Tokyo Verdy

In October 1968, following Japan's bronze medal triumph at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the interest in football that ensued,[1] Japan Football Association president Yuzuru Nozu visited Yomiuri Giants chairman Matsutaro Shoriki to ask him if Yomiuri was willing to ride on the wave of the game by establishing their own football club. Shoriki died a year later, in 1969, but not before signing his name to the plans to establish Yomiuri Football Club.[2] Backed by the Yomiuri Group and NTV, Yomiuri Football Club firstly launched at Tokyo Local League B (5th tier) in 1969. They began gaining promotions from the Tokyo Local League to the Kanto Football League (3rd tier) in 1971. In 1971, Yomiuri marked 3rd place and promoted Japan Soccer League Second Division.[3]

They were promoted to First Division in 1978, starting a long career of success in the top flight. Their first major title was the Japan Soccer League Cup in 1979.

Ruy Ramos

From its days as Yomiuri FC, the ownership had visions of a football equivalent of the baseball team Yomiuri Giants – a star-studded powerhouse with fans across Japan. As Japanese football began its transition from the JSL to the J.League in the early 1990s, it invested heavily in stars and featured Japan internationals Kazuyoshi Miura, Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa.[1]

The last two JSL championships as Yomiuri FC in 1990–91 and 1991–92, and then winning the first two championships as Verdy Kawasaki in 1993 and 1994, effectively winning four straight Japanese league titles making a total of seven overall; the highest in the Japanese system. Verdy also won the 1996 Emperor's Cup and three consecutive J.League Cups from 1992 to 1994.[4][5]

The JSL disbanded and reformed as the professional J.League in 1993. At this time the team professionalized and renamed itself Verdy Kawasaki, "Coined from the Portuguese "VERDE" meaning "green" probably named after their green jersey colour "Tokyo Greens/Tokyo Verdi", although the color was picked in homage to Brazilian club Palmeiras, a team admired by one of Yomiuri's first idols, São Paulo-born George Yonashiro.[6] Although Yomiuri was dropped from the name as the club spun off from the company, the team remained under Yomiuri's ownership until 1997, when it was acquired by Nippon Television Network, the broadcast arm of the Yomiuri Group.[7]

This early success did not last, however, and as the stars aged, the team's performance suffered. Verdy's 1st-place finish in the 2nd stage of the 1995 season would be its last stage victory and the 1996 Emperor's Cup would be its last major title of the decade. A downturn in the national economy and the cooling of the J.League fad meant all teams had to cut expenses. This meant Verdy could no longer buy expensive replacements for its aging stars.

The 1996 J.League season saw Verdy Kawasaki finish in 7th place overall, the lowest standing in the league's existence at that point, and would fall further in the 1997 season, finishing 16th and 12th, in the 1st stage and 2nd stage, respectively, and 15th overall out of 17 teams. Although Verdy looked to return to prominence in 1999, finishing 2nd in the 1st Stage, the resurgence was short-lived as it fell to 10th in the 2nd stage.

Meanwhile, the team's efforts to become "Japan's Team" alienated local fans in Kawasaki. The expensive salaries and struggling attendance caused the club's debts to mount. Struggling to compete with the newly professionalized crosstown rival Kawasaki Frontale and the nearby Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama Flügels, Verdy made the decision to leave Kawasaki.

In 2001, the club returned from Kawasaki to Chōfu, Tokyo and was renamed Tokyo Verdy 1969 to reflect the new hometown and the club's origins as Yomiuri. Although Verdy made the move to increase its fan base and distance itself from its rivals, by this time Tokyo was already home to a J1 club in FC Tokyo. Despite a sharp increase in crowd numbers for Verdy, this was still well below those of FC Tokyo. Their new local rivals had been promoted to J1 in 2000 and had already captured a vast number of the supporters Verdy had been hoping to attract.

In its first year in Tokyo, Tokyo Verdy 1969 found itself trailing FC Tokyo in the standings as well, and finished last in the division at 16th in the first stage of the 2001 season. Only the play of midseason acquisition Edmundo and a win in the final match of the second stage saved the club from relegation to J2. Tokyo Verdy 1969 was back at the bottom of the table in the first stage of the 2002 season, but again finished the season strong, placing 4th in the second stage.

Two mid-table finishes followed in 2003 and 2004, before Tokyo Verdy 1969, under Osvaldo Ardiles, won the Emperor's Cup on 1 January 2005, its first major title in 9 years and the first in Tokyo. Winning the cup earned Verdy a spot in the 2006 AFC Champions League.[8]

However, the 2005 season saw Tokyo Verdy 1969 fall to its worst finish of its history, finishing 17th out of 18. This was the first season after the scrapping of the two-stage season format, and Tokyo Verdy 1969 were relegated to J2, after 28 years of top flight football. The season was marked by three huge losses in July: 1–7 to Gamba Osaka on 2 July, 0–7 to Urawa Red Diamonds on 6 July and a 6–0 loss to Júbilo Iwata on 17 July. Tokyo Verdy then sacked Ardiles two days later.[9] At the time of his sacking, Ardiles' team had conceded 23 goals in their last 5 matches and had a 9 match winless streak.[9] However, the struggling Verdy upset European giant Real Madrid (who were in Asia on a preseason tour), 3–0 on 25 July.[10]

For the 2006 season, the club appointed former Verdy Kawasaki legend, Ruy Ramos, as manager on 22 December 2005.[11] Tokyo Verdy 1969 found itself in the odd position of competing in the AFC Champions League while playing in the second tier of the national league system. After Tokyo Verdy 1969 was relegated, the club released many of the veteran players, leaving a core of young players, most notably Takayuki Morimoto, who became the youngest player to score in the J.League at age 15 in 2004.[12]

In the 2007 season, Tokyo Verdy 1969 managed to beat Thespa Kusatsu 5–0 on the first day. After a brief scuffle with Consadole Sapporo over the J2 title, Tokyo Verdy 1969 had to settle for runner-up – which was enough to earn promotion back into the top flight for 2008. At this time the club renamed itself for the second time, dropping 1969 from its team name, but the management corporation name remained as Tokyo Verdy 1969.

Verdy would once again be relegated after finishing in 17th place (second to last) in 2008.

On 17 September 2009, NTV announced it would divest itself of shares in the club and transfer it to a new holding company, Tokyo Verdy Holdings, closing 40 years of Yomiuri/NTV direct financial support.[13] The J.League approved the transfer, but made it a condition that Verdy find a new sponsor by 16 November or risk not being able to play J2 football for the 2010 season.[14]

In October 2010, Tokyo Verdy signed a five-year sponsorship deal with sports retail store and apparel company Xebio.[15] The sponsorship deal saw the Xebio logo placed on Tokyo Verdy's kit and included naming rights for two regular season home games.[15] Xebio also produced the clubs football kit, although under their sports brand "Ennerre". After talks with Xebio, several companies decided to invest in the company and the new Xebio led administration was announced in November.

The club suffered a mere respite from heartbreak during the 2018 season, when they finished 6th, qualifying then for the promotion/relegation playoffs. They beat Omiya Ardija 1–0 in the 1st round, and repeated the script against Yokohama FC in the semi-final. They ended just one game short of a J1 League comeback, having lost in the final by 2–0 against Júbilo Iwata, which saw the promotion hopes fade away for another time. Ever since being relegated to the J2, despite the club's efforts, the club could not return to the J1 and will continue to play at the J2 for the 2023 season.

• JSL Division 1 (until 1993) and J.League Division 1: (first tier)
  • Champions (7): 1983, 1984, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993, 1994
  • Runners-up (4): 1979, 1981, 1989–90, 1995
• JSL Division 2: (second tier)
  • Champions (2): 1974, 1977

• Emperor's Cup:
  • Winners (5): 1984, 1986, 1987, 1996, 2004
  • Runners-up (3): 1981, 1991, 1992
• JSL Cup / J.League Cup:
  • Winners (6): 1979, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
  • Runners-up (1): 1996
• Japanese Super Cup:
  • Winners (4): 1984, 1994, 1995, 2005
  • Runners-up (1): 1997
• Konica Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1990

• Asian Club Championship:
  • Winners (1): 1987
• Sanwa Bank Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1994
  • Runners-up (1): 1995

As of 18 August 2023.[16][17] 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  BRA Matheus Vidotto (vice-captain) 2 DF  JPN Daiki Fukazawa 3 DF  JPN Hiroto Taniguchi (vice-captain) 4 MF  JPN Ryota Kajikawa 5 DF  JPN Tomohiro Taira 6 DF  JPN Kazuya Miyahara 7 MF  JPN Koki Morita (captain) 8 MF  JPN Kosuke Saito 13 DF  JPN Naoki Hayashi (on loan from Kashima Antlers) 14 MF  JPN Tatsuya Hasegawa (on loan from Yokohama FC) 15 DF  JPN Kaito Chida 16 DF  JPN Kohei Yamakoshi 19 MF  JPN Junki Koike 20 MF  JPN Yuji Kitajima (on loan from Avispa Fukuoka) 21 GK  JPN Yuya Nagasawa 22 MF  JPN Hidemasa Koda (on loan from Nagoya Grampus) 23 MF  JPN Yuto Tsunashima 24 MF  JPN Yuta Narawa 25 MF  JPN Tetsuyuki Inami

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 DF  JPN Ren Kato 27 FW  JPN Goki Yamada 28 MF  JPN Daiki Kusunoki 29 FW  JPN Keito Kawamura 30 FW  JPN Kosuke Sagawa 31 GK  JPN Hisaya Sato 34 MF  JPN Ryo Nishitani 38 DF  IDN Pratama Arhan 39 FW  JPN Itsuki Someno (on loan from Kashima Antlers) 40 DF  JPN Yuta Arai DSP 41 GK  JPN Masahiro Iida 42 FW  JPN Ryosuke Shirai Type 2 43 FW  JPN Yuki Okubo Type 2 44 DF  JPN Kazuya Yamaguchi Type 2 45 MF  JPN Gakuto Kawamura Type 2 47 MF  JPN Hikaru Nakahara (on loan from Cerezo Osaka) 49 MF  JPN Joi Yamamoto Type 2 50 MF  JPN Soma Meshino DSP

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  JPN Toru Takagiwa (on loan at Iwaki FC until 31 January 2024) — DF  JPN Maaya Sako (on loan at AC Nagano Parceiro until 31 January 2024) — DF  JPN Yu Miyamoto (on loan at Kochi United SC until 31 January 2024) — MF  JPN Kyota Mochii (on loan at Azul Claro Numazu until 31 January 2024) — MF  JPN Mahiro Ano (on loan at Fukui United until 31 January 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  JPN Rikuto Hashimoto (on loan at YSCC Yokohama until 31 January 2024) — MF  JPN Ryuji Sugimoto (on loan at Thespakusatsu Gunma until 31 January 2024) — MF  JPN Taiga Ishiura (on loan at Ehime FC until 31 January 2024) — MF  JPN Yuan Matsuhashi (on loan at Renofa Yamaguchi until 31 January 2024)