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Yokohama FC

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Yokohama
横浜
Logo
Full nameYokohama Football Club
Nickname(s)Fulie
Founded25 December 1998; 25 years ago (25 December 1998)
GroundMitsuzawa Stadium
Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama
Capacity15,046
ChairmanYuji Onodera
ManagerShuhei Yomoda
LeagueJ1 League
2023J2 League, 2nd of 20 (promoted)
Websiteyokohamafc.com
Current season

Yokohama Football Club (横浜FC, Yokohama Efushī) is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming the first supporter-owned professional sports team in Japan.[1] They are set to play in the J1 League from 2025, the top tier of football in the country, after promotion from J2 League in 2024.

Since gaining J.League membership in 2001, Yokohama spent considerable time in the second tier of the Japanese football league system. The club gained promotion to J.League Division 1 for the 2007 season after winning the Division 2 title. However, YFC were immediately relegated in the following season. After 12 years in the J2 League, they returned to Japan's top tier, now called J1 League, for the 2020 season. The team finished 15th in its first season back in the top flight. But history would repeat itself in 2021, as they were relegated to J2 after finishing the season as J1's last-place team. The team was promoted again to J1 from 2025 after one year stint second tier in 2024.

History

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Graphical timeline of Yokohama football clubs

Yokohama was formed on 25 December 1998 following the merger of Yokohama's two J.League clubs, the Flügels and the Marinos.[2] Flügels supporters felt that their club had essentially been dissolved rather than merged with, so rejected the suggestion that they should start supporting Marinos – who had been their crosstown rivals. Instead, with money raised through donations from the general public and an affiliation with talent management company IMG, the former Flügels supporters founded the Yokohama Fulie Sports Club.[3] Following the socio model used by FC Barcelona, the Fulie Sports Club created Yokohama Football Club, the first professional sports team in Japan owned and operated by its supporters.[1]

For its first season in 1999, Yokohama hired former Germany national team and FIFA World Cup star Pierre Littbarski to be the manager and Yasuhiko Okudera, the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, to be the chairman.[4] The club attempted to gain entry directly into the professional J.League, but the Japan Football Association only permitted entry to the amateur Japan Football League (JFL), at the time the third level of the Japanese football league system, and ruled that the club would not be eligible for promotion into J.League Division 2 at the end of its first season. So, despite finishing as JFL champion in 1999, Yokohama finished as JFL champion again in 2000 before being promoted to J.League Division 2.[5]

Although they had a dire season in 2005, ending 11th out of 12, they were in the top half of table throughout the 2006 season. Yokohama had lost all of their pre-season matches, including against college teams; they later hired player-manager Takuya Takagi, under whom they saw success. On 26 November 2006, they finished in the top spot of the J2 League and were promoted to the J. League 1. Yokohama's financial situation remained poor, with no ownership of their stadium or training ground, and few staff members. One of their players, Kazuyoshi Miura, last played for the team at the age of 53, and a former player, Atsuhiro Miura (one of their main players before his 2010 retirement) was 36 when he last played for the club. These players once played for the Japan national team.

In 2007, just the ninth year of its existence, Yokohama played its first season in the top flight of Japanese football. After a poor season, the team were relegated with five games of the season still remaining. Despite their early relegation, Yokohama defeated title contenders Urawa Red Diamonds on the last day of the season, allowing Kashima Antlers to secure the J.League Division 1 title.[6]

In 2018, Yokohama narrowly missed out on automatic promotion by goal difference. The team made it to the J2 promotion final, losing to Tokyo Verdy on an stoppage time winner. In 2019, Yokohama finished second in J2 and gained automatic promotion to J1.

After finishing in last place in 2021, Yokohama would be relegated back to J2 for the 2022 season, but they bounced back immediately to J1 League the next year. On 25 November 2023, Yokohama FC were relegated from J1 to J2 from 2024 after the club lost to Shonan Bellmare. On 11 November 2024, Yokohama FC secure promotion again to J1 from 2025 after draw against Renofa Yamaguchi 0-0 in final matchweek and ended one year stint in second tier.

Crest

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Yokohama's crest features a phoenix, symbolizing the rise of Yokohama from the ashes of the Yokohama Flügels. The blue ribbon on the top represents the Blue Ribbon Movement, a movement that began at the end of the 1998 J.League season to keep the Flugels alive.

Kit and colours

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As they could not adopt directly Flügels' white and blue strip given its similarity to that of Marinos, Yokohama decided to adopt an all-cyan kit, after NKK SC, a former company club which had closed in 1994. NKK SC was based in Kawasaki and played most matches at Todoroki Athletics Stadium, but used Mitsuzawa Stadium on days when the other Kawasaki clubs at the time (Verdy Kawasaki, Toshiba and Fujitsu) used it.

Kit evolution

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Home kit - 1st
2001
2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008
2009 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -
Away kit - 2nd
2001
2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008
2009 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -

Current players

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As of 9 August 2024.[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Japan JPN Kengo Nagai (on loan from Shimizu S-Pulse)
2 DF Japan JPN Boniface Nduka
3 DF Japan JPN Takumi Nakamura
4 MF Brazil BRA Yuri Lara
5 DF Brazil BRA Gabriel (captain)
7 MF Japan JPN Shion Inoue
8 MF Japan JPN Towa Yamane
9 FW Japan JPN Solomon Sakuragawa
10 FW Brazil BRA Caprini
13 FW Japan JPN Keijiro Ogawa
14 MF Japan JPN Yoshihiro Nakano (on loan from Shonan Bellmare)
15 FW Japan JPN Sho Ito
17 DF Japan JPN Eijiro Takeda (vice-captain)
18 FW Japan JPN Kaito Mori
20 FW Japan JPN Toma Murata
21 GK Japan JPN Akinori Ichikawa
22 DF Japan JPN Katsuya Iwatake (vice-captain)
23 DF Japan JPN Hayato Sugita
24 DF Japan JPN Akito Fukumori (on loan from Consadole Sapporo)
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 MF Japan JPN Hirotaka Mita (vice-captain)
27 DF Brazil BRA Léo Bahia
30 FW Brazil BRA Michel Lima
33 FW Japan JPN Keisuke Muroi
34 MF Japan JPN Hinata Ogura
38 FW Japan JPN Toshiki Takahashi (on loan from Urawa Red Diamonds)
40 GK Japan JPN Masaki Endo
42 GK Brazil BRA Phelipe Megiolaro
45 FW Japan JPN Keitaro Shoji Type 2
46 DF Japan JPN Soma Sato DSP
48 DF Japan JPN Ibuki Matsushita
49 FW Japan JPN Kantaro Maeda Type 2
50 DF Japan JPN Jui Hata Type 2
51 GK Japan JPN Tsubasa Okame Type 2
56 DF Japan JPN Jo Hashimoto
77 MF Japan JPN Mizuki Arai
78 FW Brazil BRA João Paulo

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
29 FW Japan JPN Izumi Miyata (at Portugal Oliveirense)
39 MF Japan JPN Tomoya Takahashi (at Portugal Oliveirense)
47 DF Japan JPN Kengo Hayashi (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
GK Japan JPN Yuji Rokutan (at FC Ryukyu)
DF Japan JPN Shawn van Eerden (at YSCC Yokohama)
MF Japan JPN Kotaro Nagata (at Portugal Oliveirense)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Japan JPN Yuto Shimizu (at Mito HollyHock)
MF Japan JPN Hayase Takashio (at Zweigen Kanazawa)
MF Japan JPN Kohei Tezuka (at Sagan Tosu)
MF Japan JPN Koshiro Uda (at Kochi United SC)
FW Japan JPN Koki Ogawa (at Netherlands NEC Nijmegen)
FW Japan JPN Kazuyoshi Miura (at Japan Atletico Suzuka)

Yokohama FC Youth

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As of 15 April 2024.

The main U-18 team of Yokohama currently plays in the Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League, the top-flight league for U-18 clubs in the country. Only the registered players for the competition will be displayed.[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Japan JPN Toma Sakurai
2 DF Japan JPN Sota Matsuo
3 DF Japan JPN Kota Kosuki
4 DF Japan JPN Jui Hata
5 DF Japan JPN Riku Fukazawa
6 MF Japan JPN Tomoya Takahashi
7 MF Japan JPN Ayumu Sasa
8 FW Japan JPN Rento Tanida
9 FW Japan JPN Keitaro Shoji
10 MF Japan JPN Tomoki Asami
11 MF Japan JPN Shota Nakadai
13 DF Japan JPN Rai Okawa
14 MF Japan JPN Taiki Uchibori
15 DF Japan JPN Daiki Saito
16 GK Japan JPN Eitaro Nishikata
17 MF Japan JPN Yuki Tada
18 MF Japan JPN Tessei Shibakusa
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF Japan JPN Shoma Yanai
20 MF Japan JPN Ryosuke Iwasaki
21 GK Japan JPN Tsukasa Okame
22 DF Japan JPN Sota Tsukuda
23 FW Japan JPN Kantaro Maeda
24 DF Japan JPN Yu Serizawa
25 MF Japan JPN Sota Akimoto
26 MF Japan JPN Shion Tsuzaki
27 MF Japan JPN Manato Kanno
28 DF Japan JPN Ihaku Ieda
29 MF Japan JPN Yudai Fukuoka
31 GK Japan JPN Katsuto Yamagishi
37 MF Japan JPN Haruya Suzuki
39 MF Japan JPN Hiromu Yokka
41 GK Japan JPN Haruto Kikuchi
51 GK Japan JPN Yumeto Kagami

Club officials

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For the 2024 season.[9]

Role Name
Manager Japan Shuhei Yomoda
Assistant manager Japan Takafumi Hori
First-team coach Japan Seiya Takeuchi
Japan Shunsuke Nakamura
Japan Shingi Ono
Goalkeeper coach Japan Yoichi Doi
Assistant goalkeeper coach Japan Taiki Murai
Physical coach Japan Takeshi Ikoma
Conditioning coach Japan Akihiro Tanaka
Analyst Japan Shohei Waki

Managerial history

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Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Pierre Littbarski  Germany 1 February 1999 31 December 2000
Yoshikazu Nagai  Japan 1 January 2001 10 September 2001
Yūji Sakakura  Japan 11 September 2001 15 September 2001
Katsuyoshi Shintō  Japan 16 September 2001 31 December 2002
Pierre Littbarski  Germany 1 February 2003 31 January 2005
Yūsuke Adachi  Japan 1 January 2005 6 March 2006
Takuya Takagi  Japan 7 March 2006 27 August 2007
Júlio César Leal  Brazil 28 August 2007 31 December 2007
Satoshi Tsunami  Japan 1 February 2008 31 January 2009
Yasuhiro Higuchi  Japan 1 February 2009 31 January 2010
Yasuyuki Kishino  Japan 1 February 2010 18 March 2012
Takahiro Taguchi  Japan 18 March 2012 21 March 2012
Motohiro Yamaguchi  Japan 21 March 2012 31 January 2015
Miloš Rus  Slovenia 1 January 2015 14 September 2015
Hitoshi Nakata  Japan 14 September 2015 1 December 2015
Miloš Rus  Slovenia 1 December 2015 15 June 2016
Hitoshi Nakata  Japan 16 June 2016 15 October 2017
Tomonobu Hayakawa  Japan 15 October 2017 17 October 2017
Yasuhiko Okudera  Japan 19 October 2017 23 October 2017
Edson Tavares  Brazil 24 October 2017 13 May 2019
Takahiro Shimotaira  Japan 14 May 2019 8 April 2021
Tomonobu Hayakawa  Japan 8 April 2021 31 January 2022
Shūhei Yomoda  Japan 1 February 2022 present

Record as J.League member

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Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J.League
Cup
Emperor's
Cup
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W (OTW) D L (OTL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G
2001 J2 12 9th 44 12 (3) 1 25 (3) 58 81 -23 43 3,007 2nd round Round of 16
2002 12 12th 44 8 11 25 43 81 -38 35 3,477 3rd round
2003 12 11th 44 10 12 22 49 88 -39 42 3,743 3rd round
2004 12 8th 44 10 22 12 42 50 -8 52 4,219 Round of 16
2005 12 11th 44 10 15 19 48 64 -16 45 5,938 4th round
2006 13 1st 48 26 15 7 61 32 -29 93 5,119 3rd round
2007 J1 18 18th 34 4 4 26 19 66 -47 16 14,039 Group stage Round of 16
2008 J2 15 10th 42 11 17 14 51 56 -5 50 6,793 Round of 16
2009 18 16th 51 11 11 29 43 70 -27 44 3,535 3rd round
2010 19 6th 36 16 6 14 54 47 7 54 5,791 3rd round
2011 20 18th 38 11 8 19 40 54 -14 41 5,770 2nd round
2012 22 4th 42 22 7 13 62 45 17 73 6,039 3rd round
2013 22 11th 42 15 13 14 49 46 3 58 6,064 2nd round
2014 22 11th 42 14 13 15 49 47 2 55 5,146 2nd round
2015 22 15th 42 13 13 16 33 58 -25 52 5,113 2nd round
2016 22 8th 42 16 11 15 50 51 -1 59 4,892 Round of 16
2017 22 10th 42 17 12 13 60 49 11 63 5,967 2nd round
2018 22 3rd 42 21 13 8 63 44 19 76 6,141 3rd round
2019 22 2nd 42 23 10 9 66 40 26 79 7,061 3rd round
2020 J1 18 15th 34 9 6 19 38 60 -22 33 3,559 Group stage Did not qualify
2021 20 20th 38 6 9 23 32 77 -45 27 4,511 Group stage 2nd round
2022 J2 22 2nd 42 23 11 8 66 49 17 80 5,088 3rd round
2023 J1 18 18th 34 7 8 19 31 58 -27 29 9.128 Group stage 3rd round
2024 J2 20 2nd 38 22 10 6 60 27 33 76 6,963 3rd round 3rd round
2025 J1 20
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • 2020 & 2021 season's attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Honours

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Yokohama FC honours
Honour No. Years
Japan Football League 2 1999, 2000
J2 League 1 2006

Mascot

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The Yokohama mascot is named Fulie-maru, an alien-bird like figure. He is, supposedly, a tribute to Yokohama Flugels' mascot, Tobimaru, a flying squirrel.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ichiro Hirose (2014). スポーツ・マネジメント入門 [Introduction to Sport Management] (in Japanese). Toyo Keizai. p. 123. ISBN 978-4492502600.
  2. ^ "クラブ概要". yokohamafc.com. Yokohama FC. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  3. ^ John Horne, Wolfram Manzenreiter (2013). Japan, Korea and the 2002 World Cup. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 978-0415275637.
  4. ^ Kumi Kinohara (27 July 2000). "Yokohama FC struggling to survive despite JFL success". Japan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Interview with Tomio Tsujino" (PDF) (in Japanese). Yokohama City. 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  6. ^ Andrew Mckirdy (2 December 2007). "Inspired Antlers squad captures J.League title". Japan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  7. ^ "選手・スタッフ" (in Japanese). Yokohama FC. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  8. ^ "横浜FCユース". Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  9. ^ 選手・スタッフ [Players/staff]. Yokohama FC. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  10. ^ A brief history of J.League mascots | Mascot madness in Japanese football, 30 January 2022, retrieved 2022-04-07
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