Zweigen Kanazawa
 | |||
| Full name | Zweigen Kanazawa | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Zweigen | ||
| Founded | 1956 (as Kanazawa Soccer Club) 2006 (as Zweigen Kanazawa) | ||
| Ground | Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium (Seibu Ryokuchi Kōen) Kanazawa, Ishikawa | ||
| Capacity | 20,261 | ||
| Chairman | Hiroshi Yonezawa | ||
| Head coach | Masaaki Yanagishita | ||
| League | J3 League | ||
| 2023 | J2 League, 22nd of 22 (relegated) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
|
| |||
Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢, Tsuēgen Kanazawa) is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japan's 2nd tier of professional league football but from 2024 play in J3 League after relegation in 2023.
History
The club was formed in 1956 under the simple name Kanazawa Soccer Club and adopted its current identity in 2006. The Hokushinetsu region, long sleepy in football terms and whose potential only arose with Albirex Niigata leading the way, provided few opportunities for Kanazawa to rise in Japan's football ranks until the late 2000s. On 19 December 2009 they were promoted to the JFL after beating FC Kariya at the promotion/relegation playoff with 2–1 aggregate score, following a third-place finish in the 2009 All Japan Regional Football Promotion League Series.
On December 15, 2010, a new management company called Zweigen, Inc. was established in order to apply to the J-League associate membership.
On January 7, 2011 the team applied for J-League associate membership.[1]
On 16 November 2014, Zweigen became the inaugural J3 League champions, and gained a licence to compete in J2 League from 2015.
On 22 October 2023, Zweigen officially relegated to J3 League for the 2024 season after a narrow by Montedio Yamagata 0-1, thus ending their 9 years stay in J2.
Name and symbolism
The name "Zweigen" is a portmanteau of the German zwei, for the number 2, and gen, to advance. In Kanazawa dialect, the phrase tsuyoi noda! (We're strong!) became tsuee gen! by double entendre. In German, the word Zweigen means branches (dative—nominative: Zweige), and owing to this, a fleur-de-lis is a key part of the club's crest.
Stadium
Their home stadium is the Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium. The capacity is 20,261. The stadium was built on 1974.
The new Kanazawa Football Stadium has been in construction since 2022, and it is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2023.
League & cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | Emperor's Cup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div. | Tier | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | |
| 2010 | JFL | 3 | 18 | 9th | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 41 | 5 | 48 | 1,548 | 2nd round |
| 2011 | 18 | 7th | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 49 | 40 | 9 | 47 | 2,504 | 2nd round | ||
| 2012 | 17 | 14th | 32 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 33 | 41 | -8 | 36 | 2,313 | 1st round | ||
| 2013 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 48 | 12 | 50 | 2,063 | 3rd round | ||
| 2014 | J3 | 12 | 1st | 33 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 56 | 20 | 36 | 75 | 3,440 | 2nd round | |
| 2015 | J2 | 2 | 22 | 12th | 42 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 46 | 43 | 3 | 54 | 4,910 | 2nd round |
| 2016 | 22 | 21st | 42 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 36 | 60 | -24 | 39 | 4,179 | 2nd round | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 17th | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 49 | 67 | -18 | 49 | 4,397 | 3rd round | ||
| 2018 | 22 | 13th | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 52 | 48 | 4 | 55 | 4,528 | 3rd round | ||
| 2019 | 22 | 11th | 42 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 58 | 46 | 12 | 61 | 5,209 | 3rd round | ||
| 2020 † | 22 | 18th | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 57 | 67 | -10 | 49 | 1,866 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021 † | 22 | 17th | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 39 | 60 | -21 | 41 | 2,533 | 2nd round | ||
| 2022 | 22 | 14th | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 56 | 69 | -13 | 52 | 3,421 | 3rd round | ||
| 2023 | 22 | 22nd | 42 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 40 | 69 | -29 | 34 | 4,239 | 2nd round | ||
| 2024 | J3 | 3 | 20 | TBD | 38 | TBC | ||||||||
- 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
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
- Source: J.League Data Site
- Source: Japan Football League 2010
Honours
Current squad
As of 9 February 2024.[2][3] 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.
Coaching staff
For the 2023 season.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Masaaki Yanagishita
|
| Assistant head coach | Kiyokazu Kudo
|
| First-team coach | Masateru Tsujita
|
| Goalkeeper coach | Ryoji Kawamoto
|
| Physical coach | Tetsuya Sakamoto
|
| Analyst | Wataru Kuriwaki
|
| Chief trainer | Yohei Kojo
|
| Trainer | Seiya Motooka Takahiro Yagi
|
| Interpreter | Rafael Rayden Igarashi
|
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | Managerial Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | P | W | D | L | Win % | ||
| Nobuhiro Ueno | Japan |
1 February 2009 | 31 January 2012 | 81 | 37 | 17 | 27 | 45.68 |
| Hitoshi Morishita | Japan |
1 February 2012 | 31 January 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Masaaki Yanagishita | Japan |
1 February 2017 | present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
- Key
- Source: J.League Data Site
Kit evolution
| Home Kit - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          2006 - 2007 |
     2008 - 2010 |
     2011 |
     2012 |
 2013 |
     2014 |
   2015 |
     2016 |
     2017 |
     2018 |
     2019 |
     2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
     2023 - |
| Away Kit - 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     2008 - 2010 |
     2011 |
    2012 - 2013 |
     2014 |
     2015 |
     2016 |
    2017 |
     2018 |
     2019 |
   2020 |
     2021 |
   2022 |
     2023 - | ||
| Special Kits - 3rd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     Summer 2019 | ||||
References
- ^ "News About Zweigen Kanazawa". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- ^ "2023シーズン新体制及び背番号決定のお知らせ". ツエーゲン金沢 公式サイト. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "トップチーム". ツエーゲン金沢 公式サイト. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
