Ritsu Dōan

Ritsu Dōan (堂安 律, Dōan Ritsu; born 16 June 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Japan national team.

Dōan attended Amagasaki Municipal Urakaze Elementary School and Amagasaki Municipal Odaminami Junior High School.

During his elementary school years, he played for Urakaze FC and also honed his technical skills at the Vissel Kobe soccer school; later, he joined Nishinomiya SS. Upon entering junior high school, he received offers from the junior youth teams of Gamba Osaka, Cerezo Osaka, Vissel Kobe, and Nagoya Grampus Eight, ultimately choosing to join Gamba Osaka Junior Youth. In 2012, while with the junior youth team, he achieved an unprecedented national treble at the U-15 level.

At the Gamba youth academy, he quickly distinguished himself as an attacking midfielder capable of playing on either flank; thanks to his powerful physique and left-footed play, he was dubbed the "next Akihiro Ienaga"—a fellow Gamba youth product who shared similar characteristics.

Coming through the youth system, Dōan joined J1 League club Gamba Osaka in 2015. On 27 May, he debuted against FC Seoul in the 2015 AFC Champions League. In 2016, he mainly played for their Gamba Osaka's newly-established reserve team Gamba Osaka U-23 in the J3 League.

In June 2017, Dōan moved to Eredivisie club FC Groningen on loan with an option to purchase on a three-year contract. The option was exercised on 23 April 2018, and Dōan transferred to Groningen on a permanent basis on 1 July 2018.

On 15 April 2018, against Roda, Dōan scored his eighth goal of the season, equaling the total of goals Arjen Robben scored as a teenager for Groningen.

Dōan joined PSV Eindhoven on a five-year contract in 2019.

In September 2020, he moved on loan to Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld for the 2020–21 season. Dōan made his debut in the opening game of the season, a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. Dōan scored his first goal for Bielefeld in a 4–1 home defeat against Bayern Munich.

On 5 July 2022, SC Freiburg announced that they had signed Dōan ahead of the 2022–23 season. Later that year, he scored his first goal for the club on 6 August, in a 4–0 win versus Augsburg. In the 2024–25 season, he became his club's top scorer with 10 goals, all scored in the Bundesliga.

On 7 August 2025, Dōan joined fellow Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt by signing a contract until 2030.

In May 2017, Dōan was elected Japan national under-20 team for the 2017 U-20 World Cup. At this tournament, he played full-time in all four matches and scored three goals.

On 30 August 2018, Dōan received his first international call-up from the Japan national team for the Kirin Challenge Cup 2018. He started his debut appearance in a friendly match against Costa Rica on 11 September 2018, and scored his debut goal in a friendly match against Uruguay on 16 October 2018.

He was called-up by Hajime Moriyasu to represent Japan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He featured in Japan's first match of the competition against Germany on 23 November 2022, being subbed on in the second half while Japan was 1–0 down. Dōan scored the equalizer four minutes after coming on as his side later went on to win the game 2–1. In an almost identical turn of events, he was subbed on in the second half of Japan's final group stage match against Spain on 1 December 2022 while Japan was 1–0 down, and scored the equalizer two minutes after coming on as his side later went on to win 2–1. The win ultimately qualified Japan for the tournament's knockout stages as group winners.

On 15 May 2026, Dōan was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

AFC U-19 Championship Most Valuable Player: 2016

Japan Pro-Footballers Association Best XI: 2022

Bundesliga Fantasy Team of the Season: 2024–25