Júbilo Iwata (Japanese: ジュビロ磐田, Hepburn: Jubiro Iwata) is a Japanese professional football team based in Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club compete in J1 League following promotion from J2 League in 2023. The club name Júbilo means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese.

Júbilo Iwata
ジュビロ磐田
Full nameJúbilo Iwata
Nickname(s)Júbilo
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972) as Yamaha Motor S.C.
GroundYamaha Stadium
Iwata, Shizuoka
Capacity15,165[1]
OwnerYamaha Motor Company
ChairmanYoshirou Takahira
ManagerAkinobu Yokouchi
LeagueJ1 League
2023J2 League, 2nd of 22 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Júbilo have won 3 J1 League titles, 1 J2 League title, 2 Emperor's Cup, 2 J.League Cup and 3 Japanese Super Cup. Continentally, Kashima became Asian champions when they won the 1998–99 Asian Club Championship (now known as AFC Champions League). The club also won the 2011 J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship.

History edit

Origins and rise to the top (1972–1996) edit

The team started out as the company team for Yamaha Motor Corporation in April 1972. After making its way through the Shizuoka and Tōkai football leagues, it played in the Japan Soccer League until it reorganized as the J.League at the end of 1992.

Their first glory happened when they won both the Emperor's Cup and promotion as champions of the JSL Division 2 in 1982. They won their first Japanese league title in the 1987/88 season. Due to problems in the upcoming professionalization, Yamaha decided to relegate themselves and not be one of the J.League founder members.

They finished in 2nd place of the JFL 1st division, a division below the top flight, in 1993 and were promoted to the J1 league for 1994. The team welcomed Marius Johan Ooft as its manager, as well as the Brazil national team captain Dunga and a number of foreign players to build a winning team.[2] Dunga's football philosophy deeply influenced the club, initially as a player and currently as an advisor.

Glory years (1997–2003) edit

In a seven-year period between 1997 and 2003, the club won a number of titles relying on Japanese players instead of foreigners who may leave on a transfer during the middle of the season. Within this period Júbilo won the J.League title three times, finished second three more and won each of the domestic cup competitions once. In 1999, Júbilo were also crowned Champions of Asia after winning the final match against Esteghlal in front of 121,000 spectators at the Azadi Stadium.

In one of the most fruitful periods in J.League history, Júbilo broke several records and created some new ones. Amongst these are the most goals scored in a season (107 in 1998); the fewest goals conceded in a season (26 in 2001); the biggest goal difference (plus 68 goals in 1998); and the largest win (9–1 against Cerezo Osaka in 1998).[3] In 2002, the team won both stages of the championship, a first in J.League history, and the same year the team had a record seven players selected for the J.League Team of the Year. All of these records still stand today.

Between 1997 and 2003, Júbilo 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.

Post-glory years (2003–2015) edit

 
Yamaha Stadium Júbilo Iwata

Since their last cup triumph in the 2003 Emperor's Cup, the squad which took them to such heights began to age. Without similarly skilled replacements coming through the youth team or from outside, Júbilo's power started to fade, and in 2007 the club ended the season in a record worst position of 9th. Perhaps more concerning to Júbilo supporters is their eclipse in recent seasons by bitter local rivals Shimizu S-Pulse who, in ending the season above Júbilo every year since 2006, have become Shizuoka prefecture's premier performing team. In 2008 they finished 16th out of 18 – their lowest position in the 18-club table – but kept their J1 position by defeating Vegalta Sendai in the promotion/relegation playoff.

In 2013 season, it took them until 8th week to make their first win in the league matches, and never move up higher than 16th since they were ranked down to 17th as of the end of 5th week. Then eventually suffered their first relegation to 2014 J.League Division 2 after they were defeated by Sagan Tosu at their 31st week match. Júbilo were promoted back to J1 in 2015 after finishing runners-up.

Yo-yo era (2019–present) edit

After an 18th-place finish in 2019, Iwata were relegated to J2 for 2020. The following year, Júbilo won J2 and were promoted for the 2022 J1 League season.

In 2022, Júbilo couldn't find their way into success throughout the season, with forgettable campaigns being made in each competition. In the J.League Cup, the team saw an early elimination at the group stage, finishing third at their group after losing half of their fixtures. In the Emperor's Cup, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Tokyo Verdy at extra-time, despite looking promising after 5–2 win against Matsumoto Yamaga on the 2nd round.

On 19 October 2022, Júbilo Iwata announced through their media accounts that for both transfers windows of the 2023 season, the club would be unable to make new signings after a ban was imposed by FIFA and the CAS. The ban, however, didn't applied to youth team promotions of Júbilo's academy system, and for players returning from loan transfers. The decision was made based on issues regarding Fabián González's contract with the club, as the player supposedly cancelled a contract signed with an unnamed Thai club without a justifiable reason. According to Júbilo, at the time of his signing (in the pre-season) they were unaware of the previous contract González signed with the Thai club. The situation became public after the Thai club left a complaint highlighting the transfer issue situation to FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber in April 2022. González was also imposed a punishment by FIFA, being suspended from any participation in official matches for four months.[4] The transfer ban also led to a provisional contract cancellation of Shu Morooka on 17 November 2022, who had during the season signed a provisional contract for the 2023 season, after graduating from university.[5] Then, on the same day, it was announced he would join Kashima Antlers instead.[6] Later on 20 December, the club filed an appeal about the CAS decision over the subject, but it was denied on 22 December.[7]

The situation in J1 became much worse for the club, spending the last 16 rounds of the top-flight league without leaving relegation zone, resulted another drop to J2 League for 2023 season, which confirmed on the penultimate round. Nonetheless, just a year later, Iwata eventually made a swift return to J1 for the 2024 season by finishing as runners-up of the second-tier, obtained a 2–1 away win in the final matchweek of the season against Tochigi SC on 12 November 2023 and favoured by results of another matches in the same day.[8][9] On 1 March 2024, Ryo Germain scored 4 goals in an memorable 5–4 league away win against Kawasaki Frontale.

Rivalries edit

The fiercest professional rivals of Júbilo Iwata are Shimizu S-Pulse from Shizuoka.[10] The club also have rivalries with both Kashima Antlers and Yokohama Marinos, with whom they traded the Japanese league championship since the late 1980s. During the Japan Soccer League days, they had a more local derby with Honda, across the Tenryu in Hamamatsu, but as Honda has long resisted professionalism, competitive matches between them since 1994 are a rarity. Júbilo also competed with another Shizuoka club, Fujieda MYFC in 2014 Emperor's Cup as well as 2023 J2 League, all won by Iwata side. On J3 League, there are Azul Claro Numazu, although neither clubs have ever faced one another in competitive match.

In popular culture edit

In the manga series – Captain Tsubasa, three characters were players of Júbilo Iwata. The midfielders Taro Misaki and Hanji Urabe, and the defender Ryo Ishizaki.

Kit and colours edit

Kit evolution edit

Home kits 1st
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1994 - 1996
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1997
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1998 - 1999
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2000 - 2001
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2002
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2003
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2004
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2005
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2006
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010 - 2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2023 -
Away kits 2nd
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1994 - 1996
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1997
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1998 - 1999
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2000 - 2001
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2002
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2003
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2004
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2005
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2006
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2009
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2010 - 2011
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2018
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2021
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2022
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2023 -
Third kits
 
 
 
 
 
2003
3rd
 
 
 
 
 
2005
Friendly match
 
 
 
 
 
2013
20 Anniversary
3rd
 
 
 
 
 
2016
Midsummer decisive battle
 
 
 
 
 
2017
Midsummer challenge
 
 
 
 
 
2017
3rd
 
 
 
 
 
2018
Limited
 
 
 
 
 
2019
Summer Night
Challenge
 
 
 
 
 
2020
Limited
 
 
 
 
 
2021
Limited

Home stadium edit

 
Yamaha Stadium

Júbilo plays their home match at the Yamaha Stadium. The stadium has a seating capacity of 15,165 people. It is one of the few dedicated football stadiums in Japan that are operated and managed by the club. It is said to be the easiest place to watch a game in Japan.

For big fixtures such as the Shizuoka Derby with Shimizu S-Pulse and against some of the top teams in J1, Júbilo would play at the much larger Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi City, a venue built specifically for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. The stadium surrounded by the rich nature of Mt. Ogasa and full of greenery, is the largest multi-purpose stadium in the prefecture, boasting a fully equipped facility that can accommodate 50,000 people.

Júbilo practice at Okubo Ground in Iwata and Iwata Sports Park Yumeria.[11]

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 22 March 2024.[12]

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 Eiji Kawashima
2 DF   JPN Ikki Kawasaki
3 DF   JPN Riku Morioka
4 DF   JPN Ko Matsubara (vice-captain)
5 DF   JPN Daiki Ogawa
6 DF   JPN Makito Ito
7 MF   JPN Rikiya Uehara (vice-captain)
10 MF   JPN Hiroki Yamada (captain)
11 FW   JPN Ryo Germain
13 MF   JPN Kotaro Fujikawa
14 MF   JPN Masaya Matsumoto
15 DF   JPN Kaito Suzuki
16 MF   BRA Léo Gomes
17 FW   BRA Weverton
18 DF   JPN Keita Takahata
19 MF   BRA Bruno José
20 GK   JPN Yuya Tsuboi (on loan from Vissel Kobe)
21 GK   JPN Ryuki Miura
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 GK   JPN Mitsuki Sugimoto
25 MF   JPN Shun Nakamura
26 DF   JPN Shunsuke Nishikubo
28 MF   JPN Naoki Kanuma
31 MF   JPN Yosuke Furukawa
35 DF   KOR Park Se-gi
36 DF   BRA Ricardo Graça
37 MF   JPN Rei Hirakawa
39 MF   JPN Koshiro Sumi DSP
40 MF   JPN Shota Kaneko
41 MF   JPN Masatoshi Ishida
46 FW   JPN Shota Yamamoto Type 2
47 GK   JPN Keizen Iida Type 2
48 MF   JPN Tokumo Kawai Type 2
50 MF   JPN Hiroto Uemura
77 MF   JPN Kensuke Fujiwara
99 FW   BRA Matheus Peixoto

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
8 MF   JPN Kotaro Omori (at Muangthong United)
GK   JPN Keitaro Nakajima (at Tochigi SC)
MF   JPN Mahiro Yoshinaga (at Kamatamare Sanuki)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   JPN Keisuke Goto (at RSCA Futures)
FW   JPN Kenyu Sugimoto (at Omiya Ardija)

Club officials edit

For the 2023 season.[13]

Executive staff edit

Position Name
Chairman   Michihiro Oishi
Sports director   Toshiya Fujita
Management department   Makoto Tanaka
  Ryu Okada
  Shuto Tanaka
  Hidetaka Kanazono
Academy management department   Takao Oishi

Top team staff edit

Position Name
Head coach   Akinobu Yokouchi
Assistant coach   Fumitake Miura
  Yasumasa Nishino
Goalkeeping coach   Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Physical coach   Kentaro Chuman
Assistant physical coach   Ryosuke Inada
Chief analyst   Kiyotaka Sakai
Analyst   Takashi Harada
Chief athletic trainer   Takahiro Abe
Physiotherapist   Toyohiro Oshiro
Athletic trainer   Yusuke Otsuga
  Kazumasa Terui
Chief manager   Yuichi Kiyan
Manager   Hideki Masaki
  Satoru Tanigawa
Interpreter   Hiroaki Akasaka
  Antonio Danilo Hideki Uehara
  Gabriel

Academy staff edit

Position Name
Academy director   Hideaki Shinozaki
Academy technical advisor   Tomoyuki Ishii
Academy goalkeeping technical coach   Shinichi Morishita
U-18 manager   Yoshiaki Fujita
U-18 assistant manager   Yazuyoshi Hamba
U-18 goalkeeping coach   Kimihito Koite
U-15 manager   Kohei Matsushita
U-14 manager & Head of coaching   Taiji Seto
U-13 manager   Kengo Mochizuki
U-15 goalkeeping coach   Kazuma Mochizuki
Athletic trainer   Tatsuya Sasaki
  Tomohiro Suda

Honours edit

National edit

As both Yamaha (1972–1992) and Júbilo Iwata (1992–present)

League edit

Cups edit

International edit

World Cup players edit

The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup, while playing for Júbilo Iwata:

Award winners edit

The following players have won the awards while at Júbilo Iwata:

Club captains edit

Former players edit

Players with senior international caps:

JFA
AFC/ CAF/ OFC
UEFA
CONMEBOL

Former managers edit

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Ryuichi Sugiyama   Japan 1974 30 June 1987
Kikuo Konagaya   Japan 1 July 1987 31 December 1991
Kazuaki Nagasawa   Japan 1 January 1992 31 January 1994
Hans Ooft   Netherlands 1 February 1994 31 January 1997
Luiz Felipe Scolari   Brazil 1 February 1997 29 May 1997
Takashi Kuwahara   Japan 29 May 1997 31 January 1998
Valmir   Brazil 1 February 1998 31 December 1998
Takashi Kuwahara   Japan 1 February 1999 31 January 2000
Gjoko Hadžievski   Macedonia 1 February 2000 31 August 2000
Masakazu Suzuki   Japan 1 September 2000 31 January 2003
Masaaki Yanagishita   Japan 1 February 2003 31 January 2004
Takashi Kuwahara   Japan 1 February 2004 31 August 2004
Masakazu Suzuki   Japan 1 September 2004 9 November 2004
Masakuni Yamamoto   Japan 9 November 2004 19 June 2006
Adílson Batista   Brazil 23 June 2006 1 September 2007
Atsushi Uchiyama   Japan 1 September 2007 31 August 2008
Hans Ooft   Netherlands 2 September 2008 31 January 2009
Masaaki Yanagishita   Japan 1 February 2009 31 January 2011
Hitoshi Morishita   Japan 1 February 2012 4 May 2013
Tetsu Nagasawa   Japan 5 May 2013 26 May 2013
Takashi Sekizuka   Japan 27 May 2013 31 January 2014
Péricles Chamusca   Brazil 1 February 2014 24 September 2014
Hiroshi Nanami   Japan 25 September 2014 30 June 2019
Hideto Suzuki   Japan 1 July 2019 15 August 2019
Minoru Kobayashi   Japan 15 August 2019 19 August 2019
Fernando Jubero   Spain 20 August 2019 1 October 2020
Masakazu Suzuki   Japan 2 October 2020 31 January 2021
Akira Ito   Japan 1 February 2022 14 August 2022
Hiroki Shibuya   Japan 17 August 2022 31 January 2023
Akinobu Yokouchi   Japan 1 February 2023 present

Record as J.League member edit

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W (OTW / PKW) D L (OTL / PKL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G J.League Cup Emperor's
Cup
Asia
1994 J1 12 8th 44 20 - 24 56 69 -13 - 14,497 Final 1st round
1995 14 6th 52 28 (- / 0) - 23 (- / 1) 88 77 11 85 17,313 Not held 2nd round
1996 16 4th 30 20 (- / 0) - 8 (- / 2) 53 38 15 62 13,792 Group stage 3rd round
1997 17 1st 32 20 (3 / 0) - 6 (3 / 0) 72 35 35 66 10,448 Final Semi-final
1998 18 2nd 34 26 (0 / 0) - 7 (1 / 0) 107 39 78 78 12,867 Winner Quarter final
1999 16 1st 30 14 (3 / -) 1 9 (3 / -) 52 42 10 49 12,273 Quarter final Quarter-final CC Winner
2000 16 4th 30 17 (2) 0 7 (4) 67 42 25 55 12,534 Quarter-final Quarter final CC Final
2001 16 2nd 30 18 (8) 1 2 (1) 63 26 37 71 16,650 Final 4th round CC Final
2002 16 1st 30 18 (8) 1 3 72 30 42 71 16,564 Quarter final Quarter final
2003 16 2nd 30 16 9 5 56 34 22 57 17,267 Semi-final Winner
2004 16 5th 30 14 6 10 54 44 10 48 17,126 Group stage Final CL Group stage
2005 18 6th 34 14 9 11 51 41 10 51 17,296 Quarter-final Quarter final CL Group stage
2006 18 5th 34 17 7 10 68 51 17 58 18,002 Quarter-final Quarter final
2007 18 9th 34 15 4 15 54 55 -1 49 16,359 Group stage 5th round
2008 18 16th 34 10 7 17 40 48 -8 37 15,465 Group stage 5th round
2009 18 11th 34 11 8 15 50 60 -10 41 13,523 Group stage 4th round
2010 18 11th 34 11 11 12 38 49 -11 44 12,137 Winner 4th round
2011 18 8th 34 13 8 13 53 45 8 47 11,796 Quarter final 3rd round
2012 18 12th 34 13 7 14 57 53 4 46 13,122 Group stage 4th round
2013 18 17th 34 4 11 19 40 56 -16 23 10,895 Group stage Quarter final
2014 J2 22 4th 42 18 13 11 67 55 12 67 8,774 Not eligible 3rd round
2015 22 2nd 42 24 10 8 72 43 29 82 10,041 2nd round
2016 J1 18 13th 34 8 12 14 37 50 -13 36 14,611 Group stage 3rd round
2017 18 6th 34 16 10 8 50 30 20 58 16,321 Group stage Quarter final
2018 18 16th 34 10 11 13 35 48 -13 41 15,474 Play-off stage Quarter final
2019 18 18th 34 8 7 19 29 51 -22 31 15,277 Play-off stage 4th round
2020 J2 22 6th 42 16 15 11 58 47 11 63 3,214 Not eligible Did not qualify
2021 22 1st 42 27 10 5 75 42 33 91 5,968 Quarter final
2022 J1 18 18th 34 6 12 16 32 57 -25 30 9,942 Group stage Round of 16
2023 J2 22 2nd 42 21 12 9 74 44 30 75 10,446 Group stage 3rd round
2024 J1 20 TBD 38 2nd round TBC
  • 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
  • OTW / PKW = Overtime wins / Penalty kicks wins 1997 & 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002 Overtime wins only
  • OTL / PKL = Overtime losses / Penalty kicks losses 1997 and 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000 & 2001 Overtime losses only
  • Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
  • 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

References edit

  1. ^ "Club guide: Júbilo Iwata". J.League. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "Brazilian Players: A Long Association with Japanese Soccer". nippon.com. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  3. ^ "J.League Date Site". J.League Official Site. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  4. ^ "ファビアン ゴンザレス選手に関する国際サッカー連盟(FIFA)決定およびスポーツ仲裁裁判所(CAS)への上訴のお知らせ". www.jubilo-iwata.co.jp (in Japanese). Júbilo Iwata. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  5. ^ "師岡 柊生選手 来季加入仮契約解除のお知らせ". www.jubilo-iwata.co.jp (in Japanese). Júbilo Iwata. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  6. ^ "師岡選手の2023年加入内定について". www.antlers.co.jp (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  7. ^ "ファビアン ゴンザレス選手に関するスポーツ仲裁裁判所(CAS)による仲裁判断のお知らせ". www.jubilo-iwata.co.jp (in Japanese). Júbilo Iwata. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Júbilo Iwata win on final day to earn promotion to J1". www.jleague.co. J.League. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  9. ^ "MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE · MATCHWEEK 42 - Tochigi SC vs Júbilo Iwata". www.jleague.co. J.League. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  10. ^ "DERBY DAY DRAMAS IN THE J.LEAGUE". oneworldsports.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  11. ^ ヤマハ大久保グラウンド [Yamaha Okubo Ground] (in Japanese). Júbilo Iwata. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  12. ^ "2024シーズン トップチーム選手". ジュビロ磐田 Jubilo IWATA (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  13. ^ "2023シーズン 新体制(スタッフ)". jubilo-iwata.co.jp (in Japanese). Júbilo Iwata. Retrieved 19 January 2023.

External links edit

Achievements
Preceded by Champions of Asia
1998–99
Succeeded by