Akira Ito (footballer)

Akira Ito (伊藤 彰, Ito Akira, born September 19, 1972) is a former Japanese football player and manager.

Akira Ito
伊藤 彰

Personal information
Full name	Akira Ito
Date of birth	(1972-09-19) September 19, 1972
Place of birth	Niiza, Saitama, Japan
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1988–1990	Bunan High School
1991–1994	Kokushikan University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–2001	Kawasaki Frontale	161	(35)
2002–2003	Omiya Ardija	81	(11)
2004	Sagan Tosu	41	(4)
2005–2006	Tokushima Vortis	82	(10)
Total		365	(60)
Managerial career
2017	Omiya Ardija
2019–2021	Ventforet Kofu
2022	Júbilo Iwata
2022–2023	Vegalta Sendai
2024-	Zweigen Kanazawa
Medal record Kawasaki Frontale Runner-up J.League Cup 2000
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Ito was born in Niiza on September 19, 1972. After graduating from Kokushikan University, he joined Japan Football League club Fujitsu (later Kawasaki Frontale) in 1995. He played many matches as offensive midfielder and forward from first season. Although his opportunity to play decreased in 1997, he became a regular player in 1998 and the club was promoted to J2 League from 1999. In 1999, the club won the champions and was promoted to J1 League from 2000. In 2000, although the club gained many players and his opportunity to play decreased, the club won the 2nd place J.League Cup. However the club results were bad in league competition and the club was relegated to J2 in a year. Although he played many matches as regular player in 2001, he was released from the club end of 2001 season. In 2002, he moved to J2 club Omiya Ardija in based in his local Saitama Prefecture. He played many matches as regular player in 2 seasons. In 2004, he moved to J2 club Sagan Tosu and played many matches as side midfielder. In 2005, he moved to newly was promoted to J2 League club, Tokushima Vortis. He played many matches as side midfielder in 2 seasons and retired end of 2006 season.

Coaching career

After retirement, Ito started coaching career at Omiya Ardija in 2007. He coached for youth team until 2015. In 2016, he became a top team coach under manager Hiroki Shibuya. In May 2017, the club results were bad and Shibuya was sacked and Ito became a new manager as Shibuya successor. However the club result did not improve and Ito was sacked in November. In 2018, he signed with Ventforet Kofu and became a coach. In 2019, he became a manager.

Club statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Total
1995	Fujitsu	JFL	26	4	0	0	-		26	4
1996			25	9	4	3	-		29	12
1997	Kawasaki Frontale		8	0	0	0	-		8	0
1998			25	11	3	2	3	0	31	13
1999		J2 League	31	7	3	4	2	0	36	11
2000		J1 League	13	2	0	0	5	1	18	3
2001		J2 League	33	2	4	3	3	0	40	5
2002	Omiya Ardija		43	4	4	2	-		47	6
2003			38	7	2	1	-		40	8
2004	Sagan Tosu		41	4	2	0	-		43	4
2005	Tokushima Vortis		40	9	0	0	-		40	9
2006			42	1	1	0	-		43	1
Career total			365	60	23	15	13	1	401	76

Managerial statistics

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Omiya Ardija	2017	2017	23	7	8	8	030.43
Ventforet Kofu	2019	2021	132	61	41	30	046.21
Júbilo Iwata	2022	2022	28	7	7	14	025.00
Vegalta Sendai	2022	present	8	2	2	4	025.00
Total			191	77	58	56	040.31

• Statistics including J1 and J2 Leagues, J. League Cup and The Emperor's Cup results.

External links

• Player statistics at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
• Manager statistics manager profile at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)