Shonan Bellmare
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| Full name | Shonan Bellmare | ||
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| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground |
Shonan BMW Stadium Hiratsuka Hiratsuka, Kanagawa | ||
| Capacity | 18,500 | ||
| Chairman | Kiyoshi Makabe | ||
| Manager | Cho Kwi-jea | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2015 | 8th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Shonan Bellmare (湘南ベルマーレ Shōnan Berumāre) are a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture; their home stadium is Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium in Hiratsuka. The name Bellmare is derived from the Italian "bello" for "beauty" and "mare" for "sea", it's a contract form – ex. Castellamare di Stabia (Castello-castle, al-on, mare- sea),. Shonan refers to a coastal area that includes Hiratsuka.
History
Early years as corporate team
The club was founded in 1968 as Towa Estate Development S.C. in Nasu, Tochigi.[1] They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League (JSL) Division 1 in 1972. They changed their name to Fujita Kogyo S.C. when Towa Estate Development gave up the ownership to their parent company Fujita Kogyo, which moved the club to Hiratsuka.
They won the JSL three times (including two doubles with the Emperor's Cup) between 1977 and 1981. They were nevertheless relegated to the JSL's Division 2 in 1990. Although they won the last JSL Division 2 season in 1991–92, the professionalization and formation of the J. League meant they did not meet the new top flight league's criteria and the runners-up, Kashima Antlers (formerly Sumitomo), were promoted instead.
1993 (JFL)
In 1993, they adopted new name Shonan Bellmare. Their application to the J. League Associate membership was accepted. They played in the former Japan Football League Division 1 and won the league championship. After Hiratsuka City Council committed to finance the refurbishment of the Hiratsuka Stadium to meet the J. League requirements, J. League accepted the club.
1994–1997 (Golden era)
The club was forced to change their name to Bellmare Hiratsuka because J. League required the participants to designate only one city or town as their hometown and include its name in the club names at that time. The club initially struggled to cope with the J. League opponents and finished 11th out of 12 in the first stage of the 1994 season. However, they came back in the second stage and finished 2nd. With this momentum, the club won the 1994–1995 Emperor's Cup. This title qualified Bellmare for the 1996 Asian Cup Winners Cup, which they won by beating Iraq's Al Talaba in the final. Hidetoshi Nakata joined the team in 1995 and they also successfully recruited Brazilian-born Wagner Lopes and influential Korean international Hong Myung-Bo. This is arguably the most successful period of the club.[2]
1998–1999 (Difficult period)
Four Bellmare players were selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. They were Nakata, Lopes, Hong and a goalkeeper Nobuyuki Kojima. However, as Nakata left for Italian club Perugia just after the World Cup, the club's fortune started to decline. The main sponsor Fujita decided to discontinue the financial support in 1999 due to their own financial difficulties.[3] It forced the club to release some highly paid players including Lopes, Hong and Kojima. They finished bottom of J1 in 1999 and were relegated to J2.
2000–2009 (J2)
The club made a new start. The ownership was transferred to a community-owned organisation. They also changed their name to Shonan Bellmare as J. League allowed them to enlarge their designated hometowns to include several cities and towns surrounding Hiratsuka.[3] The club's performance on the pitch has not been strong and they have not been serious contenders for the promotion to J1 so far.
A J1 comeback in 2010, if they are able to achieve promotion, will be the first without Fujita as their sponsor. Although for a time they refused to consider their history as the championship-winning Fujita corporate team in their current history, this year they celebrated the club's 40-year anniversary in 2009 as deduced from the badge in their Web site.
On December 5, 2009, Shonan returned to J1 as third-place finishers in 2009 seasons.
2010–Current (Return to J1)
Shonan's return to J1 was a brief one as they struggled at the bottom of the table all season long. Their relegation back to J2 was confirmed with four games to go.
In 2014, after a few years in and out of the top division, Shonan Bellmare dominated J2 during the 2014 campaign. Winning the second division with 101 points, 38 wins, 8 draws, and only 3 losses, they earned promotion back to J League's first division, J1, for the 2015 season.[4]
For the 2015 J1 season Shonan Bellmare partnered with Japanese energy management company, Eneres, to be the team's new main kit sponsor. During the 2015 season, Shonan Bellmare fared the best out of the three promoted sides from J2. Yamagata Monteido and Mastumoto Yamaga (along with J1 regulars Shimizu S-Pulse) were relegated while Shonan stayed up, hanging around the middle of the table for most of the season. They finished the first stage in 10th place, and 9th in the second stage, for an overall finish of 8th in the table. The 2015 season could be considered a success for Bellmare. With 13 wins, 9 draws, and 12 losses on the season, Shonan secured a winning record in the top division from a promoted side.[5]
Rivalries
Historically the Shonan area was part of a pre-modern province, Sagami Province, whereas Yokohama and Kawasaki were part of Musashi Province, hence Bellmare's intraprefectural rivalries with Yokohama F. Marinos, Yokohama FC and Kawasaki Frontale are based on the hard-working port cities of South Musashi as opposed to the more laid-back attitude of Sagami.
Other historical rivals have been Cerezo Osaka, Urawa Red Diamonds and Júbilo Iwata.
Record as J. League member
| Season | Div. | Tms. | Pos. | Attendance/G | J. League Cup | Emperor's Cup | Asia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | J1 | 12 | 5 | 17,836 | 1st Round | Winner | – | – |
| 1995 | J1 | 14 | 11 | 16,111 | – | 2nd Round | – | – |
| 1996 | J1 | 16 | 11 | 10,483 | Semi-final | Quarter-final | CWC | Winner |
| 1997 | J1 | 17 | 8 | 7,841 | Group Stage | Quarter-final | – | – |
| 1998 | J1 | 18 | 11 | 10,158 | Group Stage | 4th Round | – | – |
| 1999 | J1 | 16 | 16 | 7,388 | 1st Round | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2000 | J2 | 11 | 8 | 4,968 | 1st Round | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2001 | J2 | 12 | 8 | 4,112 | 1st Round | 2nd Round | – | – |
| 2002 | J2 | 12 | 5 | 4,551 | – | 4th Round | – | – |
| 2003 | J2 | 12 | 10 | 4,731 | – | 4th Round | – | – |
| 2004 | J2 | 12 | 10 | 4,691 | – | 5th Round | – | – |
| 2005 | J2 | 12 | 7 | 5,746 | – | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2006 | J2 | 13 | 11 | 5,365 | – | 4th Round | – | – |
| 2007 | J2 | 13 | 6 | 4,677 | – | 4th Round | – | – |
| 2008 | J2 | 15 | 5 | 5,994 | – | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2009 | J2 | 18 | 3 | 7,273 | – | 2nd Round | – | – |
| 2010 | J1 | 18 | 18 | 11,095 | Group Stage | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2011 | J2 | 20 | 14 | 6,943 | – | Quarter-final | – | – |
| 2012 | J2 | 22 | 2 | 6,852 | – | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2013 | J1 | 18 | 16 | 9,911 | Group Stage | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2014 | J2 | 22 | 1 | 8,478 | – | 3rd Round | – | – |
| 2015 | J1 | 18 | 8 | 12,208 | Group Stage | 3rd Round | – | – |
- Key
- Tms. = Number of teams
- Pos. = Position in league
- Attendance/G = Average league attendance
- Source: J. League Data Site
Honours
Towa / Fujita
- All Japan Vase: (1) 1971
- Japan Soccer League: (3) 1977, 1979, 1981
- JSL Cup: (1) 1973
- Emperor's Cup: (2) 1977, 1979
Bellmare Hiratsuka / Shonan Bellmare
- Emperor's Cup: (1) 1994
- Asian Cup Winners Cup: (1) 1996
League history
- Kanto Football League: 1970–71
- Division 1 (Japan Soccer League Div. 1): 1972–89 (1972–74 as Towa Real Estate Development; 1975–89 as Fujita Industries)
- Division 2 (Japan Soccer League Div. 2): 1990–91 (as Fujita Industries)
- Division 2 (Japan Football League (former) Div. 1): 1992–93 (as Fujita Industries)
- Division 1 (J. League Div. 1): 1994–99 (as Bellmare Hiratsuka)
- Division 2 (J. League Div. 2): 2000–09 (as Shonan Bellmare)
- Division 1 (J. League Div. 1): 2010
- Division 2 (J. League Div. 2): 2011–12
- Division 1 (J. League Div. 1): 2013
- Division 2 (J. League Div. 2): 2014
- Division 1 (J. League Div. 1): 2015
Total (as of 2015): 27 seasons in the top tier, 17 seasons in the second tier and 2 seasons in the Regional Leagues.
Players
Current squad
- As of February 3, 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
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Sachio Shimomura 1972–1974 - Yoshinobu Ishii 1975–1980, 1988–1990
- Tsutomu Nakamura 1981–1984
- Hidemitsu Hanaoka 1985–1988
- Mitsuru Komaeda 1990–1995, 1999
- Shigeharu Ueki 1995, 1996–1998
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Toninho Moura 1996 - Eiji Ueda 1999, 2004–2006
- Hisashi Kato 2000
- Koji Tanaka 2001–2002
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Mohammed Samir 2003 - Matsuichi Yamada 2003–2004
- Tatsuya Mochizuki 2004
- Masaaki Kanno 2006–2008
- Yasuharu Sorimachi 2009–2011
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Cho Kwi-jea 2012–
References
- ↑ Osumi, Yoshiyuki (1995). Yume no ishizue. Astro publishing. ISBN 4755508576.
- ↑ "11年ぶりのJ1昇格を果たした湘南ベルマーレ 前例のない道を切り開く地域密着の挑戦に迫る" (in Japanese). Shonan Keizai Shimbun. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- 1 2 "Bellmare boss' passion giving back to community". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ↑ "Shonan Bellmare has shot J1 next season". ONE World Sports. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ↑ "2015MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE". J. League. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
External links
- (Japanese) Shonan Bellmare Official Web Site
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