is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and the Japan national team.

Club career

Kawasaki Frontale

In 2018, Morita joined

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium i ...

. On 10 February, he made his professional debut as a substitute in the

Japanese Super Cup The , the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J.League and the Japan Football Association. This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the reigning J1 Leag ...

against

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osak ...

. On 14 April, he made his first start in the league match against

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Sendai, Miyagi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Elect ...

. After that, he managed to secure an active role in the team, and they would go on to win the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

title in 2018. In 2020, he was selected in the J-League Best Eleven, along with eight other Kawasaki players as they would win the J1 League title again.

Santa Clara

On 8 January 2021, it was announced that Morita would sign for Portuguese club

CD Santa Clara Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese professional football club from Ponta Delgada, Azores. As the most successful football team from the Azores Islands, they are the only team from the archipelago to compete in a UEFA competition, having ...

, in the

. When he made his debut on 25 January, he netted his first goal for the club, scoring the winner in the 89th minute of a 2–1 victory over Rio Ave.

Sporting CP

On 1 July 2022, it was announced that he would join

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

on a permanent transfer. He would go on to make his debut for the club against SC Braga on 7 August. On 7 September, he made his Champions League debut against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. On 30 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a win against

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

International career

On 2 September 2018,

Ryota Oshima is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Kawasaki Frontale. International career Oshima was a member of the Japan U-23 national team squad which got qualification to 2016 Summer Olympics by winning the AFC ...

and Hotaru Yamaguchi withdrew from the national team due to injury; Morita was called up to the Japan national team in their place for the first time in his first year as a professional. He made his national team debut on 11 September, coming on against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, the first game under new coach Hajime Moriyasu. In January 2019, he was called up to the Japan national team for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 but withdrew due to injury. In March 2021, he was called up to the national team for the first time in just under two years, and on 30 March, he scored his first goal for the national team in a 14–0 win against

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. On 1 November 2022, Morita was named in the Japan squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Career statistics

Club

International

''Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Morita goal.''

Honours

Kawasaki Frontale *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Sporting CP *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

J.League Best XI The J.League Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in J.League. J1 League (1993–present) Multiple appearances Appearances by club Appearances by country * Only on two occasions there has been a full-Japanese Best X ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morita, Hidemasa 1995 births Living people Association football people from Takatsuki, Osaka Ryutsu Keizai University alumni Japanese men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Japan men's international footballers J1 League players Primeira Liga players Kawasaki Frontale players C.D. Santa Clara players Sporting CP footballers Japanese expatriate men's footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 AFC Asian Cup players