Hiroki Ito‘s first words as a new Bayern Munich player

“From day one, all my teammates welcomed me warmly. Yesterday we did a first test. We got on well. Bayern always has a lot of possession. We have a lot of good players. We want to have control of the ball. I can play in many positions. We can complement each other very well here“, said Ito.

The Japanese international has been playing in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart for three years. In that time, Ito made 97 appearances for „die Schwaben“, scoring two and assisting five goals.

When asked about existing contact to his new teammates, Ito said the following:

"Thomas Müller followed me on Instagram, but we haven't spoken in person yet. I have a very good impression of him. And Serge Gnabry, for example, recommended good Japanese restaurants in Munich.“

Ito has been appearing as a left-sided centreback, as well as a left back for Stuttgart. New Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany has not yet made clear in what role Ito will be used in Munich.

"We briefly communicated and he told me about how we want to dominate the ball and what role I have in that and what contribution I can make to ensure our success“, said Ito about his talks with Kompany.

Ito will be Bayern‘s new number 21 - a number that was previously worn by the likes of club legend Philipp Lahm and Lucas Hernández. In addition to that, Ito is going to be the third Japanese player to feature for „the Rekordmeister“ after Takashi Usami and Taichi Fukui. Ito himself wants to bring the Japanese mentality to his new club:

„The club has given me a big chance. Now I'm at Bayern and am focusing on that. I'm not a typical Japanese person but will try to do my bit with lots of hard work. That's typical Japanese mentality.“