan ahead of the 2022–23 season.^[7] He scored his first goal for the club on 6 August, 2022 in a 4–0 win versus Augsburg.

International career

Youth

In May 2017, Dōan was elected Japan national under-20 team for the 2017 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he played full-time in all four matches and scored three goals.^[8]

Senior

On 30 August 2018, Dōan received his first international call-up from the Japan national team for the Kirin Challenge Cup 2018.^[9] He started his debut appearance in a friendly match against Costa Rica on 11 September 2018, and scored his debut goal in a friendly match against Uruguay on 16 October 2018.^{[citation needed]}

He was called-up by Hajime Moriyasu to represent Japan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He featured in Japan's first match of the competition against Germany on 23 November 2022, being subbed on in the second half while Japan was 1–0 down. Dōan scored the equalizer four minutes after coming on as his side later went on to win the game 2–1.^[10] In an almost identical turn of events, he was subbed on in the second half of Japan's final group stage match against Spain on 1 December 2022 while Japan was 1–0 down, and scored the equalizer two minutes after coming on as his side later went on to win 2–1. The win ultimately qualified Japan for the tournament's knockout stages as group winners.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 17 May 2025^[12][2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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
Gamba Osaka	2015	J1 League	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1[c]	0	4	0
	2016	J1 League	3	0	1	0	0	0	1[d]	0	0	0	5	0
	2017	J1 League	10	3	0	0	0	0	6[d]	1	—		16	4
	Total		15	3	1	0	1	0	7	1	1	0	25	4
Groningen (loan)	2017–18	Eredivisie	29	9	2	1	—		—		—		31	10
Groningen	2018–19	Eredivisie	30	5	1	0	—		—		2[e]	0	33	5
	2019–20	Eredivisie	2	1	—		—		—		—		2	1
	Total		32	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	35	6
PSV Eindhoven	2019–20	Eredivisie	19	2	2	0	—		4[f]	0	—		25	2
	2021–22	Eredivisie	24	8	5	2	—		10[g]	1	—		39	11
	Total		43	10	7	2	0	0	14	1	0	0	64	13
Arminia Bielefeld (loan)	2020–21	Bundesliga	34	5	1	0	—		—		—		35	5
SC Freiburg	2022–23	Bundesliga	33	5	5	1	—		7[f]	1	—		45	7
	2023–24	Bundesliga	30	7	2	0	—		10[f]	2	—		42	9
	2024–25	Bundesliga	34	10	2	0	—		—		—		36	10
	Total		97	22	9	1	0	0	17	3	0	0	123	26
Career total			250	55	21	4	1	0	38	5	3	0	313	64

1. Includes Emperor's Cup, KNVB Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Includes J.League Cup
3. Appearance in J1 League championship stage
4. Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
5. Appearances in Eredivisie European play-offs
6. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
7. Four appearances in UEFA Europa League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 25 March 2025^[13]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan	2018	5	1
	2019	13	2
	2020	2	0
	2021	1	0
	2022	12	2
	2023	8	2
	2024	14	3
	2025	2	0
Total		57	10

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dōan goal.^[13]

List of international goals scored by Ritsu Dōan

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 October 2018	Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan	Uruguay	3–2	4–3	2018 Kirin Challenge Cup
2.	9 January 2019	Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Turkmenistan	3–1	3–2	2019 AFC Asian Cup
3.	24 January 2019	Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Vietnam	1–0	1–0	2019 AFC Asian Cup
4.	23 November 2022	Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Germany	1–1	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup
5.	1 December 2022	Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Spain	1–1	2–1
6.	15 June 2023	Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan	El Salvador	4–0	6–0	2023 Kirin Challenge Cup
7.	16 November 2023	Suita City Football Stadium, Suita, Japan	Myanmar	5–0	5–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.	31 January 2024	Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Bahrain	1–0	3–1	2023 AFC Asian Cup
9.	6 June 2024	Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar	Myanmar	2–0	5–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	11 June 2024	Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan	Syria	2–0	5–0

Honours

PSV

• KNVB Cup: 2021–22^[14]

Japan U-19

• AFC U-19 Championship: 2016

Japan

• AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2019

Individual

• AFC U-19 Championship Most Valuable Player: 2016
• AFC Youth Player of the Year: 2016
• Japan Pro-Footballers Association [ja] Best XI: 2022
• Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season: 2024–25^[15]