Kashiwa Reysol (柏レイソル, Kashiwa Reisoru) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba 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 Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium, also known as "Hitachidai". Reysol is a portmanteau of the Spanish words Rey and Sol, meaning "Sun King". The name alludes to their parent company Hitachi, whose name means "rising sun" in Japanese. The club was formed in 1940 and was a founding member ("Original Eight"[a]) of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, they have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of Japanese football. They have been Japanese League champions twice in 1972 and 2011, and have won three League Cups in 1976, 1999 and 2013, and three Emperor's Cups in 1972, 1975 and 2012.

Kashiwa Reysol
Full nameKashiwa Reysol[1]
Nickname(s)Taiyō-Ō (Sun King)
Aurinegro (gold-and-black)
Short nameREY
Founded1940; 84 years ago (1940) as Hitachi S.C.
StadiumSankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium ("Hitachidai")
Kashiwa, Chiba
Capacity15,900
OwnerHitachi
ChairmanRyuichiro Takikawa
Head coachMasami Ihara
LeagueJ1 League
2023J1 League, 17th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

Hitachi SC (1939–1992) edit

The club started in 1939 and was officially formed as the company team, Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in 1940 in Kodaira, Tokyo. The club formed the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, along with today's Urawa Reds, JEF United Chiba, Cerezo Osaka, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and three other clubs ("Original Eight").[1] They had some successes during the mid-1970s, winning several Emperor's Cups and JSL titles and contributing several players to the Japanese national team.

The club relocated from Kodaira to Kashiwa in 1986, but it took a while to adapt to the new town, as they were relegated to the JSL Division 2 at the season's closing.[2] They made it back to the top flight in 1989–90, but dropped back in 1990–91 and returned again in 1991–92.[1] As the J.League advent had come too soon for them, the club abandoned to be a founding member of the newly formed professional league. The club joined the Japan Football League (called "former JFL") Division 1 in 1992, the second tier of the Japanese football hierarchy following the J.League.

Kashiwa Reysol (1993–) edit

The club changed its name to Kashiwa Reysol in 1993. Reysol added Careca of the Brazil national football team in the autumn of this year with the aim of winning the JFL champion for promoting to the J1 League.[1] The club struggled, however, with the help of Careca and Brazilian manager Zé Sérgio, they secured the 2nd place in the JFL in 1994 and earned promotion to the top league.

Reysol debuted in the J1 League in 1995. They welcomed Akira Nishino in 1998 who was the former manager of Japan's Olympic team, Hristo Stoichkov of the Bulgaria national football team, and Hong Myung-bo of the Korea national football team. The club won the J.League Cup in 1999, their first title as Kashiwa Reysol.[3]

However, next English manager, Steve Perryman, unsettled the team and the club struggled over the next several seasons. After finishing at the 16th place out of 18 clubs in 2005, the club lost the promotion/relegation play-offs against Ventforet Kofu, the 3rd place of the J2 League, and relegated to the J2 League.[4]

A new manager, Nobuhiro Ishizaki, led an almost entirely new squad in 2006 and the club secured automatic promotion to the J1 League in the last game of the season.[5]

The club was relegated again at the end of 2009. However, once they won the J2 League led by Nelsinho Baptista in 2010 and came back to the top flight, the club won the J1 League in 2011 with some talented footballers such as Hiroki Sakai, Junya Tanaka, Jorge Wagner and Leandro Domingues, and became the first Japanese club to win the second tier and the top tier two seasons in a row.[b][6] The club qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's league champion and became semifinalist after defeating Auckland City and Monterrey.

For the period of 2010 through 2014, Reysol won six different titles for five consecutive seasons; the J2 League in 2010, the J1 League in 2011, the Emperor's Cup and the Super Cup in 2012, the J.League Cup in 2013 and the Suruga Bank Championship in 2014.

Rivalries edit

Marunouchi Gosanke edit

Historically, Kashiwa Reysol's fiercest rivals have been JEF United Chiba and Urawa Reds, both close neighbors. The three were co-founders of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, and spent most seasons in the top tier through the JSL era. Because of their former parent companies' headquarters being all based in Marunouchi, Tokyo, the three clubs were known as the Marunouchi Gosanke (丸の内御三家, "Marunouchi Big Three") and fixtures among them were known as the Marunouchi derbies.

Chiba derby edit

Reysol and JEF United Chiba first met in 1941 in ancient Kanto regional football league. The two clubs both now based in Chiba Prefecture, and their rivalry is known as the Chiba derby. They annually contest a pre-season friendly match well known as the Chibagin Cup (i.e., Chiba Bank Cup) since 1995.

Others edit

Reysol also has a rivalry with Kashima Antlers (commonly called Tonegawa clásico), FC Tokyo (commonly called Kanamachi derby) and Omiya Ardija (commonly called Nodasen derby).

Anthem edit

Kashiwa Reysol's anthem is We Are Reysol, which is sung by anime singer Hironobu Kageyama. The song released in 1994, the same year Reysol got promoted to J1.

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 AFC FIFA CWC
1995 J1 14 12th 52 21 (0 / 0) 29 (0 / 1) 18 30 –12 22 16,102 2nd round
1996 16 5th 30 20 10 67 52 15 60 13,033 Semi-finals Round of 16
1997 17 7th 32 16 (2 / 0) 11 (1 / 2) 63 49 14 52 8,664 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals
1998 18 8th 34 14 (1 / 3) 13 (2 / 1) 56 61 –5 47 9,932 Group stage Round of 16
1999 16 3rd 30 17 (3 / -) 1 8 (1 / -) 49 36 13 58 10,122 Winners Semi-finals
2000 16 3rd 30 15 (6 / -) 1 7 (1 / -) 48 32 16 58 10,037 2nd round Round of 16
2001 16 6th 30 12 (2 / -) 3 11 (2 / -) 58 46 12 43 12,477 2nd round 3rd round
2002 16 12th 30 9 (1 / -) 3 17 38 48 –10 32 11,314 Quarter-finals 3rd round
2003 16 12th 30 9 10 11 35 39 –4 37 10,873 Group stage Round of 16
2004 16 16th 30 5 10 15 29 49 –20 25 10,513 Group stage 4th round
2005 18 16th 34 8 11 15 39 54 –15 35 12,492 Group stage 5th round
2006 J2 13 2nd 48 27 7 14 84 60 24 88 8,328 Not eligible 4th round
2007 J1 18 8th 34 14 8 12 43 36 7 50 12,967 Group stage 4th round
2008 18 11th 34 13 7 14 48 45 3 46 12,308 Group stage Runners-up
2009 18 16th 34 7 13 14 41 57 –16 34 11,738 Group stage 3rd round
2010 J2 19 1st 36 23 11 2 71 24 47 80 8,098 Not eligible Round of 16
2011 J1 18 1st 34 23 3 8 65 42 23 72 11,917 1st round Round of 16 4th place
2012 18 6th 34 15 7 12 57 52 5 52 13,768 Semi-finals Winners Round of 16
2013 18 10th 34 13 9 12 56 59 –3 48 12,553 Winners Round of 16 Semi-finals
2014 18 4th 34 17 9 8 48 40 8 60 10,715 Semi-finals 3rd round
2015 18 10th 34 12 9 13 46 43 3 45 10,918 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Quarter-finals
2016 18 8th 34 15 9 10 52 44 8 54 10,728 Group stage Round of 16
2017 18 4th 34 18 8 8 49 33 16 62 11,820 Group stage Semi-finals
2018 18 17th 34 12 3 19 47 54 –7 39 11,298 Semi-finals 3rd round Group stage
2019 J2 22 1st 42 25 9 8 85 33 52 84 9,471 Group stage 3rd round
2020 J1 18 7th 34 15 7 12 60 46 14 52 3,484 Runners-up Did not qualify
2021 20 15th 38 12 5 21 37 56 –19 41 4,444 Group stage 3rd round
2022 18 7th 34 13 8 13 43 44 –1 47 8,499 Group stage Round of 16
2023 18 17th 34 6 15 13 33 47 −14 33 11,130 Group stage Runners-up
2024 20 TBA 38
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
  • 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 home league attendance
  • 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Honours edit

League edit

Cups edit

International edit

League history edit

  • Division 1 (JSL): 1965–1971 (as Hitachi SC)
  • Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1972 to 1986–87
  • Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1987–88 to 1988–89
  • Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1989–90
  • Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1990–91
  • Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1991–92
  • Division 2 (former JFL Div. 1): 1992–1993
  • Division 2 (former JFL): 1994 (as Kashiwa Reysol)
  • Division 1 (J.League): 1995–1998
  • Division 1 (J1): 1999–2005
  • Division 2 (J2): 2006
  • Division 1 (J1): 2007–2009
  • Division 2 (J2): 2010
  • Division 1 (J1): 2011–2018
  • Division 2 (J2): 2019
  • Division 1 (J1): 2020–present

Current squad edit

As of 25 January 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   JPN Haruki Saruta
2 DF   JPN Hiromu Mitsumaru
3 DF   BRA Diego
4 DF   JPN Taiyo Koga (captain)
5 MF   JPN Tomoki Takamine
6 MF   JPN Yuto Yamada
9 FW   JPN Yuki Muto
10 MF   BRA Matheus Sávio
11 MF   JPN Kota Yamada
13 DF   JPN Tomoya Inukai
14 MF   JPN Tomoya Koyamatsu
15 FW   JPN Kosuke Kinoshita
16 DF   JPN Eiichi Katayama
17 FW   NED Jay-Roy Grot
19 FW   JPN Mao Hosoya
21 GK   JPN Masato Sasaki
22 DF   JPN Hiroki Noda
23 DF   JPN Wataru Iwashita
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 DF   JPN Naoki Kawaguchi
25 MF   JPN Fumiya Unoki
27 MF   JPN Koki Kumasaka
28 MF   JPN Sachiro Toshima
29 MF   JPN Takuya Shimamura
31 GK   JPN Tatsuya Morita
32 DF   JPN Hiroki Sekine
33 MF   JPN Eiji Shirai
34 MF   JPN Takumi Tsuchiya
35 FW   JPN Hidetaka Maie
38 MF   JPN Yugo Masukake
43 MF   JPN Farzan Sana Mohammad
45 FW   JPN Ota Yamamoto
46 GK   JPN Kenta Matsumoto
47 FW   JPN William Owie
48 MF   JPN Kazuki Kumasawa
50 DF   JPN Yugo Tatsuta

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
DF   JPN Hayato Tanaka (on loan at V-Varen Nagasaki)
DF   JPN Wataru Iwashita (on loan at Roasso Kumamoto)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   JPN Riku Ochiai (on loan at Mito Hollyhock)
MF   JPN Takuto Kato (on loan at Fukushima United)

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 edit

As of 6 April 2023.

The U-18 team of Kashiwa Reysol 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
2 DF   JPN Ayuto Date
3 DF   JPN Shuta Nebiki
4 DF   JPN Kei Beppu
5 DF   JPN Shintaro Tamura
6 MF   JPN Atsuto Fujitani
7 MF   JPN Sorato Aoki
8 MF   JPN Tsubasa Ikebata
9 FW   JPN Nobuhiro Konno
10 MF   JPN Kanta Sekitomi
11 FW   JPN Kaisei Oki
12 DF   JPN Kazuki Ishizu
13 FW   JPN Ken Ichimura
14 MF   JPN Sogo Masukake
15 FW   JPN Masato Toda
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 GK   JPN Ari Tanaka
17 MF   JPN Taiga Fukushima
18 FW   JPN Mohammed Sadiki Waad
19 FW   JPN Futo Yoshihara
20 DF   JPN Tetta Ikari
21 GK   JPN Daishi Okita
22 DF   JPN Koki Oikawa
23 DF   JPN Yamato Nakai
24 DF   JPN Hikaru Saito
25 FW   JPN Shido Kurosawa
26 DF   JPN Ryoji Okamoto
27 MF   JPN Kensei Kobayashi
28 FW   JPN Retsu Sawai
30 MF   JPN Eita Hirooka
31 GK   JPN Amato Noguchi Pinto

Club captains edit

Captain Nationality Tenure
Takahiro Shimotaira   Japan –1998
Hong Myung-bo   Korea 1999
Tomokazu Myojin   Japan 2000–2005
Yuta Minami   Japan 2006–2007
Hidekazu Otani   Japan 2008–2022
Taiyo Koga   Japan 2023–present

Coaching staff edit

For the 2023 season.[9]

Position Name
Head coach   Masami Ihara
Assistant coach   Taiyo Koga
  Ryoichi Kurisawa
Assistant coach & Physical coach   Hidekazu Otani
First team coach & Physical coach   Naoya Matsubara
Goalkeeping coach   Keita Inoue
Technical   Yasushi Okamura
Doctor   Kojiro Hyodo
Medical   Kaoru Arakawa
  Hiroyuki Akai
  Toshiya Itagaki
  Ryohei Ikuta
  Fabiano
Interpreter   Isao Yakita
  Masayoshi Edson Hayakawa
  Michinori Katsuta
Scout   Lee Chang-won
Equipment   Masafumi Kimura
Competent   Takumi Miyamoto

Managerial history edit

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Tokue Suzuki   Japan 1 February 1965 31 January 1966
Masayoshi Miyazaki   Japan 1 February 1966 31 January 1967
Kotaro Hattori   Japan 1 February 1967 31 January 1970
Hidetoki Takahashi   Japan 1 February 1970 31 January 1977
Takato Ebisu   Japan 1 February 1977 31 January 1979
Mutsuhiko Nomura   Japan 1 February 1979 31 January 1982
Yoshiki Nakamura   Japan 1 February 1982 31 January 1985
Yoshikazu Nagaoka   Japan 1 February 1985 30 June 1989
Hiroyuki Usui   Japan 1 July 1989 31 January 1993
Zé Sérgio   Brazil 1 February 1993 10 August 1995
Antoninho   Brazil 10 August 1995 31 January 1996
Nicanor   Brazil 1 February 1996 31 January 1998
Akira Nishino   Japan 1 February 1998 30 July 2001
Steve Perryman   England 1 August 2001 8 August 2002
Tomoyoshi Ikeya (caretaker)   Japan 9 August 2002 30 August 2002
Marco Aurelio   Brazil 31 August 2002 31 January 2004
Tomoyoshi Ikeya (caretaker)   Japan 1 February 2004 31 July 2004
Hiroshi Hayano   Japan 1 August 2004 31 January 2006
Nobuhiro Ishizaki   Japan 1 February 2006 31 January 2009
Shinichiro Takahashi   Japan 1 February 2009 14 July 2009
Masami Ihara (caretaker)   Japan 15 July 2009 30 July 2009
Nelsinho Baptista   Brazil 1 August 2009 31 January 2015
Tatsuma Yoshida   Japan 1 February 2015 31 January 2016
Milton Mendes   Brazil 1 February 2016 12 March 2016
Takahiro Shimotaira   Japan 12 March 2016 13 May 2018
Nozomu Katō   Japan 14 May 2018 10 November 2018
Ken Iwase   Japan 10 November 2018 31 January 2019
Nelsinho Baptista   Brazil 1 February 2019 17 May 2023
Masami Ihara   Japan 17 May 2023 present

Kit and colours edit

Colours edit

Kashiwa Reysol's main colour is yellow, like sunshine that is based on the club's name "Sun King". The uniform is yellow-black (called Aurinegro in Spanish) reminiscent of Peñarol or Borussia Dortmund. Reysol is the only top division club in the country to wear yellow-black.

Kit evolution edit

Continental record edit

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2012 AFC Champions League Group H   Buriram United 1–0 3–2 2nd
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5–1 0–2
  Guangzhou Evergrande 0–0 3–1
Round of 16   Ulsan Hyundai
3–2
2013 AFC Champions League Group H   Guizhou Renhe 1–1 0–1 1st
  Central Coast Mariners 3–1 0–3
  Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0–0 2–6
Round of 16   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2–5
Quarter-finals   Al-Shabab 1–1 2–2 3–3 (a)
Semi-finals   Guangzhou Evergrande 1–4 4–0 1–8
2015 AFC Champions League Play-off round   Chonburi
3–2 (a.e.t.)
Group E   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–2 0–0 1st
  Becamex Bình Dương 5–1 1–0
  Shandong Luneng 2–1 4–4
Round of 16   Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–2 2–3 4–4 (a)
Quarter-finals   Guangzhou Evergrande 1–3 1–1 2–4
2018 AFC Champions League Play-off round   Muangthong United
3–0
Group E   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0–2 3–2 3rd
  Tianjin Quanjian 1–1 3–2
  Kitchee 1–0 1–0

Notes edit

  1. ^ The original clubs of the Japan Soccer League in 1965 were Mitsubishi Motors, Furukawa Electric, Hitachi, Yanmar Diesel, Toyo Kogyo, Yahata Steel, Toyota Industries and Nagoya Mutual Bank.
  2. ^ Gamba Osaka achieved the same feat three seasons later; won the J2 League in 2013 and the J1 League back-to-back in 2014.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Club guide: Kashiwa Reysol". J.League. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Hometown". Kashiwa Reysol. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  3. ^ "1 History". Decade: Kashiwa Reysol official history 1994–2004. Bunkakobo. 2004. ISBN 978-4-434-04119-8.
  4. ^ "Match report: Promotion/relegation Series". J's Goal. December 10, 2005. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  5. ^ "Match report: Kashiwa 3–0 Shonan". J's Goal. December 2, 2006. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  6. ^ Andrew Mckirdy (December 4, 2011). "Reysol complete storybook season". The Japan Times.
  7. ^ "お知らせ情報|柏レイソル Official Site". 柏レイソル Official site (in Japanese). 13 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  8. ^ "2023 柏レイソルU-18". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. ^ "2023シーズン トップチーム体制のお知らせ". reysol.co.jp (in Japanese). Kashiwa Reysol. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

External links edit