Sagan Tosu

Sagan Tosu
サガン điểu tê
Full name	Sagan Tosu Football Club
Nickname(s)	Sagan
Founded	1997;27 years ago
Stadium	Ekimae Real Estate Stadium; Tosu, Saga
Capacity	24,130
Chairman	Minoru Takehara
Manager	Kenta Kawai
League	J1 League
2023	J1 League, 14th of 18
Website	Club website
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

Sagan Tosu(サガン điểu tê,Sagan Tosu)is a Japanese professionalfootballclub based inTosu,Saga Prefecture.The club plays in theJ1 League,which is the top tier of football in the country.

Saganis a coined word with a couple of meanings behind it. One of itshomophonesissandstone(Sa nham,sagan)in Japanese. This symbolises many small elements uniting to form one formidable object, for example as a metaphor for a team. Also,Sagan Tosucan be interpreted as "Tosu of Saga (Prefecture)"(Tá hạ ん điểu tê,Saga-n Tosu)in the area's dialect.

History

In February 1997, Sagan was established as a new club which virtually took overTosu Futures,which became insolvent in the previous month, and were admitted to participateJapan Football Leaguefrom 1997 to 1998, as well asJ. League Cupin 1997 as a preferential measure, althoughJ. League Associate Membershipstatus 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 OfficerMinoru Takehara, who is also part owner of the club.^[1]

In their first season at theJ1 Leaguein2012,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 the2013 AFC Champions Leagueif they hadn't lost toYokohama F. Marinosin the last match of the season. However, they have lost to Yokohama by 0–1, wrapping up the season in 5th place, whileUrawa Red DiamondsdefeatedNagoya Grampusand were ranked 3rd. They also became the first club in Asia to sign a partnership withWarrior Sports,^[2]who sponsor many overseas clubs, including English sideLiverpool.

In 2013, they made it to the semi-finals of theEmperor's Cupfor the first time in the club's history, becoming the first club based inKyushuto make it to the semi-finals of theEmperor's CupsinceNippon Steel Yawatahad done in the1981 edition.In 2013, they invitedA-LeagueteamSydney FCalong with the formerItalian internationalplayerAlessandro Del Piero,for a Japan Tour for the first time.^[3]

In 2014, the club had been in their most successful season in theJ1 League,being ranked on the top of2014 J1 Leagueon 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 sideJuventus,for its Juventus Under-16 Japan Tour 2014.^[5]On 10 July 2018, the club reached an agreement with former FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA 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.

Kit and colours

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	2024 -

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	2024 -

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^[6]	2019 F. Torres Retirement Game Memorial 2^[7]	2022 25th Anniversary

Current squad

As of 7 July 2024.^[8]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ESP	Arnau Riera
2	DF	JPN	Kosuke Yamazaki
3	DF	JPN	Seiji Kimura(on loan fromFC Tokyo)
5	MF	JPN	So Kawahara
6	MF	JPN	Akito Fukuta
7	MF	JPN	Kohei Tezuka
8	MF	JPN	Hikaru Nakahara
10	MF	JPN	Fuchi Honda
11	FW	BRA	Vinícius Araújo
13	FW	JPN	Ayumu Yokoyama
14	MF	JPN	Naoyuki Fujita(captain)
16	DF	JPN	Katsunori Ueebisu
18	MF	JPN	Shota Hino
19	MF	JPN	Kentaro Moriya
20	DF	KOR	Kim Tae-hyeon
21	MF	JPN	Yuki Horigome
22	FW	JPN	Cayman Togashi


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
23	MF	JPN	Taichi Kikuchi
25	MF	JPN	Ryohei Watanabe
27	MF	JPN	Yoshiki Narahara
28	DF	JPN	Yusuke Maruhashi
29	DF	JPN	Taisei Inoue^DSP
31	GK	JPN	Masahiro Okamoto
32	FW	JPN	Keisuke Sakaiya
36	DF	JPN	Fumiya Kitajima
42	DF	JPN	Wataru Harada
47	FW	JPN	Daichi Suzuki^{Type 2}
51	GK	KOR	Lee Yun-sung
55	MF	JPN	Hiroshi Kiyotake(on loan fromCerezo Osaka)
71	GK	JPN	Park Il-gyu(vice-captain)
77	MF	LTU	Vykintas Slivka
88	MF	JPN	Yoichi Naganuma
99	FW	BRA	Marcelo Ryan

Out on loan

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
12	GK	KOR	Koh Bong-jo(atVentforet Kofu)
34	DF	JPN	Shiva Tafari Nagasawa(atMito HollyHock)
41	FW	JPN	Ryonosuke Kabayama(atThespa Gunma)
—	GK	JPN	Kei Uchiyama(atFujieda MYFC)
—	DF	JPN	Dai Hirase(atRenofa Yamaguchi FC)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	JPN	Ryotaro Takeuchi(atCriacao Shinjuku)
—	DF	JPN	Koma Osato(atReilac Shiga FC)
—	MF	JPN	Shunya Sakai(atTegevajaro Miyazaki)
—	FW	JPN	Oji Kawanami(atFC Gifu)

Sagan Tosu U-18

As of 16 April 2024.

The main U-18 team of Sagan Tosu currently plays in thePrince 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 underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	JPN	Kota Imoto
2	DF	JPN	Shuya Furutachi
3	DF	JPN	Kanta Uchimaru
4	DF	JPN	Shotaro Oba
5	DF	JPN	Teppei Ikematsu
6	MF	JPN	Haruki Yamasaki
7	MF	JPN	Tentaro Onuki
8	MF	JPN	Sena Morimoto
9	MF	JPN	Tomomichi Yoza
10	FW	JPN	Daichi Suzuki
11	FW	JPN	Shion Watanabe
12	GK	JPN	Kosei Tanaka
13	DF	JPN	Yuto Kakimoto
14	MF	JPN	Ryu Sakurada
15	FW	JPN	Shion Shinkawa


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	DF	JPN	Yuya Kuroki
17	DF	JPN	Hikaru Yamaguchi
18	MF	JPN	Tokito Mizumaki
19	MF	JPN	Ryoma Koga
20	MF	JPN	Aitaro Higashiguchi
21	MF	JPN	Konosuke Haraguchi
22	MF	JPN	Kento Yamamura Chidi
23	MF	JPN	Yuki Suzuki
24	MF	JPN	Tokia Ikeda
25	FW	JPN	Yuto Tanaka
26	FW	JPN	Yuta Shimoda
27	DF	JPN	Junnosuke Iwamura
31	MF	JPN	Ren Ono
32	FW	JPN	Rentaro Harada
40	GK	JPN	Teyan Tani

Retired number

17Sakata Michitaka – A former professor ofSaga Universityand the person which backed up in both the establishment ofTosu Futuresand the team's revival as Sagan Tosu. He died due to kidney cancer on 7 January 2000. The number 17 indicates his day of death.

Club officials

Role^[10]	Name
Manager	Kenta Kawai
Assistant manager	Naoya Kikuchi
First-team coach	Yuzuru Suwabe Naoyuki Iwata Yoshizumi Ogawa Cho Dong-geon
Goalkeeping coach	Takuya Muro
Physical coach	Tadashi Noda
Analyst	Shota Tamaki Yutaro Hamada
Chief trainer	Toru Kawaguchi
Athletic trainer	Atsushi Shiga
Trainer	Daisuke Adachi Masahiro Hirano Masashi Maeda
Interpreter	Alesso Mariani Lee Kang-haeng Naoto Muramatsu
Competent	Yoshito Tsuichihara
Side affairs	Naoki Egawa Ayaki Goto
Equipment manager	Yoshiki Sugimoto
Chief doctor	Kyota Nishifuru

Managerial history

Manager	Nationality	Tenure
Manager	Nationality	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

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	J. League Cup	Emperor's Cup
1997	JFL	16	11th	30	12(1/0)	-	17	38	54	-16	38	-	Not eligible	3rd round
1998	JFL	16	8th	30	11(3)	-	16	40	55	-15	39	-	Not eligible	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	14th	34	9	11	14	43	47	-4	38	10,230	Group stage	3rd round
2024		20	TBD	38									TBD	TBD

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 byCOVID-19worldwide pandemic
Source:J.League Data Site

References

^[サガン, trúc nguyên thị が xã trường tựu nhậm “Ｊ１ thăng cách と kiện toàn な kinh 営”http://www1.saga-s.co.jp/news/saga.0.1913106.article.html Archived2018-07-12 at theWayback Machine]
^[Warrior Football – Sagan Tosuhttp://www.warriorfootball.com/teams/sagan-tosu]
^[Sagan Tosu outlast Sydney FC in J-League friendlyhttps://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/24/4551614/sydney-sagan-tosu-j-league]
^"Doãn tinh hoán giam đốc khế ước giải trừ のお tri らせ"[Annulment of the contract with Head Coach Yoon Jung-Hwan]. Sagan Tosu. 2014-08-08. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-08-07.Retrieved2014-08-08.
^[The Bianconeri Allievi fly to Japan[1]]
^Worn at the entrance to the pitch against Vissel Kobe in J1 Section 24.
^Worn during the match against Vissel Kobe in J1 Section 24.
^"TOP TEAM PLAYERS".Sagan Tosu.Retrieved14 June2022.
^"サガン điểu tê U-18"(in Japanese).Retrieved5 May2023.
^"TOP TEAM STAFF".sagan-tosu.net(in Japanese).Retrieved18 April2024.

External links

Official website(in Japanese)

[1] [サガン, trúc nguyên thị が xã trường tựu nhậm “Ｊ１ thăng cách と kiện toàn な kinh 営”http://www1.saga-s.co.jp/news/saga.0.1913106.article.html Archived2018-07-12 at theWayback Machine]

[2] [Warrior Football – Sagan Tosuhttp://www.warriorfootball.com/teams/sagan-tosu]

[3] [Sagan Tosu outlast Sydney FC in J-League friendlyhttps://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/24/4551614/sydney-sagan-tosu-j-league]

[4] "Doãn tinh hoán giam đốc khế ước giải trừ のお tri らせ"[Annulment of the contract with Head Coach Yoon Jung-Hwan]. Sagan Tosu. 2014-08-08. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-08-07.Retrieved2014-08-08.

[5] [The Bianconeri Allievi fly to Japan[1]]

[6] Worn at the entrance to the pitch against Vissel Kobe in J1 Section 24.

[7] Worn during the match against Vissel Kobe in J1 Section 24.

[8] "TOP TEAM PLAYERS".Sagan Tosu.Retrieved14 June2022.

[9] "サガン điểu tê U-18"(in Japanese).Retrieved5 May2023.

[10] "TOP TEAM STAFF".sagan-tosu.net(in Japanese).Retrieved18 April2024.

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v t e Sagan Tosu
Club	Players History(Tosu Futures) All articles
Stadium	Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Saga Stadium
Seasons	1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Former stadia	Ogori Athletic Stadium Karatsu Athletic Stadium
Training ground	Hokubu ground Tosu Athletic Stadium