Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japanese: サンフレッチェ広島, romanized: Sanfuretche Hiroshima) is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima
サンフレッチェ広島
Full nameSanfrecce Hiroshima FC
Nickname(s)Sanfrecce, Sanfre, Viola
Founded1938 (1938)[1] (as Toyo Industries SC)
GroundEdion Stadium Hiroshima
Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima
Capacity36,894[2]
OwnerEDION
Mazda
ChairmanTakuya Yamamoto
ManagerHiroshi Jofuku
LeagueJ1 League
2019J1 League, 6th of 18
WebsiteClub website

Club name

The club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three, San and the Italian word frecce, which means 'arrows'. This is based on the story of the feudal lord Mōri Motonari who told his three sons that while a single arrow might be easily snapped, three arrows held together would not be broken and urged them to work for the good of the clan and its retainers.[3] A similar event occurred in The Secret History of the Mongols; "One day in spring, while she was cooking some dried lamb, she had her five sons Belgünütei, Bügünütei, Buqu Qatagi, Buqatu Salji and Bodončar Mungqaq sit in a row. She gave an arrow-shaft to each of them and said, ‘Break it!’ One by one they immediately broke the single arrowshafts and threw them away. Then she tied five arrowshafts into a bundle and gave it to them saying, ‘Break it!’ The five sons each took the five bound arrow-shafts in turn, but they were unable to break them.[4]

  • 1938–70: Toyo Kogyo Syukyu Club (東洋工業蹴球部) {"Syukyu" means "football" in Japanese.}
    • 1943–46: Play was suspended during this period due to the Pacific War.
  • 1971–80: Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club (東洋工業サッカー部)
  • 1981–83: Mazda Sports Club Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club (マツダスポーツクラブ東洋工業サッカー部)
  • 1984–85: Mazda Sports Club Soccer Club (マツダスポーツクラブサッカー部)
  • 1986–92: Mazda Soccer Club (マツダサッカークラブ)
  • 1992–present: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (サンフレッチェ広島)

Location

The club's home town is Hiroshima and the side plays at Hiroshima Big Arch and Hiroshima Prefectural Stadium. It holds training sessions at Yoshida Soccer Park in Akitakata, Hiroshima and Hiroshima 1st Ball Park.

History

As Mazda team
1965 Inaugural League Champion. Hiroyuki Kuwahara and Yasuyuki Kuwahara are brothers.

The club was a former company team of Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club (東洋工業サッカー部) in 1938 and played in the semi-professional Japan Soccer League.

The club was an original founder ("Original Eight"[lower-alpha 1]) of the now-disbanded Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. They dominated the JSL's early years, winning the title 4 times in a row – a feat that was later equaled by Yomiuri SC/Verdy Kawasaki. The name change was made at Mazda SC (マツダSC) in 1981. When JSL disbanded and became the J.League in 1992, it dropped the company name and became "Sanfrecce Hiroshima". Alongside JEF United Ichihara Chiba and Urawa Red Diamonds they co-founded both leagues ("Original Ten"[lower-alpha 2]).

During the 1969 season they participated in the Asian Club Cup, forerunner to today's AFC Champions League; at the time, the tournament was done in a single locale (in that year it was Bangkok, Thailand), and they ended up in third place, the first participation of a Japanese club in the continental tournament. This also cost them the league title to Mitsubishi/Urawa, and although they won another title in 1970, since then the club has been out of the running for the title, with exceptional seasons such as 1994 when they won runner-up.

1965 Inaugural League Champion

The Toyo Industries that became the first JSL champions also completed the first double by taking the Emperor's Cup. They were also the first of three "Invincibles", undefeated champion clubs in Japan (the others were Mitsubishi in 1969 and Yamaha in 1987–88), although only Toyo completed a double.

Matsumoto, Ogi, and Yasuyuki Kuwahara went on to win the 1968 Olympic bronze medal for the national team.

2000s
former logo

In 2002, Sanfrecce became the first former stage winner (first stage, 1994) to be relegated to the lower division, J2. But it only spent a year there, finishing second the very next season to regain promotion back to J1. The club finished 16th in the 2007 season and were relegated to J.League Division 2 after they were beaten by Kyoto Sanga in the promotion/relegation play-off. In 2008 they nevertheless won the J2 title at the first attempt, having 84 points (a difference of 25 points with the runner-up clubs) with six matches left.

By virtue of earning fourth place in the 2009 season and Gamba Osaka retaining the Emperor's Cup, Sanfrecce qualified for the Asian Champions League, where they were knocked out in the group phase.

On 24 November 2012, Sanfrecce defeated Cerezo Osaka 4–1 to seal their first ever J.League Division 1 title.[5][6]

On 7 December 2013, Sanfrecce defeated Kashima Antlers 2–0, securing their second J.League Division 1 title following a thrilling finish to the season which saw first-place Yokohama F. Marinos losing their final league game, handing Sanfrecce the title. With their second consecutive title win, Sanfrecce became the second club to successfully defend their crown since Kashima Antlers in 2009.

Kit and colours

Colours

The main colour of Sanfrecce Hiroshima is purple.

Kit evolution

Record as J.League member
Season Div. Tms. Pos. Attendance/G J.League Cup Emperor's Cup AFC CL FIFA CWC
1992 - - - - Group Stage 2nd round - -
1993 J1 10 5 16,644 Group Stage Semi-final - -
1994 J1 12 2 17,191 1st round Quarter-final - -
1995 J1 14 10 11,689 - Final - -
1996 J1 16 14 8,469 Group Stage Final - -
1997 J1 17 12 6,533 Group Stage 4th round - -
1998 J1 18 10 8,339 Group Stage Quarter-final - -
1999 J1 16 8 9,377 2nd round Final - -
2000 J1 16 11 8,865 2nd round 4th round - -
2001 J1 16 9 9,916 Quarter-final 4th round - -
2002 J1 16 15 10,941 Group Stage Semi-final - -
2003 J2 12 2 9,000 - 4th round - -
2004 J1 16 12 14,800 Group Stage 4th round - -
2005 J1 18 7 12,527 Group Stage 5th round - -
2006 J1 18 10 11,180 Group Stage 5th round - -
2007 J1 18 16 11,423 Quarter-final Final - -
2008 J2 15 1 10,840 - Quarter-final - -
2009 J1 18 4 15,723 Group Stage 3rd round - -
2010 J1 18 7 14,562 Final 3rd round Group Stage
2011 J1 18 7 13,203 1st round 3rd round - -
2012 J1 18 1 17,721 Group stage 2nd round - 5th Place
2013 J1 18 1 16,209 Quarter-final Final Group Stage
2014 J1 18 8 14,997 Final Round of 16 Round of 16
2015 J1 18 1 16,382 Group Stage Quarter-final - 3rd Place
2016 J1 18 6 15,464 Quarter-final Quarter-final Group Stage -
2017 J1 18 15 14,042 Play-off stage Round of 16 - -
2018 J1 18 2 14,346 Group stage Round of 16 - -
2019 J1 18 6 13,886 Quarter-final 4th round Round of 16 -
Key
  • Tms. = Number of clubs
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance

League history

Total (as of 2016): 45 seasons in the top tier and 7 seasons in the second tier.

Honours

Domestic

Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Professional era)

Toyo Kogyo SC & Mazda SC (Amateur era)

  

International

Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Professional era)

Toyo Kogyo SC (Amateur era)

Continental record
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2010 AFC Champions League Group H Shandong Luneng
0–1
3–2
3rd
Pohang Steelers
4–3
1–2
Adelaide United
1–0
2–3
2013 AFC Champions League Group G Bunyodkor
0–2
0–0
4th
Beijing Guoan
0–0
1–2
Pohang Steelers
0–1
1–1
2014 AFC Champions League Group F Beijing Guoan
1–1
2–2
2nd
Central Coast Mariners
1–0
1–2
FC Seoul
2–1
2–2
Round of 16 Western Sydney Wanderes
3–1
0–2
3–3 (a)
2016 AFC Champions League Group F Shandong Luneng
1–2
0–1
3rd
FC Seoul
2–1
1–4
Buriram United
3–0
2–0
2019 AFC Champions League Play-off round Chiangrai United
0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)
Group F Guangzhou Evergrande
1–0
0–2
1st
Melbourne Victory
2–1
3–1
Daegu FC
2–0
1–0
Round of 16 Kashima Antlers
3–2
0–1
3–3 (a)

Personnel awards

Domestic

International

Players

Current squad
As of 23 February 2020[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 Takuto Hayashi
2 DF  JPN Yuki Nogami
3 DF  JPN Akira Ibayashi
5 MF  JPN Hiroya Matsumoto
6 MF  JPN Toshihiro Aoyama
7 MF  JPN Gakuto Notsuda
8 MF  JPN Hayao Kawabe
9 FW  BRA Douglas Vieira
10 MF  JPN Tsukasa Morishima
13 GK  JPN Takuya Masuda
14 MF  BRA Ezequiel
15 DF  JPN Kazuki Kushibiki
16 MF  JPN Kohei Shimizu
17 MF  JPN Taishi Matsumoto
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  JPN Yoshifumi Kashiwa (vice-captain)
19 DF  JPN Sho Sasaki
20 FW  JPN Ryo Nagai
21 GK  JPN Ryotaro Hironaga
23 DF  JPN Hayato Araki
24 MF  JPN Shunki Higashi
25 MF  JPN Yusuke Chajima
26 MF  JPN Kodai Dohi
27 FW  JPN Shun Ayukawa
29 MF  JPN Yuya Asano
30 MF  JPN Kosei Shibasaki
38 GK  JPN Keisuke Osako
39 FW  BRA Leandro Pereira (on loan from Matsumoto Yamaga)
44 MF  BRA Rhayner (on loan from Tombense)

Managers
Manager Nationality Tenure Club Assistant coach
Yoshiki Yamazaki  Japan 1938–42, 1947–50 Toyo Kogyo N/A
Minoru Obata  Japan 1951–63
Yukio Shimomura  Japan 1964–71
Kenzo Ohashi  Japan 1972–75
Ikuo Matsumoto  Japan 1976
Aritatsu Ogi  Japan 1977–80
Teruo Nimura  Japan 1981–83 MAZDA Sports Eckhard Krautzun (August – September 1983)
Kazuo Imanishi  Japan 1984–87 Hans Ooft (1984–87)
Dido Havenaar (1986–87)
Hans Ooft  Netherlands 1987–88 Dido Havenaar (1987–88)
Kazuo Imanishi  Japan 1988–92 Bill Foulkes (1988–91)
Stuart Baxter  Scotland July 1992 – December 1994 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Jan Jönsson (1993–94)
Wim Jansen  Netherlands January 1995 – Dececember 1996 N/A
Eddie Thomson  Scotland January 1997 – December 2000 Tom Sermanni (1997–98)
Valeri Nepomniachi  Russia 1 January 2001 – 31 December 2001 N/A
Gadzhi Gadzhiev  Russia 1 January 2002 – June 2002
Takahiro Kimura  Japan June 2002 – December 2002
Takeshi Ono  Japan 1 December 2002 – 1 April 2006
Kazuyori Mochizuki (interim)  Japan 2 April 2006 – 9 June 2006
Mihailo Petrović  Serbia 10 June 2006 – 31 December 2011 Ranko Popović (2006–07)
Hajime Moriyasu  Japan 1 January 2012 – 4 July 2017 N/A
Jan Jönsson  Sweden 10 July 2017 – 7 December 2017
Hiroshi Jofuku  Japan 7 December 2017 – present

Notes
  1. The Original Eight of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965 were Mitsubishi, Furukawa, Hitachi, Yanmar, Toyo Industries, Yahata Steel, Toyota Industries and Nagoya Mutual Bank.
  2. The Original Ten of the J.League in 1992 were Kashima Antlers, Urawa Red Diamonds, JEF United Ichihara, Verdy Kawasaki, Yokohama Marinos, Yokohama Flügels, Shimizu S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus Eight, Gamba Osaka and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

References
  1. Sanfrecce Hiroshima Profile at J.League Official Website
  2. "Edion Stadium Hiroshima". J.League. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  3. Archived 13 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. The Secret History of the Mongols, Chapter 1 verse 19
  5. "SOCCER/ Hiroshima capture first J-League title – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun". Ajw.asahi.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  6. "Hiroshima capture first J-League title | Football | Reuters". Football.uk.reuters.com. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  7. "トップチーム選手一覧" (in Japanese). Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
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