is a former Japanese professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career Ito was born in Shizuoka on 31 August 1974. After graduating from high school, he joined J1 League club Shimizu S-Pulse based in his local in 1993. He debuted in June 1994 and played several matches in 1994 season. He became a regular midfielder under manager Masakatsu Miyamoto from 1995 season and played as central player for the club for a long time. In 1996, S-Pulse won the champions in J.League Cup first title in the club history. In 1999, S-Pulse the 2nd place in J1 League and he also was selected Best Eleven award. In 2000, S-Pulse won the Asian title, 1999–2000 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. In 2001, S-Pulse won Emperor's Cup. After that, the club results was sluggish. In 2005, former teammate Kenta Hasegawa became a new manager. Although S-Pulse finished at the 15th place which is worst position in the club history in J1 League, S-Pulse won the 2nd place in 2005 Emperor's Cup. However the club results was raised under manager Hasegawa from 2006 and S-Pulse won the 2nd place in 2008 J.League Cup. Ito also played all matches in J1 League from 2006 to 2008 season and received the fair play awards in 2007. In 2010, his opportunity to play decreased and he resigned end of 2010 season.
In 2011, Ito moved to newly promoted J1 club Ventforet Kofu with Daisuke Ichikawa who is teammate in S-Pulse for 13 seasons. On 16 July 2011, he became a first player to earn 500th matches in J1 League.sponichi.co.jp Although, Ventforet was relegated to J2 League from 2012, the club won the champions in J2 and returned to J1 in a year. However Ito played only 6 matches in 2013 season and left the club end of 2013 season. In 2014, he moved to newly promoted J3 League club AC Nagano Parceiro. However he could not play many matches and left the club end of 2015 season. In 2016, he moved to J3 club Blaublitz Akita where he spent the 2016 season.Blaublitz Akita In 2017, he moved to newly promoted J3 club Azul Claro Numazu.Azul Claro Numazu He finally made his début for Azul Claro Numazu two years later, on 24 November 2019, as an 81st-minute substitute for Kotaro Tokunaga in a 3–1 home win over Gainare Tottori.
International career In July 1996, Ito was selected for the Japan U23 national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics. At this tournament, he played the whole 90 minutes in all three matches. He is most remembered for his goal against Brazil in Atlanta which earned Japan a shock 1–0 victory. It was known as the "Miracle of Miami" (マイアミの奇跡) in Japan.
Ito was capped 27 times for the Japan national team between 1997 and 2001.Japan National Football Team Database He was an unused substitute at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Career statistics
Club Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, (p. 251 out of 289)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 273 out of 289)Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑", 10 February 2016, Japan, (p. 265 out of 289)
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueEmperor's CupJ.League CupAsiaTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsShimizu S-Pulse1993J1 League003100–311994600010–70199544410––45419962643071–36519973173161–40919983455010–40519992913041–36220002415140–33220012711020–3012002220302010280200330240402040220043011070–38120053205050–42020063423050–42220073413020–39120083402090–45020093002080–40020101615060–271Total483305237333061136Ventforet Kofu2011J1 League2802010–3102012J2 League25000––2502013J1 League601030–100Total5903040–660AC Nagano Parceiro2014J3 League8000––8020153000––30Total11000––110Blaublitz Akita2016J3 League2000––20Azul Claro Numazu2017J3 League0010––10201800–––00201910–––10202000–––00202100–––00Total1010––20Career total556305637733069236
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsJapan1997101998101999702000702001110Total270
Honors Shimizu S-Pulse Emperor's Cup: 2001 J.League Cup: 1996 Japanese Super Cup: 2001, 2002 Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1999–2000
Japan FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2001
Individual J1 League Best Eleven: 1999 J.League Fair Play Award: 2007
References
External links Profile at Azul Claro Numazu
Japan National Football Team Database