|
2008 Emperor's Cup
The 88th Emperor's Cup began on September 13, 2008 and ended on January 1, 2009 with the final at National Stadium in Tokyo. As the champion, Gamba Osaka participated in 2009 AFC Champions League. Calendar Participants J.League Division 1 *Consadole Sapporo *Kashima Antlers *Omiya Ardija *Urawa Red Diamonds *Kashiwa Reysol *JEF United Ichihara Chiba *FC Tokyo *Tokyo Verdy *Kawasaki Frontale *Yokohama F. Marinos *Shimizu S-Pulse *Júbilo Iwata *Nagoya Grampus *Albirex Niigata *Kyoto Sanga FC *Gamba Osaka *Vissel Kobe *Oita Trinita J.League Division 2 *Vegalta Sendai *Montedio Yamagata *Mito HollyHock *Thespa Kusatsu *Yokohama FC *Shonan Bellmare * FC Gifu *Ventforet Kofu *Cerezo Osaka *Sanfrecce Hiroshima *Tokushima Vortis *Ehime FC *Avispa Fukuoka *Sagan Tosu *Roasso Kumamoto Japan Football League *Tochigi SC Prime Minister Cup University football tournament Winner * Osaka Taiiku University Prefectures *Hokkaidō – Dohto University *Aomori – Aomori Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamba Osaka
is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to stand firm". The club's home stadium is Panasonic Stadium Suita. They form a local rivalry with Osaka city-based Cerezo Osaka. Gamba Osaka is among the most accomplished Japanese clubs, having won several top-tier domestic titles, as well as the 2008 AFC Champions League. History It was founded in 1980 as Matsushita Electric SC by the company, now known as Panasonic, in Nara Prefecture and became a member of the Japan Soccer League. It was mostly made of remaining players and staff of the defunct Yanmar Club, the former B-team of Yanmar Diesel SC, later to be known as Cerezo Osaka. Gamba Osaka was an original member ("Original Ten") of the first J.League season. In 2005, the club claimed its first J.League championship on a dramatic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Júbilo Iwata
is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For big fixtures such as the Shizuoka Derby with Shimizu S-Pulse and against some of the top teams in J1, Júbilo play at the much larger Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi City, a venue built specifically for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. They practice at Okubo Ground in Iwata and Iwata Sports Park Yumeria. Between 1997 and 2003 Iwata were one of the most successful teams in the J. League. Over this seven-year spell Jubilo finished outside the top two of J1 just once, winning the league title on three occasions. This period also saw a number of cup final appearances, including winning the Emperor’s Cup, the J. League Cup, and the Asian Champions League once each. History Origins and rise to the top The team started out as the company team ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ventforet Kofu
is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French root words: "vent" (wind) and "forêt" (forest). The name alludes to the famous phrase Fū-rin-ka-zan (風林火山）that Takeda Shingen, a prominent Kōfu-based ''daimyō'' in the Sengoku period, emblazoned on his war banners. The phrase contains four similies: as swift as the wind; as silent as a forest; as fierce as fire; as immovable as a mountain. Having won J2 League in 2012, they won their first major honour a decade later in the Emperor's Cup, thus qualified for the AFC Champions League for the first time in the club's history, entering the 2023–24 edition from the group stage. History Kofu Club (1965–1994) The club was founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School, the Kakujo Club, started to recruit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FC Gifu
Football Club Gifu, abbreviated as is a Japanese football club based in Gifu, Japan. They play in the J3 League, the third tier of Japanese professional football. They also run a reserve team that play in the Tōkai Adult League Division 2. History During the Japan Soccer League and former Japan Football League years, the city and prefecture of Gifu were represented by the Seino Transportation Co. (西濃運輸 ''Seinō Un'yu'') works team, which was relegated from the old JFL for the last time in 1997 and folded shortly thereafter. The modern-day Gifu club was founded in 2001 (Seino's last manager Masayuki Katsuno was among the founders, and a former Seino player, Takashi Umeda, recently returned to town and joined the club following a decade-long stint with Oita Trinita). The club was promoted to the new Japan Football League in 2007 after beating Honda Lock S.C. in the promotion/relegation play-offs. The team earned third place at the end of the 2007 season, meaning it q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shonan Bellmare
is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium. '' Shonan'' refers to a coastal area along Sagami Bay that includes Hiratsuka. ''Bellmare'' is a portmanteau of the Italian words ''bello'' and ''mare'', meaning "beautiful sea". History Early years as corporate team The club was founded in 1968 as Towa Real Estate SC in Nasu, Tochigi. They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League (JSL) Division 1 in 1972. They changed their name to Fujita Kogyo S.C. when Towa Estate Development gave up the ownership to their parent company Fujita Industries, which moved the club to Hiratsuka. They won the JSL three times (including two doubles with the Emperor's Cup) between 1977 and 1981. They were nevertheless relegated to the JSL's Division 2 in 1990. Although they won the last J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yokohama FC
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 first 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. Since gaining J.League membership in 2001, Yokohama FC long lasted at the second tier of the Japanese football league system. The club gained promotion to J.League Division 1 for the 2007 season, promoted after winning the Division 2 title. However, YFC were immediately relegated in the following season. After twelve years in the J2 League, they returned to Japan's top tier, now called J1 League, for the 2020 season. And as history repeated itself, the club got relegated back to J2 for another time, after finishing the season as J1's last-placed team. The club was promoted again to J1 in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thespa Kusatsu
is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, the second division of professional football in Japan. History The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most well-known spa resorts in Japan, in 1995 as Liaison Kusatsu Football Club. The players were the students of specialized training college Higashi Nihon Soccer Academy. When the school was closed in 1999 due to financial difficulties, the players decided to stay in Kusatsu and keep the club alive. In 2002, the club was incorporated as K.K. Kusatsu Onsen Football Club with a future promotion to J. League in mind and adopted new team name , meaning "The Spa, Kusatsu". Because of J. League restrictions on stadiums, they play at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma (Shikishima Athletics Stadium) in nearby Maebashi, the prefectural capital since the club was promoted to J. League Division 2 from 2005 season. From 1 February 2013, the club has adopted the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mito HollyHock
is a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. Its nickname "HollyHock" derives from the family crest of the Tokugawa clan who governed from Mito in the Edo period. History The club was founded in 1990 as Prima Aseno FC by the factory workers of Prima Ham (a food company) in Tsuchiura. It changed its name to Prima Ham FC Tsuchiura and gained promotion to the Japan Football League after finishing as runner-up in the 1996 Regional League play-off. It merged with FC Mito (founded in 1994) and re-branded itself as Mito HollyHock before the start of the 1997 season when Prima Ham decided to discontinue its financial support to the club. Mito's application to play in the inaugural 1999 season of J. League Division 2 was initially turned down due to financial unstability, and low home attendance at their stadium. However, after finishing 3rd in the Japan Football League in 1999, and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montedio Yamagata
is Japanese professional association football club based in Tendo, Yamagata. The club plays in J2 League. Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio). History The club based in Tsuruoka was founded in 1984 as NEC Yamagata Soccer Club. It gained the promotion to the Japan Football League (former) in 1994. After renaming itself as Montedio Yamagata in 1996, it has been playing in J. League Division 2 since its inaugural 1999 season. On 30 November 2008, they were promoted to J. League Division 1 for the first time. They achieved their highest league placing of 13th in 2010. However, in 2011, two strong rental players from Kashima Antlers go back to their own team and this influences the team in a bad way to lead to be relegated back to J.League Division 2 at the end of 2011. On top of that, main reason for going back to Division 2 is because of many injured players in the middle of the season. At the end of the sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vegalta Sendai
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J2 League. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club'', Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after playing a few years in the JFL, with the nickname ''Brummell Sendai'', to which they had been promoted in 1995 from the Tohoku Regional League. When joining the J-League, the name Vegalta was chosen as a homage to the famous Tanabata festival in Sendai. The names of the two celestial stars of the Tanabata legend, ''Vega'' and ''Altair'' were combined to form ''Vegalta''. They were first promoted to the top flight in 2002 but in the following season the team went back down the following season. They were promoted again for the 2010 season. In 2011, despite the earthquake and tsunami, they achieved their highest position up to that time, 4th place in the top division. In 2012, despite leading the table for most of the season, Sanfrecce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oita Trinita
is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, Saiki, Ōita, Saiki, and the entire Ōita Prefecture. The club's name, ''Trinita'', is the Italian translation of the word ''trinity (trinità)'', which was the club's original name before being changed in 1999, and ''Ōita'', the club's home town. The combined word expresses the will of the local citizens, companies, and government to support the team. Another connection to the Italian culture can be found in the city nickname Azzurro ("light blue" in English). The club's home ground is Ōita Bank Dome, also known as the "Big Eye", which was one of the venues built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The club practices at the adjacent football and rugby field, and Ōita City Public Ground. History The club was formed as ''Ōita Trinity'' i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku. History Beginnings in Chugoku The club was founded in 1966 as the semi-professional ''Kawasaki Steel Soccer Club'' in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. It was first promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1986, and stayed there until the JSL folded in 1992. Move to Kansai and professionalism In 1995, the city of Kobe reached an agreement with Kawasaki Steel, the parent company, to move the club to Kobe and compete for a spot in the professional J.League as ''Vissel Kobe''. ''Vissel'' is a combination of the words "victory" and "vessel", in recognition of Kobe's history as a port city. (Owing to its importance to the city of Kobe, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, parent compan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
