Yokohama FC

Yokohama FC (横浜FC, Yokohama Efushī) is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. 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]

Yokohama FC
横浜FC
Full nameYokohama FC
Nickname(s)Fulie
Founded1999 (1999)
GroundMitsuzawa Stadium
Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama
Capacity15,046
ChairmanYuji Onodera
ManagerTakahiro Shimotaira
LeagueJ1 League
2020J1 League, 15th of 18
WebsiteClub website

Since gaining J.League membership in 2001, Yokohama FC spent the long time in the second tier of the Japanese football league system. The club gained promotion to J.League Division 1 for 2007 season, as champions of J.League Division 2 in 2006, but were immediately relegated the following season. After twelve years in the J2 League, they returned to the top flight in the 2020 season, earning promotion the previous year.

History
Graphical timeline of Yokohama football clubs

Yokohama FC was formed in 1999 following the merger of Yokohama's two J.League clubs, the Flügels and the Marinos. 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.[2] Following the socio model used by FC Barcelona, the Fulie Sports Club created Yokohama FC, the first professional sports team in Japan owned and operated by its supporters.[1]

For its first season in 1999, Yokohama FC hired former German national team and 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.[3] 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 FC finished as JFL champion again in 2000 before being promoted to J.League Division 2.[4]

The club spent the next 6 seasons in J.League Division 2 before finishing as champions in 2006 and gaining promotion to J. League Division 1. In 2007, just the ninth year of its existence, Yokohama FC played its first season in the top flight of Japanese football. After a poor season, the team were consigned to relegation with five games of the season still remaining. Despite their early relegation, Yokohama FC nevertheless decided the final outcome at the opposite end of the table; by defeating title contenders Urawa Red Diamonds on the last day of the season, Kashima Antlers secured the J.League Division 1 title.[5]

In 2018, Yokohama FC 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.

Fight for promotion

Although they had a dire season in 2005, they ended 11th out of 12, they were in the top half of table throughout the 2006 season. On 26 November they finished on the top spot of the J2 league, and hence were finally promoted to division 1.

This success story was so dramatic as to make people somewhat excited in Japan. Yokohama FC's financial situation is so poor that they don't even possess their own football ground or a club house. Players did everything themselves including the carrying the goal posts and washing jerseys.

Some of the main players are veteran stars, such as Kazuyoshi Miura (53), Atsuhiro Miura (58). These players once played for the National Team.

They lost all pre-season matches, even against college students, then also the first official match of the year. After this, they suddenly changed the player-manager to a freshman with little experience named Takuya Takagi 38. At the beginning of the season few expected them to become champions.

Colours

As they could not adopt directly Flugels' white and blue strip given its similarity to that of Marinos, Yokohama FC 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.

Current players

As of December 2020.[6]

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  JPN Akihiko Takeshige
2 DF  JPN Yuta Fujii
3 DF  BRA Maguinho
4 DF  JPN Yuki Kobayashi
5 DF  JPN Masakazu Tashiro
6 MF  JPN Tatsuki Seko
7 MF  JPN Takuya Matsuura
8 MF  JPN Kensuke Sato
9 FW  JPN Kazunari Ichimi
10 MF  JPN Shunsuke Nakamura
11 FW  JPN Kazuyoshi Miura (captain)
13 FW  JPN Yuji Senuma
14 DF  JPN Takaaki Shichi
15 FW  JPN Kosuke Saito
16 FW  JPN Yusuke Minagawa
17 MF  JPN Eijiro Takeda
18 GK  JPN Yuta Minami
19 DF  JPN Masahiko Inoha
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF  NED Calvin Jong-a-Pin
21 GK  JPN Akinori Ichikawa
23 FW  JPN Koki Saito
25 FW  JPN Yuki Kusano
26 DF  JPN Yutaro Hakamata
27 MF  JPN Katsuhiro Nakayama
28 MF  JPN Reo Yasunaga
29 DF  JPN Kyowaan Hoshi
30 MF  JPN Kohei Tezuka
32 MF  JPN Riku Furuyado
33 DF  JPN Yasumasa Kawasaki
34 DF  JPN Kakeru Kumagaya
37 MF  JPN Yusuke Matsuo
40 MF  BRA Leandro Domingues
44 GK  JPN Yuji Rokutan

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  JPN Yota Maejima (at Kataller Toyama)

Record as J. League member
Season Div. Tms. Pos. Attendance/G J. League Cup Emperor's Cup
2001 J2 12 9 3,007 2nd Round 4th Round
2002 J2 12 12 3,477 – 3rd Round
2003 J2 12 11 3,743 – 3rd Round
2004 J2 12 8 4,219 – 5th Round
2005 J2 18 11 5,938 – 4th Round
2006 J2 13 1 5,119 – 3rd Round
2007 J1 18 18 14,039 Group Stage 5th Round
2008 J2 15 10 6,793 – 4th Round
2009 J2 18 16 3,535 – 3rd Round
2010 J2 19 6 5,791 – 3rd Round
2011 J2 20 18 5,770 – 2nd Round
2012 J2 22 4 6,039 – 3rd Round
2013 J2 22 11 6,064 – 2nd Round
2014 J2 22 11 5,146 – 2nd Round
2015 J2 22 15 5,113 – 2nd Round
2016 J2 22 8 4,892 – Round of 16
2017 J2 22 10 5,967 – 2nd Round
2018 J2 22 3 6,141 – 3rd Round
2019 J2 22 2 7,061 – 3rd Round
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Managers

As of 23 February 2020.

Honours

Affiliated clubs
  • YFCMD – a professional football club based in Hong Kong who were once owned by Yokohama FC. Their new club name stands for Yokohama FC Modic.

References
  1. 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 4492502602.
  2. John Horne, Wolfram Manzenreiter (2013). Japan, Korea and the 2002 World Cup. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 0415275636.
  3. Kumi Kinohara (27 July 2000). "Yokohama FC struggling to survive despite JFL success". Japan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  4. "Interview with Tomio Tsujino" (PDF) (in Japanese). Yokohama City. 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  5. Andrew Mckirdy (2 December 2007). "Inspired Antlers squad captures J. League title". Japan Times. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  6. "選手・スタッフ". Yokohama FC. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
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