Sony Sendai FC
Sony Sendai FC (ソニー仙台FC, Sonī Sendai Efu Shī) is a Japanese football club based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. That currently plays in the Japan Football League, Japanese fourth tier of football league. The team colour is navy.
| Full name | Sony Sendai Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Stadium | Yurtec Stadium Sendai Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture | ||
| Capacity | 19,694 | ||
| Owner | Sony | ||
| Manager | Jun Suzuki | ||
| League | Japan Football League | ||
| 2022 | 14th of 16 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
The club was founded by the workers of Sony's Sendai factory in 1968. They kept a low profile playing mainly in the Miyagi Prefecture League for a long time. However, it changed suddenly in 1993 when they embarked on a challenging task to reach the former Japan Football League within 5 years. They became league champions for 4 consecutive seasons starting from 1994, first in the Prefecture League and the others in the Tōhoku Regional League. They achieved their goal and were promoted to the JFL by winning the 1997 Regional League play-off.
When the J. League Division 2 was formed in 1999, the club decided not to turn professional. They joined the newly organised Japan Football League instead and have been an established JFL side since then.
As a result of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Sony Sendai, with permission from the JFL, did not contest the first half of the 2011 season. They expectedly earned last place on points, but due to Machida Zelvia and Matsumoto Yamaga being promoted to Division 2 and JEF Reserves withdrawing from the competition, they were spared relegation.
In 2015 Sony Sendai won the second stage and earned its first JFL title by defeating first stage champions Vanraure Hachinohe on penalties after a tied two-leg final on aggregate.
League and cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | Emperor's Cup | Shakaijin Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Tier | Teams | Pos. | P | W (OTW) | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 1998 | Former JFL | 2 | 16 | 13th | 30 | 7 (1) | 1 | 22 | 42 | 71 | -29 | 23 | 2nd round | - |
| 1999 | JFL | 3 | 9 | 5th | 24 | 7 (2) | 1 | 14 | 29 | 42 | -13 | 26 | 3th round | Runner-up |
| 2000 | 12 | 5th | 22 | 11 (2) | 0 | 9 | 51 | 37 | 14 | 37 | 1st round | Not eligible | ||
| 2001 | 16 | 14th | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 32 | 1st round | |||
| 2002 | 18 | 4th | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 30 | 1st round | |||
| 2003 | 16 | 9th | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 46 | 44 | 2 | 45 | 1st round | |||
| 2004 | 16 | 6th | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 50 | 42 | 8 | 47 | 3rd round | |||
| 2005 | 16 | 7th | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 37 | 11 | 50 | - | |||
| 2006 | 18 | 9th | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 48 | 65 | -17 | 37 | 1st round | |||
| 2007 | 18 | 11th | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 46 | 59 | -13 | 44 | 2nd round | |||
| 2008 | 18 | 9th | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 53 | 42 | 11 | 49 | 3rd round | |||
| 2009 | 18 | 3rd | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 30 | 19 | 59 | 2nd round | |||
| 2010 | 18 | 14th | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 42 | -8 | 42 | 3rd round | |||
| 2011 | 18 | 18th | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 16 | 2nd round | |||
| 2012 | 17 | 12th | 32 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 27 | 29 | -2 | 39 | 2nd round | |||
| 2013 | 18 | 9th | 34 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 33 | 34 | -1 | 50 | 2nd round | |||
| 2014 | 4 | 14 | 5th | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 45 | 29 | 16 | 46 | 3rd round | ||
| 2015 | 16 | 1st | 30 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 48 | 21 | 27 | 71 | - | |||
| 2016 | 16 | 6th | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 56 | 27 | 29 | 57 | 1st round | |||
| 2017 | 16 | 3rd | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 64 | 36 | 28 | 59 | 1st round | |||
| 2018 | 16 | 4th | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 67 | 43 | 24 | 52 | 2nd round | |||
| 2019 | 16 | 2nd | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 60 | 34 | 26 | 55 | - | |||
| 2020 | 16 | 3rd | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 26 | 2nd round | |||
| 2021 | 16 | 6th | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 52 | 39 | 13 | 48 | 2nd round | |||
| 2022 | 16 | 14th | 30 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 23 | 39 | -16 | 28 | - | |||
| 2023 | 15 | TBD | 28 | 2nd round | ||||||||||
- Key
- P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
Current squad
As of 4 July 2023.[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching Staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Jun Suzuki |
| Assistant head coach | Shinji Honda |
| Assistant head coach | Takuto Nitta |
| Goalkeeper coach | Susumu Kaneko |
| Trainer | Kazuki Kubo Ryo Ikehara |
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Kazuaki Nagasawa | Japan | 1 February 1999 | 31 January 2001 |
| Noboru Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2001 | 31 January 2004 |
| Eiji Satō | Japan | 1 February 2004 | 31 January 2008 |
| Hidenori Tabata | Japan | 1 February 2008 | 31 January 2012 |
| Masato Ishikawa | Japan | 1 February 2012 | 31 January 2018 |
| Shinji Honda | Japan | 1 February 2018 | 31 July 2019 |
| Gen Nakamura | Japan | 1 August 2019 | 31 January 2022 |
| Jun Suzuki | Japan | 1 February 2022 | Current |
References
- "ソニー仙台FC". www.sonysendaifc.jp. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
External links
- (in Japanese) Official Website
- (in Japanese) Facebook's page