Sagan Tosu

Sagan Tosu
サガン鳥栖
Full nameSagan Tosu Football Club
Nickname(s)Sagan
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
StadiumTosu Stadium
Tosu, Saga
Capacity24,130
ChairmanMinoru Takehara
ManagerKenta Kawai
LeagueJ1 League
2023J1 League, 14th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Sagan Tosu (サガン鳥栖, Sagan Tosu) is a Japanese professional football club based in Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country.

Name origin

Sagan is a coined word with a couple of meanings behind it. One of its homophones is sandstone (砂岩, sagan) in Japanese. This symbolises many small elements uniting to form one formidable object, for example as a metaphor for a team. Also, Sagan Tosu can be interpreted as "Tosu of Saga (Prefecture)" (佐賀ん鳥栖, Saga-n Tosu) in the area's dialect.

History

In February 1997, Sagan was established as a new club which virtually took over Tosu Futures, which became insolvent in the previous month, and were admitted to participate Japan Football League from 1997 to 1998, as well as J. League Cup in 1997 as a preferential measure, although J. League Associate Membership status was not awarded to Sagan. In 1999 they were admitted to the new J. League Division 2 (J2) as one of the "Original Ten", which were the ten first members of the J2. They remained at the league until their promotion to J1 at the end of the 2011 season. Little by little, Sagan Tosu started to establish itself as one of the top clubs in the country with the new President & Chief Operating Officer Minoru Takehara, who is also part owner of the club.[1]

In their first season at the J. League Division 1 in 2012, confounding the prediction of many critics about their immediate relegation to J2, they have been maintaining their position between 5th and 11th places all the way through the season, except on Matchweek 2, in which they were ranked 13th. They were ranked third after the 33rd week, having a chance to qualify for the 2013 AFC Champions League if they hadn't lost to Yokohama F. Marinos in the last match of the season. However, they have lost to Yokohama by 0–1, wrapping up the season in 5th place, while Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Nagoya Grampus and were ranked 3rd. They also became the first club in Asia to sign a partnership with Warrior Sports,[2] who sponsor many overseas clubs, including English side Liverpool FC.

In 2013, they made it to the semifinal of the Emperor's Cup for the first time in the club's history, becoming the first club based in Kyushu to make it to the semifinal of the Emperor's Cup since Nippon Steel Yawata SC had done in the 1981 edition. In 2013, they invited A-League team Sydney FC along with the former Italian international player Alessandro Del Piero, for a Japan Tour for the first time.[3]

In 2014, the club had been in their most successful season in J. League Division 1, being ranked on the top of 2014 J. League Division 1 on the 1st, 2nd, 13th, and 18th matchweek. However, the club made an announcement on 8 August which announced the termination of contract with the head coach Yoon Jung-Hwan all of a sudden, despite the apparently good season.[4] During the course of the year, they continued on its international expansion and started a partnership with Italian side Juventus FC, for its Juventus Under-16 Japan Tour 2014.[5] On July 10, 2018, the club reached an agreement with former World Cup, UCL and Europa League winner, Fernando Torres. The aging star would play 35 games for the side, netting 5 goals before finally hanging up his boots on his star-studded career.

League & cup record

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J. League Cup Emperor's Cup
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W (OTW/PKW) D L (OTL/PKL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G
1997 JFL 16 11th 30 12 (1/0) - 17 38 54 -16 38 - Not eligible 3rd round
1998 16 8th 30 11 (3) - 16 40 55 -15 39 - 3rd round
1999 J2 10 8th 36 11 (1) 2 20 (2) 52 64 -12 37 3,385 1st round 3rd round
2000 11 6th 40 13 (2) 5 15 (5) 41 52 -11 48 3,714 1st round 3rd round
2001 12 10th 44 8 (2) 4 28 (2) 45 82 -37 32 3,479 1st round Round of 16
2002 12 9th 44 9 14 21 41 64 -23 41 3,890 Not eligible 3rd round
2003 12 12th 44 3 11 30 40 89 -49 20 3,172 1st round
2004 12 11th 44 8 11 25 32 66 -34 35 3,610 4th round
2005 12 8th 44 14 10 20 58 58 0 52 7,855 4th round
2006 13 4th 48 22 13 13 64 49 15 79 7,465 4th round
2007 13 8th 48 21 9 18 63 66 -3 72 6,114 Round of 16
2008 15 6th 42 19 7 16 50 51 -1 64 7,261 Quarter-finals
2009 18 5th 51 25 13 13 71 51 20 88 5,939 Round of 16
2010 19 9th 36 13 12 11 42 41 1 51 6,633 3rd round
2011 20 2nd 38 19 12 7 68 34 34 69 7,731 2nd round
2012 J1 18 5th 34 15 8 11 48 39 9 53 11,991 Group stage 2nd round
2013 18 12th 34 13 7 14 54 63 -9 46 11,515 Group stage Semi-finals
2014 18 5th 34 19 3 12 41 33 8 60 14,137 Group stage Round of 16
2015 18 11th 34 9 13 12 37 54 -17 40 13,450 Group stage Quarter-finals
2016 18 11th 34 12 10 12 36 37 -1 46 12,636 Group stage Round of 16
2017 18 8th 34 13 8 13 41 44 -3 47 14,194 Group stage 3rd round
2018 18 14th 34 10 11 13 29 34 -5 41 15,000 Group stage Quarter-finals
2019 18 15th 34 10 6 18 32 53 -21 36 15,050 Group stage Quarter-finals
2020 † 18 13th 34 7 15 12 37 43 -6 36 4,675 Group stage Did not qualify
2021 † 20 7th 38 16 11 11 53 35 8 59 7,276 Group stage Round of 16
2022 18 11th 34 9 15 10 45 44 1 42 9,358 Group stage Round of 16
2023 18 TBD 34 Group stage 3rd round
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
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • 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
  • † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances were reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Current squad

As of 10 August 2023.[6][7][8]

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

Out on loan

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

Sagan Tosu U-18

As of 5 May 2023.

The U-18 team of Sagan Tosu 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.[9]

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

Retired number

  • 17 Japan Sakata Michitaka – A former professor of Saga University and the person which backed up in both the establishment of Tosu Futures and the team's revival as Sagan Tosu. He died due to kidney cancer on January 7, 2000. The number 17 indicates his day of death.

Club staff

For the 2023 season.[10]

Role Name
Manager Japan Kenta Kawai
Assistant manager Japan Naoya Kikuchi
First team coach Japan Yuzuru Suwabe
Japan Naoyuki Iwata
Japan Yoshizumi Ogawa
Goalkeeping Coach Japan Takuya Muro
Physical Coach Japan Tadashi Noda
Analyst Japan Shota Tamaki
Chief trainer Japan Toru Kawaguchi
Trainer Japan Daisuke Adachi
Japan Masahiro Hirano
Japan Masashi Maeda
Athletic trainer Japan Atsushi Shiga
Interpreter Japan Ichiro Takeuchi
South Korea Lee Kang-haeng
Competent Japan Yoshito Tsuichihara
Side affairs Japan Naoki Egawa
Equipment manager Japan Ryota Kyofuji

Managerial history

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Takashi Kuwahara  Japan 1 February 1993 31 January 1995
Hiroshi Sowa  Japan 1 February 1997 31 January 2000
Kazuhiro Kōso  Japan 1 February 2000 31 January 2002
Hiroshi Soejima  Japan 1 February 2002 31 January 2003
Yoshinori Sembiki  Japan 1 February 2003 31 January 2004
Ikuo Matsumoto  Japan 1 February 2004 31 January 2007
Yasuyuki Kishino  Japan 1 February 2007 31 January 2010
Ikuo Matsumoto  Japan 1 February 2010 31 January 2011
Yun Jeong-hwan  South Korea 1 February 2011 7 August 2014
Megumu Yoshida  Japan 8 August 2014 31 January 2015
Hitoshi Morishita  Japan 1 February 2015 31 January 2016
Massimo Ficcadenti  Italy 1 February 2016 18 October 2018
Kim Myung-hwi  South Korea 19 October 2018 31 January 2019
Luis Carreras  Spain 1 February 2019 4 May 2019
Kim Myung-hwi  South Korea 4 May 2019 20 December 2021
Kenta Kawai  Japan 1 February 2022 present

Kit evolution

Home kits - 1st
1999 - 2000
2001 - 2002
2003 - 2004
2005
2006 - 2007
2008 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 -
Away kits - 2nd
1999 - 2000
2001 - 2002
2003 - 2004
2005
2006 - 2007
2008 - 2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 -
Alternative kits - 3rd
2015
Hawk Festival Memorial
2016
Ladies Day
2016
Hawk Festival Memorial
2017
Hawk Festival Memorial
2018
Hawk Festival Memorial
2019
Hawk Festival Memorial
2019
F. Torres
Retirement Game Memorial 1[11]
2019
F. Torres
Retirement Game Memorial 2[12]
2022
25th Anniversary

References

  1. ^ [サガン、竹原氏が社長就任　「Ｊ１昇格と健全な経営」 http://www1.saga-s.co.jp/news/saga.0.1913106.article.html]
  2. ^ [Warrior Football – Sagan Tosu http://www.warriorfootball.com/teams/sagan-tosu]
  3. ^ [Sagan Tosu outlast Sydney FC in J-League friendly https://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/24/4551614/sydney-sagan-tosu-j-league]
  4. ^ "尹晶煥監督　契約解除のお知らせ" [Annulment of the contract with Head Coach Yoon Jung-Hwan]. Sagan Tosu. 2014-08-08. Archived from the original on 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  5. ^ [The Bianconeri Allievi fly to Japan [1]]
  6. ^ "2023サガン鳥栖選手一覧". Sagan Tosu. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  7. ^ "TOP TEAM PLAYERS". Sagan Tosu. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  8. ^ "サガン鳥栖 日程". jleague.jp (in Japanese). Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. ^ "サガン鳥栖 U-18" (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ "2023サガン鳥栖監督、コーチ、スタッフ一覧". sagan-tosu.net (in Japanese). 11 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  11. ^ Worn at the entrance to the pitch against Vissel Kobe in J1 Section 24.
  12. ^ Worn during the match against Vissel Kobe in J1 Section 24.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sagan Tosu.