Tokyo Verdy

Tokyo Verdy (東京ヴェルディ, Tōkyō Verudi^?), is a Japanese professional football club, based in Tokyo, Japan, that plays in J. League Division 2.

Founded as Yomiuri FC in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated teams in the J. League, with honours including 7 league titles (a record shared with Kashima Antlers), 5 Emperor's Cups, 6 JSL Cup / J. League Cups and an Asian Club Championship title.

Verdy's plays its home games at the 50,000 capacity Ajinomoto Stadium, which it shares with F.C. Tokyo, although many home matches are played in other stadiums in Tokyo, including Tokyo National Stadium.

History

Early years and rise to the top (1969—1983)

In October 1968, following Japan's bronze medal triumph at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the massive interest in football that ensued,^[1] Japan Football Association president Ken Nozu visited Yomiuri Giants chairman Matsutaro Shoriki to ask him if Yomiuri was willing to ride on the wave of the game by establishing their own football club. Shoriki died a year later, in 1969, but not before signing his name to the plans to establish Yomiuri Football Club

Backed by the Yomiuri Group and NTV, Yomiuri Football Club firstly launched at Tokyo Local League B (as then know 5th tier) in 1969. They began gaining promotions from the Tokyo Local League to the Kanto Football League (as then know 3rd tier) in 1971. In 1971, Yomiuri marked 3rd place and promoted Japan Soccer League Second Division.

At last, They were promoted to First Division in 1978, starting a long career of success in the top flight. Their first major title was the Japan Soccer League Cup in 1979.

Golden Era (1983—1994)

From its days as Yomiuri F.C., the ownership had visions of a football equivalent of the baseball Yomiuri Giants - a star-studded powerhouse with fans across Japan. As Japanese football began its transition from the JSL to the J. League in the early 1990s, it invested heavily in stars and featured Japan internationals Kazuyoshi Miura, Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa.

The team immediately met expectations, winning a domestic double in 1986-87, (winning the First Division and Emperor's Cup), winning the Asian Club Championship in 1988, the last two JSL championships as Yomiuri F.C. in 1990-91 and 1991-92, 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 1996 Emperor's Cup and three consecutive J. League Cups from 1992 to 1994.

The JSL disbanded and reformed as the professional J. League in 1993. At this time the team professionalized and renamed itself Verdy Kawasaki, "Verdi" is the plural for Green in the Italian language (as is common use in Japan to call a team with an Italian suffix or prefix, like Gamba Osaka, Fagiano Okayama and Kawasaki Frontale). Although Yomiuri was dropped from the name as the club spun off from the company, the team remained under Yomiuri's ownership until 1997, when it was acquired by Nippon Television Network, the broadcast arm of the Yomiuri Group.

Lack of success and support (1995–2000)

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.

The 1996 J. League season saw Verdy Kawasaki finish 7th place overall, the lowest standing in the league's existence at that point, and would fall further in the 1997 season, 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 professionalized crosstown rival Kawasaki Frontale and the nearby Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama Flugels, Verdy made the decision to leave Kawasaki.

Return to Tokyo (2001–2005)

In 2001, the club 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 club 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, Tokyo Verdy 1969 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. Tokyo Verdy 1969 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, before Tokyo Verdy 1969, under Osvaldo Ardiles, 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.^[2]

However, the 2005 season saw Tokyo Verdy 1969 fall 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 Tokyo Verdy 1969 were relegated to J2, after 28 years of top flight football. 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 a 6-0 loss to Jubilo Iwata on July 17. Tokyo Verdy then sacked Ardiles two days later.^[3] At the time of his sacking, Ardiles team had conceded 23 goals in their last 5 matches and had a 9 match winless streak.^[3] However, the struggling Verdy upset European giant Real Madrid (who were in Asia on a preseason tour), 3-0 on July 25.^[4]

Back in the second tier (2006–present)

For the 2006 season, the club appointed former Verdy Kawasaki legend, Ruy Ramos, as manager on December 22, 2005.^[5] Tokyo Verdy 1969 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 Tokyo Verdy 1969 was relegated, the club 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.^[6]

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. Tokyo Verdy 1969 managed to beat Thespa Kusatsu 5-0 on the first day. After a brief scuffle with Consadole Sapporo over the J2 title, Tokyo Verdy 1969 had to settle for runner-up - which was 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 team name, but the management corporation name remained as Tokyo Verdy 1969.

Verdy would once again be relegated after finishing in second last place in 2008.

On September 17, 2009, NTV announced it would divest itself of shares in the club and transfer it to a new holding company, Tokyo Verdy Holdings, closing 40 years of Yomiuri/NTV direct financial support.^[7] The J. League approved the transfer, but made it a condition that Verdy find a new sponsor by November 16 or risk not being able to play J2 football for the 2010 season.^[8]

In October 2010, Tokyo Verdy signed a five-year sponsorship deal with sports retail store and apparel company Xebio.^[9] The sponsorship deal saw the Xebio logo placed on Tokyo Verdy's kit and includes naming rights for two regular season home games.^[9] Xebio also produces the clubs football kit, although under their sports brand "Ennerre". After talks with Xebio, several companies decided to invest in the company and the new Xebio led administration was announced in November.

Players

Current squad

As of January 2011^[10] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

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

Notable players

Managers

Team Record as J. League member

Key

• Tms. = Number of teams
• Pos. = Position in league
• Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Honours

With 7 league titles, 5 Emperor's Cups and 6 League Cups, Tokyo Verdy is the most decorated football club in Japan, although most of its titles came during their stay at Kawasaki.

Domestic

• JSL Division 1 (until 1993) and J. League Division 1:

Winners (7): 1983, 1984, 1986-87, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1993, 1994

Runners-up (4): 1979, 1981, 1989-90, 1995

• JSL Division 2:

Winners (2): 1974, 1977

• JSL Cup / J. League Cup:

Winners (6): 1979, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994

Runners-up (1): 1996

• Emperor's Cup:

Winners (5): 1984, 1986, 1987, 1996, 2004

Runners-up (3): 1981, 1991, 1992

• Xerox Super Cup:

Winners (4): 1984, 1994, 1995, 2005

Runners-up (1): 1997

• Konica Cup:

Winners (1): 1990

Asia

• Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League:

Winners (1): 1988

Worldwide

• Sanwa Bank Cup:

Winners (1): 1994

Runners-up (1): 1995

Other sports

Verdy is a polideportivo and also fields teams in women's football, volleyball, and triathlon. Tokyo Verdy's women's football team is the 12 time L. League champion and 10 time All-Japan Women's Football Championship winners, NTV Beleza.

See also

• J. League
• Japan Soccer League
• NTV Beleza

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Tokyo Verdy 1969 - Classic Club Guide at FIFA.com (English)