Itakura was born on January 27, 1997, in Japan, more precisely, in Yokohama, a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was in this region that young Itakura also began playing football. Via Takagi FC and Kawasaki Saginuma SC, he ended up at Yokohama Azamino FC at the start of this century. At the age of nine, Kawasaki Frontale brought him into their academy.
The Japanese player will be wearing number four. Get his shirt here!
Step to Europe
At Kawasaki Frontale, a club competing at the highest level in Japan, his professional career began. After around four years at Kawasaki Frontale, a loan spell at Vegalta Sendai, and more than fifty matches in Japan, the move to Europe followed. Manchester City came for Itakura at the start of 2019, brought him to Europe, and immediately loaned the defender to FC Groningen.
At the northern Eredivisie club, Itakura would go on to play for two and a half seasons. After a difficult first six months, the Japanese player became a permanent fixture in Groningen's starting line-up during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. In that period, he faced Ajax three times: two defeats in Amsterdam (2-0 and 3-1) and one victory, 1-0 in Groningen on October 4, 2020.
As champion to the Bundesliga
Manchester City brought him back in the summer of 2021 and immediately placed Itakura elsewhere, this time in Germany with Schalke 04. With Itakura playing in every match from matchday four onwards, the Germans were crowned champions of the 2. Bundesliga. As a mainstay in defence that season, Itakura scored four goals and received only three yellow cards in 31 league matches.
His performances did not go unnoticed, and it was certain that Itakura would move into the Bundesliga. The question was with whom. The answer was Borussia Mönchengladbach. They signed Itakura permanently from Manchester City. After three seasons, 75 Bundesliga appearances, and six league goals, Itakura is returning to the Netherlands, to Ajax.
If we zoom in on his figures from three years at Borussia Mönchengladbach, a great deal stands out. In terms of defensive clearances, Itakura ranks second among all players at the Mönchengladbach side since the 2022/2023 season: 322 in total. He made 153 of those with his head. He won 303 duels, 146 aerial duels, made 77 interceptions, and executed 67 successful tackles.
Itakura also stands out in possession. Since 2022/2023, he has recorded 1,008 carries (advancing with the ball at his feet). Of these, 541 were progressive, and 219 were progressive carries of ten metres or more. He also played 1,310 forward passes and had a passing accuracy of 89.7 per cent. Finally, in the past Bundesliga season, Itakura was involved in 69 open-play attempts on goal: the highest of all defenders at the club.
First Japanese player at Ajax
In the club’s 125-year history, footballers from many different countries have worn the Ajax shirt. It is an impressive and intriguing list of "foreign Ajacieden". The majority of players who have ever played in Ajax 1 have, naturally, been Dutch nationals. The "foreign Ajacieden" have come from over fifty different countries. In addition to Europe, Ajax players have often come from Africa and South America.
Asia, however, remains relatively uncharted territory. Itakura, who has already played 37 international matches for his country, is the first Japanese player to join Ajax 1. In fact, the Amsterdam club has so far welcomed relatively few players from Asia in its history. For the enormous continent, the relationship with Ajax seems to follow this pattern: the further away the football nation, the smaller the chance that a player has ever worn the white-red-white shirt. The further eastward, the rarer the Ajacied. For example, in the 2010/2011 season, Hyun-Jun Suk was the first and, to date, only South Korean Ajax player.
Gamba Osaka
Through strategic partnerships, Ajax is also building an international network. Since March 2024, the Amsterdam club has been in cooperation with Gamba Osaka. For Ajax, this partnership is an important opportunity to strengthen its global football network and to identify young talent within the Japanese football landscape.
This recently became visible in a concrete way. During pre-season, two guest players from the Japanese club were given the opportunity to showcase their skills to head coach John Heitinga. Gamba Osaka, in turn, gains access to Ajax's training philosophy to strengthen its own youth academy. In addition to scouting, knowledge exchange is an important aspect of the partnership. The Japanese club was also present at the Olympia Future Cup this past April.
More connections
A dive into the club's history reveals more connections between Ajax and Japan. At the top of the list is the Intercontinental Cup match that Ajax played in Tokyo on November 28, 1995. With the victory, after penalties against South American champions Grêmio, Ajax claimed their second world championship on Japanese soil.
And speaking of history, thirteen years earlier, TDK became Ajax's first shirt sponsor. The manufacturer of cassette tapes and electronics has its roots in Japan. The partnership lasted until the 1990/1991 season. Between 1982 and 1991, numerous iconic Ajax moments took place with the name of the Japanese sponsor emblazoned on the famous shirt.
