Tokyo Verdy
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| Tokyo Verdy 東京ヴェルディ |
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| Full name | Tokyo Verdy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Verdy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Ajinomoto Stadium Chōfu, Tokyo (Capacity 50,100) |
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| Chairman | Yasuo Shimada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Tetsuji Hashiratani(2008-) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | J. League Div.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | 2nd (promoted) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tokyo Verdy (東京ヴェルディ Tōkyō Verudi?), formally Tokyo Verdy 1969 and Verdy Kawasaki, is a soccer team which plays in Division 1 of Japan's J. League. Verdy's home stadium is Ajinomoto Stadium, which it shares with F.C. Tokyo, although many home matches are played in other stadiums in Tokyo, including Tokyo National Stadium.
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[edit] History
The club was formed in 1969 as the company club of the Yomiuri Shimbun. Located in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Yomiuri FC played in the Japan Soccer League until the JSL disbanded and reformed as the professional J. League in 1993. At this time the team professionalised and renamed itself Verdy Kawasaki. Although Yomiuri was dropped from the name as the club spun off from the company, the team remained under Yomiuri's ownership until 1997, and is currently owned by Nippon Television Network, the broadcast arm of the Yomiuri Group.
[edit] Early years
From its days as Yomiuri F.C., the ownership had visions of a soccer equivalent of the baseball Yomiuri Giants, a star-studded powerhouse with fans across Japan. As Japanese soccer began its transition from the JSL to the J. League in the early 1990s, it invested heavily in stars and featured internationals Kazuyoshi Miura, Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa.
The team immediately met expectations, winning the last two JSL championships as Yomiuri F.C. in 1990/1991 and 1991/1992, and then winning the first two championships as Verdy Kawasaki in 1993 and 1994, effectively winning four straight Japanese league titles making a total of seven overall; the highest in the Japanese system. Verdy also won the 1995/1996 Emperor's Cup and three consecutive J. League Cups from 1992 to 1994.
[edit] Mid- to late 90s
This early success did not last, however, and as the stars aged, the team's performance suffered. Verdy's 1st place finish in the 2nd Stage of the 1995 season would be its last stage victory and the 1996 Emperor's Cup would be its last major title of the decade. A downturn in the national economy and the cooling of the J. League fad meant all teams had to cut expenses. This meant Verdy could no longer buy expensive replacements for its aging stars.
In 1996, the team dropped to 7th place overall, the lowest finish in the league's existence at that point, and would fall further in 1997, finishing 16th and 12th, in the 1st Stage and 2nd Stage, respectively, and 15th overall out of 17 teams. Although Verdy looked to return to prominence in 1999, finishing 2nd in the 1st Stage, the resurgence was short-lived as it fell to 10th in the 2nd Stage.
Meanwhile, the team's efforts to become "Japan's Team" alienated local fans in Kawasaki. The expensive salaries and struggling attendance caused the club's debts to mount. Struggling to compete with the newly professionalised crosstown rival Kawasaki Frontale and the nearby Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama Flugels, Verdy made the decision to leave Kawasaki.
[edit] Tokyo years
In 2001, the team moved from Kawasaki to Chōfu, Tokyo and was re-named Tokyo Verdy 1969 to reflect the new hometown and the club's origins as Yomiuri F.C. Although Verdy made the move to increase its fan base and distance itself from its rivals, by this time Tokyo was already home to a J1 team in F.C. Tokyo. Despite a sharp increase in crowd numbers for Verdy, this was still well below those of F.C. Tokyo. Their new local rivals had been promoted to J1 in 2000 and had already captured a vast number of the supporters Verdy had been hoping to acquire.
In its first year in Tokyo, Verdy found itself trailing F.C. Tokyo in the standings as well, and finished last in the division at 16th in the first stage of the 2001 season. Only the play of midseason acquisition Edmundo and a win in the final match of the second stage saved the club from relegation to J2. Verdy was back at the bottom of the table in the first stage of the 2002 season, but again finished the season strong, placing 4th in the second stage.
Two mid-table finishes followed in 2003 and 2004 followed, before Verdy won the Emperor's Cup on January 1, 2005, its first major title in 9 years and the first in Tokyo. Winning the cup earned Verdy a spot in the 2006 AFC Champions League. [1]
However, in 2005 Verdy fell to its worst finish of its history, finishing 17th out of 18. This was the first season after the scrapping of the two-stage season format, and Verdy were relegated to J2. The season was marked by three huge losses in July, 1-7 to Gamba Osaka on July 2, 0-7 to Urawa Red Diamonds on July 6 and 6-0 to Jubilo Iwata on July 17. However, the struggling Verdy upset European giant Real Madrid, in Asia on a preseason tour, by a score of 3-0. [2]
[edit] Relegated to J2
In 2006, with the team coached by former Verdy Kawasaki legend Ruy Ramos, Verdy found itself in the odd position of competing in the AFC Champions League while playing in the second tier of the national league system. After Verdy was relegated, it released many of the veteran players, leaving a core of young players, most notably Takayuki Morimoto, who became the youngest player to score in the J. League at age 15 in 2004. [3]
After a disappointing 2006 season in J2, Coach Ramos stated that if his team did not win the first game of the 2007 season, he would step down as head coach. Verdy managed to beat Kusatsu 5-0 on the first day. After a brief scuffle with Sapporo over the J2 title, Verdy had to settle for runner-up - still good enough to earn promotion back into the top flight for 2008. At this time the club renamed itself for the second time, dropping 1969 from its name, thereby formally severing its link with its city of origin.
[edit] Titles
- Japan Soccer League (1983, 1984, 1986/87, 1990/91, 1991/92)
- Japan Soccer League Division 2 (1974, 1977)
- J. League (1993, 1994)
- JSL/J. League Cup (1979, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)
- Emperor's Cup (1996/97, 2004/05)
- Xerox Super Cup (1984, 1994, 1995, 2005)
- AFC Club Championship (1988)
- Sanwa Bank Cup (1994)
[edit] Team Record
[edit] J.League
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[edit] Other domestic competitions
[edit] Emperor's Cup
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[edit] J. League Cup
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[edit] Super Cup
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[edit] Major International Competitions
| Season | Competition | Result | Average Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | AFC Champions League | 4th | ? |
| 1993-94 | AFC Champions League | 3rd | ? |
| 1994-95 | AFC Champions League | Quarter-finals | ? |
| 1995-96 | AFC Champions League | Quarter-finals | ? |
| 1997-98 | Asian Cup Winners Cup | Quarter-finals | ? |
| 2006 | AFC Champions League | Round 1 | ? |
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
As of February 16, 2008
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[edit] Notable Players
Patrick Mboma
Tetsuji Hashiratani- Satoshi Tsunami
- Ko Ishikawa
- Tsuyoshi Kitazawa
- Atsuhiro Miura
- Kazuyoshi Miura
- Yasutoshi Miura
- Kenichi Uemura
- Takayuki Morimoto
- Hideki Nagai
- Yuji Hironaga
- Ruy Ramos
- Takaya Kurokawa
- Takuya Takagi
- Nobuhiro Takeda
- Takahiro Yamada
- Hiroyuki Shirai
- Daijiro Takakuwa
- Takafumi Ogura
- Daigo Kobayashi
- Naoki Soma
- Hayuma Tanaka
- Takuya Yamada
- Masakiyo Maezono
- Kazuyuki Toda
- Yuji Nakazawa
- Shinkichi Kikuchi
- Toshihiro Hattori
Pereira- Bismarck
- Edmundo
- Gil
- Washington
- Hulk
Claudio Ubeda
Geoff Horsfield
Steve Paterson
Lee Gang Jin- Kim Do-Keun
Ryang Gyu-Sa
[edit] Managers
| Manager | Nat. | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Yasutaro Matsuki | Japan |
1993-1994 |
| Nelsinho Baptista | Brazil |
1995-1996 |
| Yasuyuki Kishino | Japan |
1996 |
| Émerson Leão | Brazil |
1996 |
| Hisashi Kato | Japan |
1997 |
| Valdir Espinosa | Brazil |
1997 |
| Ryoichi Kawakatsu | Japan |
1997 |
| Nicanor | Brazil |
1998 |
| Ryoichi Kawakatsu | Japan |
1998 |
| Hideki Matsunaga | Japan |
1999 |
| Chang Woe-Ryong | Korea Republic |
2000 |
| Yasutaro Matsuki | Japan |
2001 |
| Yukitaka Omi | Japan |
2001-2002 |
| Lori Paulo Sandri | Brazil |
2002-2003 |
| Leandro | Brazil |
2003 |
| Osvaldo Ardiles | Argentina |
2003-2005 |
| Nobuhiro Ishizaki | Japan |
2005 |
| Vadão | Brazil |
2005 |
| Ruy Ramos | Japan |
2006-2007 |
| Tetsuji Hashiratani | Japan |
2008- |
[edit] Other Sports
Verdy is a polideportivo and also fields teams in women's football, volleyball, and triathlon. The women's football team is called NTV Beleza and they play in the L. League.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- A fictional character named Hajime Taki from the popular Captain Tsubasa manga, becomes a professional soccer player and joins Tokyo Verdy 1969.
[edit] See also
- Milton Keynes Dons F.C. of Milton Keynes, England, formerly Wimbledon F.C. of London.
- Atlante Fútbol Club, formerly of Mexico City, Mexico, now based in Cancún.
- Relocation of professional sports teams.
[edit] External links
- (Japanese) Official Site
- (English) Rising Sun News: Tokyo Verdy 1969
| Preceded by Mitsubishi Motors |
Japanese Football Champions 1983-1984 |
Succeeded by Furukawa Electric |
| Preceded by Furukawa Electric |
Japanese Football Champions 1986/87 |
Succeeded by Yamaha Motors |
| Preceded by Furukawa Electric |
Champions of Asia 1987/88 |
Succeeded by Al-Sadd  |
| Preceded by Yamaha Motors |
J-League Champions 1990/91-1994 |
Succeeded by Yokohama F. Marinos |
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