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The story
On September 22, Japan national team defender Kou Itakura (Borussia Mönchengladbach) spoke publicly for the first time about his marriage to actress Haruna Kawaguchi. The couple announced their marriage on August 2, and Kawaguchi is pregnant with their first child. Itakura also announced on the 20th that he was returning to his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach from Ajax in the Netherlands, signing a four-year contract, and has started in four league matches so far this season. On 5ch threads, alongside messages of congratulations, many posts linked the team’s poor results since his return and his reduced playing time in recent years to the changes in his personal life, sparking a mix of reactions.
9/22 (Tue) 18:58
Japan national team defender Kou Itakura (Borussia Mönchengladbach) took part in a training session in Chiba Prefecture on September 22 and spoke for the first time about his marriage to actress Haruna Kawaguchi.
Itakura announced the marriage via social media on August 2, and Kawaguchi is expecting their first child. On the 20th, it was also announced that he would return to his former club, Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, from Eredivisie club Ajax. He signed a four-year deal and has started in four league matches this season.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
You're clearly a liability out there on defense
Even Sofascore has him rated all red
Jealous
but Mitoma's already married, damn it
That kind of injury is basically a consumable — it never really heals, you just manage around it
Mitoma's special enough that you'd still want him as a wildcard option though
Itakura's more iffy, there are plenty of other options out there
She doesn't exactly seem like the quietly-support-from-the-shadows type either
but weirdly I'm not even jealous
defense is collapsing and he's getting scapegoated for it
I'd rather she had kids with some freak athlete like Serena Williams
Which means Borussia Mönchengladbach is the one asking him not to play in the Asian Cup
That's the real problem here
This is exactly the kind of thing German clubs pull
So let me say it
This isn't just Itakura's problem
Japan is being looked down on here
And I felt the same way during the World Cup too
It's not just us amateurs —
even the so-called experts aren't doing their job
Not a single specialist outlet has touched on this
That's messed up
Pressuring a player into turning down the national team
If it's Itakura's own personal decision, fine,
but this kind of thing shouldn't be allowed, it's not okay
Why am I the only one saying this?
From Borussia's side it was probably "we'll sign you if you don't leave a hole in the squad for the Asian Cup"
and for Itakura, who's been stuck in a rut for years, it was probably a lifeline thrown by his old club
Probably not
She likely still has confirmed jobs lined up, and canceling them would mean a massive penalty fee
Since this was a shotgun marriage announced out of nowhere, she was probably expected to keep working, and with her image taking a hit right now, it's questionable whether her agency Ken-On would even cover the cancellation fees
A player who says something like that has no more room to grow
Just go be the first Japanese player to cash in with a move to Saudi Arabia
and please stop bothering with the national team
Honestly, even back when he was a young defender his bangs hung in his eyes, I always wanted to shave his head for him
Every defender should be forced into the Junnosuke Suzuki buzzcut lol (a judoka known for his shaved head)
How did it come to this?
His herniated disc got worse and he's on conservative treatment, but his condition's been bad for over a year now and his body just isn't moving
That's why his form was bad last season, and it's bad again this season
Why would they pay a 700 million yen transfer fee for a guy like that and start him?
Even top European league clubs have recruitment staff, but there's no shortage of incompetent ones among them
that's just how it goes
Background and Key Points of This Story
Kou Itakura had been with Dutch powerhouse Ajax since 2023, but returned to his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga) on a four-year contract as of August 20, 2026. His marriage to Haruna Kawaguchi was announced on August 2, and this marks the first time he has addressed it in his own words, in comments made after training. Opinion on the thread split over whether it’s fair to link his personal happiness to his professional slump. Some posts point to his performance since the transfer and poor physical condition from a herniated disc, while others argue that tying this directly to his marriage and pregnancy is a stretch with little basis. It’s also worth noting that the claim in some posts that “the club is reluctant to release him for the Asian Cup” is speculation, not something Itakura himself has said, and remains unconfirmed. The mix of congratulations and harsh criticism reflects the fact that his public role as a national team defender and his personal life are both being discussed at the same time.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Kou Itakura Speaks for First Time About Marriage to Actress Haruna Kawaguchi: “I Gained the Most Important Thing” — Also Reveals Pregnancy, but “Still Doesn’t Feel Real”“.
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