Borussia Mönchengladbach took on Mainz in Matchday 4 of the Bundesliga on September 19, and although they fought back with a penalty from Ko Itakura among other efforts, they fell 3-4, marking a miserable start of four straight opening losses and 16 goals conceded. The club has four Japan national team-caliber players on its roster — Ko Itakura, Daiki Hashioka, Shuto Machino, and Zento Uno — but German media blasted the back line as ‘not worthy of being called a defense.’ On 5channel, a debate broke out between those defending Itakura and those criticizing him over how directly he was responsible for the goals conceded.
‘Not top-flight level,’ ‘A disaster’ — German powerhouse with a Japanese quartet mired in a dismal four straight opening losses. German media slams the ‘historic collapse’ after conceding 16 goals: the back line marshaled by a Japan national team defender is ‘not worthy of being called a defense’
‘There’s no sign their slump is letting up’
Borussia Mönchengladbach, home to the Japanese quartet of Ko Itakura, Daiki Hashioka, Shuto Machino, and Zento Uno, took on Mainz in Matchday 4 of the Bundesliga on September 19 local time. They fought back with a penalty from Machino among other efforts, but lost a 3-4 shootout of a match, extending their miserable run to four straight opening losses.
Never thought Itakura would actually fail to cut it there
6AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:08
So embarrassing… soccer is a disgrace to Japan
79AnonymousSep 20, 2026 19:11
Re: #6 Can't help it, Japan's a baseball country
7AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:08
Take a page from Tottenham, who still haven't fired De Zerbi lol
8AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:08
Even after a historic collapse, his wife's there to comfort him, so no damage done
10AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:08
It's a country that can't win in the knockout stage anyway
14AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:10
No wonder he got cut loose in the Netherlands lol
22AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:14
Nah, Itakura wasn't directly involved in all 16 goals conceded — he's innocent. If anything, he made way more than 4 or 5 fine saves/clearances. They're just pinning the blame on the Japanese guy because he's an easy foreign target
26AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:15
Re: #22 You enjoy knowing pointless stuff like that? lolololol
29AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:17
Re: #22 The Japanese guy on the other team is doing well, so I get why people want to bring it up
41AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:23
Re: #22 What kind of situation has a center-back not involved in any goals conceded? Was he standing outside the pitch or something? lol
23AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:14
Itakura — the shine keeps wearing off.
24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:14
I want them to learn a thing or two from the women's national team
30AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:18
Honestly, any team that signs Hashioka and Itakura is out of their mind
32AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:19
The opponent that day was Mainz, led by Kaishu Sano — no way they were winning
34AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:19
So Ryunosuke Sato and Uno only managed to transfer because their squads were weak?
35AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:19
Hashioka's claim to fame is the goal he was involved in with Haaland
36AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:20
Guess they just didn't have an eye for talent. Meanwhile the team that signed Sano — another Japanese player — clearly did
39AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:22
Re: #36 Mainz sold both Okazaki and Muto for big money too. Though because of that, Sano's price tag has gotten absurdly high lol
38AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:22
Well, all four of them were only decent-level players in the J.League too
80AnonymousSep 20, 2026 19:15
Re: #38 Come on, Machino and Itakura are at least the level top J.League clubs would go after
48AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:33
Re: #41 There are plenty of ways to not be involved in a goal. Have you never watched soccer?
53AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:39
Re: #22Re: #48 It's a stretch to say the defensive leader wasn't involved in a single goal conceded. Being involved isn't just about directly challenging the ball carrier
49AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:34
Well, none of them are regular starters even on the national team, so it's not that surprising
52AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:38
> 'Not top-flight level' — that hits close to home, huh, Nibungamu (apparent nickname/self-reference, likely alluding to Japan's second division; exact meaning unclear)
55AnonymousSep 20, 2026 18:40
That's why Japan can't win at the World Cup
72AnonymousSep 20, 2026 19:01
Japanese players just don't have the physicality, and they don't have enough technique to make up for it either
78AnonymousSep 20, 2026 19:08
Re: #72 Right, they age fast too — knees fill up with fluid, and they whine about their upper arms and neck hurting. They're getting a bit too chubby these days
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Borussia Mönchengladbach currently has four Japan national team-caliber players at once — Ko Itakura, Daiki Hashioka, Shuto Machino, and Zento Uno — a rare concentration of Japanese talent at a single Bundesliga club. Despite this, the team opened the season with four straight losses and 16 goals conceded, prompting German media to single out and slam the back line by name. Where opinions split in the thread was over how much individual responsibility to place on Itakura: those defending him argued he had little direct involvement in the goals conceded, while critics countered that as the defensive leader, ‘not directly involved’ isn’t an excuse. It’s also worth noting — something not obvious from the article text alone — that Mainz, that day’s opponent, features Japan national team player Kaishu Sano, and the thread’s undercurrent draws a comparison between Japanese players whose transfer destinations turned out very differently.
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