| Ritsu Dōan Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 8 in |
| Weight | 70 kg |
| Date of Birth | June 16, 1998 |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Ritsu Dōan is a Japanese professional soccer player who has represented, as a winger, Gamba Osaka (2015-2018) in Japan, FC Groningen (2018-2019) & PSV Eindhoven (2019-2022) in the Netherlands, and SC Freiburg (2022-Present) in Germany. He has also spent loan spells with FC Groningen (2017-2018) in the Netherlands and Arminia Bielefeld (2020-2021) in Germany. With PSV Eindhoven, he won the KNVB Cup (the premier domestic knockout soccer competition in the Netherlands) in the 2021–22 season. At the international level, Ritsu represented Japan at the under-16, under-19, under-20, and under-23 tiers before making his senior national debut in September 2018. In 2016, he became the 5th male Japanese player to have won the ‘Asian Young Footballer of the Year’ award, an honor that has been presented annually, since 1995, by the AFC (Asian Football Confederation), one of the 6 constituent continental governing bodies of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
Born Name
Ritsu Dōan
Nick Name
Ritsu
Sun Sign
Gemini
Born Place
Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Kansai, Honshu, Japan
Residence
Japan
Nationality
Occupation
Professional Soccer Player
Family
- Siblings – Yu Dōan (Older Brother) (Soccer Player)
Manager
He has been represented by Eleven Management Inc., Athlete Management and Sports Marketing/Consulting Firm, Tokyo, Kantō, Honshu, Japan.
Shirt Number
- 21, 11, 10, 8 – Japan
- 38 – Gamba Osaka
- 25, 7 – FC Groningen
- 25 – PSV Eindhoven
- 8 – Arminia Bielefeld
- 42 – SC Freiburg
Playing Position
Winger
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 8 in or 173 cm
Weight
70 kg or 154.5 lbs
Race / Ethnicity
Asian
He is of Japanese descent.
Hair Color
Black
He often tends to dye his hair light brown, silver, or blonde.
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Toned physique
- Slightly overgrown, side-parted hair
- Clean-shaven look
Ritsu Dōan Facts
- Ritsu’s youth career began when he joined, in 2011, as a pre-teen, the academy system of Gamba Osaka, a professional soccer club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Kansai, Honshu, Japan. He was included in the club’s senior team in 2015.
- He was a key member of the Japanese squad that won the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Under-19 Championship in 2016. This was Japan’s first such title triumph having previously lost the final of the competition a record 6 times – 1973, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2006. For his performances, Ritsu was named the tournament’s ‘MVP’ (Most Valuable Player).
- In the 2017 edition of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, he played full-time in all 4 of Japan’s matches and scored 3 goals. This included the winning goal in a 2-1 victory against South Africa, in Japan’s opening group-stage encounter; and both of Japan’s goals in a 2–2 draw against Italy in the teams’ last match of the group stage. Japan was knocked out in the pre-quarterfinal stage of the tournament, after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Venezuela.
- Representing Japan, Ritsu also finished as a runner-up in the 2019 edition of the AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial continental competition that determines the champion of Asia. This was the first occasion in history that Japan (the most successful team in the competition, as of November 2022) had lost the final of the AFC Asian Cup. Japan had won the title in all 4 of its previous appearances in the final match of this competition – 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2011.
- In November 2022, he scored the equalizing goal in Japan’s sensational 2-1 victory over 4-time champions Germany in the teams’ opening group-stage encounter of the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup. This was only Japan’s 6th win in their 22nd match in the FIFA World Cup (having first participated in the competition in the 1998 edition) and certainly their greatest – having previously beaten Russia and Tunisia in 2002; Cameroon and Denmark in 2010; and Colombia in 2018.
- A few days later, Ritsu again scored the equalizing goal in Japan’s shock 2-1 victory over 2010 champions Spain in the teams’ final group-stage encounter of the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup. The win helped Japan qualify (as the number 1 team from a group that contained both Germany and Spain) for the pre-quarterfinal stage of the tournament for just the 4th time in history – after 2002, 2010, and 2018. Japan’s qualification also meant that Germany, the champion of the tournament in 2014, crashed out in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup for the 2nd edition in succession (2018 and 2022).
Featured Image by Ritsu Dōan / Instagram
