Ventforet Kofu

Ventforet Kofu (ヴァンフォーレ甲府, Vanfōre Kōfu) is a Japanese football (soccer) club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team competes in the J2 League. Its home ground is the Kose Sports Stadium.

Ventforet Kofu
Full nameVentforet Kofu
Nickname(s)Ventforet
Founded1965 (1965)
GroundYamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium
Kōfu
Capacity17,000
ChairmanKazuyuki Umino
ManagerAkira Ito
LeagueJ2 League
2019J2 League, 5th
WebsiteClub website

The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French root words: "vent" (wind) and "forêt" (forest). The name alludes to the famous phrase Fū-rin-ka-zan (風林火山）that Takeda Shingen, a prominent Kōfu-based daimyō in the Sengoku period, emblazoned on his war banners. The phrase contains four similies: as swift as the wind; as silent as a forest; as fierce as fire; as immovable as a mountain.

History

Kofu Club (1965–1994)

The club was founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School, the Kakujo Club, started to recruit graduates of other high schools with the intention of promotion to the Japan Soccer League.

The club joined the newly formed JSL Division 2 in 1972. They stayed there until the conclusion of the league in 1992 when it became a founding member of the former Japan Football League.

Kofu Club was formed by volunteers, unlike other mainstream football clubs at that time in Japan, whose players were mostly the employees of their sponsoring companies.

Ventforet Kofu (1995–present)

The club was renamed Ventforet Kofu in 1995 and joined J.League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. The club survived a difficult period between 1999 and 2001, when it suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch, including a streak of twenty-five consecutive losses. Ventforet finished bottom for three seasons in succession and was dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2".

Ventforet improved in 2002, and in 2005 finished third, gaining promotion to the Japanese first division by winning the promotion/relegation play-offs against Kashiwa Reysol. However, the team was relegated with a week remaining in the 2007 season.

At the end of 2010 season, the team was promoted a second time. Despite having striker Mike Havenaar contend for the Top Scorer award in division one the following year, the club was relegated again at the end of 2011. However, it returned after only one year's absence as champions of division two, Ventforet's first championship in its thirty-six year history. Ventforet remained in division one of the Japanese League until 2017.

League history
  • Kanto League: 1967–71 (as Kofu Club)
  • Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1972–91 (as Kofu Club)
  • Division 3 (Old JFL Div. 2): 1992–93 (as Kofu Club)
  • Division 2 (Old JFL): 1994–98 (Kofu Club until 1994, Ventforet Kofu since 1995)
  • Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 1999–05
  • Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2006–07
  • Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2008–10
  • Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2011
  • Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2012
  • Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2013–2017
  • Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2018–

Honours
  • J.League Division 2:
2012
1969
1969, 1970

Current squad

As of 4 July 2020.[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  JPN Kohei Kawata
2 DF  JPN Masato Fujita
3 DF  JPN Tatsushi Koyanagi
4 DF  JPN Hideomi Yamamoto (Captain)
5 DF  JPN Yuta Imazu
6 MF  JPN Hideyuki Nozawa
7 MF  JPN Riku Nakayama
8 MF  JPN Ryohei Arai
9 FW  BRA Rafael
10 FW  BRA Dudu
11 MF  JPN Jin Izumisawa
14 MF  JPN Shohei Takeda
15 MF  JPN Ryotaro Nakamura
16 FW  JPN Riki Matsuda
17 FW  JPN Hidetaka Kanazono
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW  JPN Shusuke Ota
19 FW  JPN Junma Miyazaki
20 DF  JPN Daiki Nakashio
21 MF  JPN Sho Araki
24 MF  JPN Riku Yamada
27 MF  JPN Iwana Kobayashi
28 MF  JPN Yuki Hashizume
29 FW  BRA Junior Barros
31 GK  JPN Kosuke Okanishi
32 DF  JPN Keita Irumagawa
33 GK  JPN Yuto Koizumi
35 MF  JPN Motoki Hasegawa
36 DF  JPN Masahiro Sekiguchi
39 DF  JPN Kenta Uchida
44 FW  JPN Mike Havenaar

Record
YearLeaguePldPtWLDPlaceManager
1992 Old JFL Div. 2 18289815th Kazutomo Fukazawa
199318-612-9th
1994 Former JFL 30-921-14th Susumu Katsumata
199530431416-9th Yuji Tsukada
199630331119-11th
199730521911-6th
19983059228-4th
1999 J2 League 3618527410th Susumu Katsumata
20004018532311th Yuji Tsukada
20014425834212th Reis
200244581618107th Takeshi Oki
200344691913125th Hideki Matsunaga (Jan 1, 2002 – Dec 31, 2004)
200444581516137th
200544691913123rd Takeshi Oki (Feb 1, 2005 – Dec 31, 2007)
2006 J1 League 34421215615th
20073427721617th
2008 J2 League 42591513147th Takayoshi Amma (Feb 1, 2008 – Dec 31, 2009)
200951972810134th
20103670194132nd Kazuo Uchida (Jan 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010)
2011 J1 League 3433961916th Toshiya Miura (Jan 1, 2010 – Aug 7, 2011)
Satoru Sakuma (Aug 8, 2011 – Dec 31, 2011)
2012 J2 League 4286241441st Hiroshi Jofuku (Jan 1, 2012 – Nov 25, 2014)
2013 J1 League 34378131315th
2014 34419141113th
2015 34371071713th Yasuhiro Higuchi (Dec 8, 2014 – May 11, 2015)
Satoru Sakuma (May 13, 2015 – end of season)
2016 34317101714th Satoru Sakuma
2017 34327111616th Tatsuma Yoshida
2018 J2 League 42591611159th Tatsuma Yoshida
Nobuhiro Ueno
2019 42712011115th Akira Ito

Affiliated clubs

References
  1. https://www.ventforet.jp/clubs/top_players/
  2. "Kerjasama Persib bersama Venforet Kofu" (in Indonesian).
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