# Kashiwa Reysol

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Kashiwa Reysol (柏レイソル, Kashiwa Reisoru) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium, also known as "Hitachidai". Reysol is a portmanteau of the Spanish words Rey and Sol, meaning "Sun King". The name alludes to their parent company Hitachi, whose name means "rising sun" in Japanese.
The club was formed in 1940 and was a founding member ("Original Eight") of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, they have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of Japanese football. They have been Japanese League champions twice in 1972 and 2011, and have won three League Cups in 1976, 1999 and 2013, and three Emperor's Cups in 1972, 1975 and 2012.

## History
### Hitachi SC (1939–1992)

The club started in 1939 and was officially formed as the company team, Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in 1940 in Kodaira, Tokyo. The club formed the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, along with today's Urawa Reds, JEF United Chiba, Cerezo Osaka, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and three other clubs ("Original Eight"). They had some successes during the mid-1970s, winning Emperor's Cups and JSL titles and contributing several players to the Japanese national team.
The club relocated from Kodaira to Kashiwa in 1986, but it took a while to adapt to the new town, as they were relegated to the JSL Division 2 at end of the 1986. They made it back to the top flight in 1989–90, but dropped back in 1990–91 and returned again in 1991–92. As the J.League was formed while they were not strong enough, the club abandoned any attempt to once again be a founding member of the newly formed professional league. Instead, the club joined the Japan Football League Division 1 in 1992, the second tier of the Japanese football hierarchy at the time, below the J.League.

### Kashiwa Reysol (1993–)

The club changed its name to Kashiwa Reysol in 1993. Reysol added Careca of the Brazil national football team to their squad in the autumn of this year with the aim of winning the JFL champion and winning promotion to the J1 League. The club struggled in the 1993 season. However, with the help of Careca and Brazilian manager Zé Sérgio, they secured the 2nd place in the JFL in 1994, earning promotion to the top league.
Reysol debuted in the J1 League in 1995. In 1998 they welcomed Akira Nishino, the former manager of Japan's Olympic team as their new manager, along with player Hristo Stoichkov of the Bulgaria national football team. In 1999 Hong Myung-bo of the Korea national football team was added to the squad. The team won the J.League Cup in 1999, their first title as Kashiwa Reysol.
However, their next manager, Englishman Steve Perryman, unsettled the team and the club struggled over the next several seasons. After finishing at the 16th place out of 18 clubs in 2005, the club lost the J.League promotion / relegation series against Ventforet Kofu, the 3rd placed team in the J2 League that year, and was relegated to the J2 League.
A new manager, Nobuhiro Ishizaki, led an almost entirely new squad in 2006 and the club secured automatic promotion to the J1 League in the last game of the season.
The club was relegated again at the end of 2009. However, in 2010 they won the J2 League led by Nelsinho Baptista in and returned to the top flight. The club immediately won the J1 League in 2011 with talented footballers such as Hiroki Sakai, Junya Tanaka, Jorge Wagner and Leandro Domingues, and became the first Japanese club to win the second tier and the top tier back to back. The club qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's league champion and became a semifinalist after defeating Auckland City and Monterrey.
During the period from 2010 through 2014, Reysol won six different titles in five consecutive seasons; the J2 League in 2010, the J1 League in 2011, the Emperor's Cup and the Super Cup in 2012, the J.League Cup in 2013 and the Suruga Bank Championship in 2014.

## Rivalries
### Marunouchi Gosanke

Historically, Kashiwa Reysol's fiercest rivals have been JEF United Chiba and the Urawa Reds, both close neighbors. The three were co-founders of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, and spent most seasons in the top tier through the JSL era. Because of their former parent companies' headquarters all being based in Marunouchi, Tokyo, the three clubs were known as the Marunouchi Gosanke (丸の内御三家, "Marunouchi Big Three") and fixtures among them were known as the Marunouchi derbies.

### Chiba derby

Reysol and JEF United Chiba first met in 1941 in the ancient Kanto regional football league. The two clubs are both now based in Chiba Prefecture, and their rivalry is known as the Chiba derby. They play a pre-season friendly match every year, popularly known as the Chibagin Cup (i.e., Chiba Bank Cup) since 1995.

### Others

Reysol also has a rivalry with Kashima Antlers (commonly called Tonegawa clásico), FC Tokyo (commonly called Kanamachi derby) and Omiya Ardija (commonly called Nodasen derby).

## Anthem

Kashiwa Reysol's anthem is We Are Reysol, which is sung by anime singer Hironobu Kageyama. The song released in 1994, the same year Reysol got promoted to J1.

## Record as J.League member

| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | P | W (OTW / PKW) | D | L (OTL / PKL) | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | AFC | FIFA CWC |
| 1995 | J1 | 14 | 12th | 52 | 21 (0 / 0) | – | 29 (0 / 1) | 18 | 30 | –12 | 22 | 16,102 | – | 2nd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1996 | J1 | 16 | 5th | 30 | 20 | – | 10 | 67 | 52 | 15 | 60 | 13,033 | Semi-finals | 4th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1997 | J1 | 17 | 7th | 32 | 16 (2 / 0) | – | 11 (1 / 2) | 63 | 49 | 14 | 52 | 8,664 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1998 | J1 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 14 (1 / 3) | – | 13 (2 / 1) | 56 | 61 | –5 | 47 | 9,932 | Group stage | 4th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1999 | J1 | 16 | 3rd | 30 | 17 (3 / -) | 1 | 8 (1 / -) | 49 | 36 | 13 | 58 | 10,122 | Winners | Semi-finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2000 | J1 | 16 | 3rd | 30 | 15 (6 / -) | 1 | 7 (1 / -) | 48 | 32 | 16 | 58 | 10,037 | 2nd round | 4th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2001 | J1 | 16 | 6th | 30 | 12 (2 / -) | 3 | 11 (2 / -) | 58 | 46 | 12 | 43 | 12,477 | 2nd round | 3rd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2002 | J1 | 16 | 12th | 30 | 9 (1 / -) | 3 | 17 | 38 | 48 | –10 | 32 | 11,314 | Quarter-final | 3rd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2003 | J1 | 16 | 12th | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 39 | –4 | 37 | 10,873 | Group stage | 4th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | J1 | 16 | 16th | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 29 | 49 | –20 | 25 | 10,513 | Group stage | 4th Round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2005 | J1 | 18 | 16th | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 39 | 54 | –15 | 35 | 12,492 | Group stage | 5th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2006 | J2 | 13 | 2nd | 48 | 27 | 7 | 14 | 84 | 60 | 24 | 88 | 8,328 | Not eligible | 4th Round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2007 | J1 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 36 | 7 | 50 | 12,967 | Group stage | 4th Round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2008 | J1 | 18 | 11th | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 48 | 45 | 3 | 46 | 12,308 | Group stage | Runners-up | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | J1 | 18 | 16th | 34 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 41 | 57 | –16 | 34 | 11,738 | Group stage | 3rd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2010 | J2 | 19 | 1st | 36 | 23 | 11 | 2 | 71 | 24 | 47 | 80 | 8,098 | Not eligible | 4th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2011 | J1 | 18 | 1st | 34 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 65 | 42 | 23 | 72 | 11,917 | 1st round | 4th round | Did not qualify | 4th place |
| 2012 | J1 | 18 | 6th | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 57 | 52 | 5 | 52 | 13,768 | Semi-finals | Winners | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2013 | J1 | 18 | 10th | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 56 | 59 | –3 | 48 | 12,553 | Winners | 4th round | Semi-finals | Did not qualify |
| 2014 | J1 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 60 | 10,715 | Semi-finals | 3rd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2015 | J1 | 18 | 10th | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 43 | 3 | 45 | 10,918 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Quarter-finals | Did not qualify |
| 2016 | J1 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 44 | 8 | 54 | 10,728 | Group stage | 4th round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2017 | J1 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 33 | 16 | 62 | 11,820 | Group stage | Semi-finals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2018 | J1 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 47 | 54 | –7 | 39 | 11,298 | Semi-finals | 3rd round | Group stage | Did not qualify |
| 2019 | J2 | 22 | 1st | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 85 | 33 | 52 | 84 | 9,471 | Group stage | 3rd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2020 † | J1 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 60 | 46 | 14 | 52 | 3,484 | Runners-up | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2021 † | J1 | 20 | 15th | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 56 | –19 | 41 | 4,444 | Group stage | 3rd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2022 | J1 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 43 | 44 | –1 | 47 | 8,499 | Group stage | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | J1 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 33 | 11,130 | Group stage | Runners-up | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2024 | J1 | 20 | 17th | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 41 | 12,070 | Playoff round | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2025 | J1 | 20 | TBD | 38 | | | | | | | | | TBD | TBD | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |

### 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
* 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
* Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
* † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
* Source: J.League Data Site

## Honours

Kashiwa Reysol honours :
| Honour | No. | Years |
| All Japan Works Football Championship (1948–1964) | 2 | 1958, 1960 |
| All Japan Inter-City Football Championship 1955–1964) | 1 | 1963 |
| JSL Division 1 (1965–1992) | 1 | 1972 |
| Emperor's Cup | 3 | 1972, 1975, 2012 |
| JSL Cup (1976–1991) | 1 | 1976 |
| JSL Division 2 (1972–1992) | 1 | 1990–91 |
| J.League Cup (1992–present) | 2 | 1999, 2013 |
| J2 League (1999–present) | 2 | 2010, 2019 |
| J1 League (1993–present) | 1 | 2011 |
| Japanese Super Cup | 1 | 2012 |
| Suruga Bank Championship | 1 | 2014 |

## League history

* Division 1 (JSL): 1965–1971 (as Hitachi SC)
* Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1972 to 1986–87
* Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1987–88 to 1988–89
* Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1989–90
* Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1990–91
* Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1991–92
* Division 2 (former JFL Div. 1): 1992–1993
* Division 2 (former JFL): 1994 (as Kashiwa Reysol)
* Division 1 (J.League): 1995–1998
* Division 1 (J1): 1999–2005
* Division 2 (J2): 2006
* Division 1 (J1): 2007–2009
* Division 2 (J2): 2010
* Division 1 (J1): 2011–2018
* Division 2 (J2): 2019
* Division 1 (J1): 2020–present

## Current squad

    As of 17 January 2025.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | JPN | Haruki Saruta |
| 2 | DF | JPN | Hiromu Mitsumaru |
| 3 | DF | BRA | Diego |
| 4 | DF | JPN | Taiyo Koga (vice-captain) |
| 5 | DF | JPN | Hayato Tanaka |
| 6 | MF | JPN | Yuto Yamada |
| 8 | MF | JPN | Yoshio Koizumi |
| 9 | FW | JPN | Mao Hosoya |
| 11 | MF | JPN | Masaki Watai |
| 13 | DF | JPN | Tomoya Inukai (captain) |
| 14 | MF | JPN | Tomoya Koyamatsu |
| 15 | FW | JPN | Kosuke Kinoshita |
| 16 | DF | JPN | Eiichi Katayama |
| 17 | MF | JPN | Kohei Tezuka |
| 18 | FW | JPN | Yuki Kakita |
| 19 | MF | JPN | Hayato Nakama |
| 22 | DF | JPN | Hiroki Noda |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | MF | JPN | Tojiro Kubo |
| 25 | GK | JPN | Ryosuke Kojima |
| 26 | DF | JPN | Daiki Sugioka |
| 27 | MF | JPN | Koki Kumasaka |
| 28 | MF | JPN | Sachiro Toshima (vice-captain) |
| 29 | MF | JPN | Takuya Shimamura |
| 33 | MF | JPN | Eiji Shirai |
| 36 | FW | JPN | Nabel Yoshitaka Furusawa |
| 37 | MF | JPN | Shun Nakajima |
| 39 | MF | JPN | Nobuteru Nakagawa |
| 40 | MF | JPN | Riki Harakawa |
| 41 | GK | JPN | Daiki Sakata |
| 43 | MF | JPN | Farzan Sana Mohammad |
| 44 | DF | JPN | Taisei Kuwata |
| 46 | GK | JPN | Kenta Matsumoto |
| 48 | MF | JPN | Kazuki Kumasawa |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | JPN | Masato Sasaki (at Fagiano Okayama) |
| — | DF | JPN | Naoki Kawaguchi (at Júbilo Iwata) |
| — | MF | JPN | Takumi Tsuchiya (at Ventforet Kofu) |
| — | MF | JPN | Fumiya Unoki (at Iwaki FC) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | JPN | Mohamad Sadiki Wade (at FC Ryukyu) |
| — | FW | JPN | William Owie (at FC Gifu) |
| — | FW | JPN | Ota Yamamoto (at Renofa Yamaguchi) |

## Club captains

| Captain | Nationality | Tenure |
| Takahiro Shimotaira | Japan | –1998 |
| Hong Myung-bo | Korea | 1999 |
| Tomokazu Myojin | Japan | 2000–2005 |
| Yuta Minami | Japan | 2006–2007 |
| Hidekazu Otani | Japan | 2008–2022 |
| Taiyo Koga | Japan | 2023–present |

## Club officials

Club staff 2025
| Position | Name |
| Manager | Ricardo Rodríguez |
| Assistant manager | Ryoichi Kurisawa |
| Coaches | Hidekazu Otani Yuta Someya |
| Coaches & Physical coach | Naoya Matsubara |
| Goalkeeping coach | Keita Inoue |
| Technical | Yasushi Okamura |
| Doctor | Kojiro Hyodo |
| Medical | Kaoru Arakawa Hiroyuki Akai Toshiya Itagaki Hisao Iwaki Fabiano |
| Interpreter | Isao Yakita Masayoshi Edson Hayakawa Michinori Katsuta |
| Scout and support coach | Lee Chang-won |
| Equipment | Masafumi Kimura |
| Competent | Takumi Miyamoto |

## Managerial history

| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | Tenure |
| Manager | Nationality | Start | Finish |
| Tokue Suzuki | Japan | 1 February 1965 | 31 January 1966 |
| Masayoshi Miyazaki | Japan | 1 February 1966 | 31 January 1967 |
| Kotaro Hattori | Japan | 1 February 1967 | 31 January 1970 |
| Hidetoki Takahashi | Japan | 1 February 1970 | 31 January 1977 |
| Takato Ebisu | Japan | 1 February 1977 | 31 January 1979 |
| Mutsuhiko Nomura | Japan | 1 February 1979 | 31 January 1982 |
| Yoshiki Nakamura | Japan | 1 February 1982 | 31 January 1985 |
| Yoshikazu Nagaoka | Japan | 1 February 1985 | 30 June 1989 |
| Hiroyuki Usui | Japan | 1 July 1989 | 31 January 1993 |
| Zé Sérgio | Brazil | 1 February 1993 | 10 August 1995 |
| Antoninho | Brazil | 10 August 1995 | 31 January 1996 |
| Nicanor | Brazil | 1 February 1996 | 31 January 1998 |
| Akira Nishino | Japan | 1 February 1998 | 30 July 2001 |
| Steve Perryman | England | 1 August 2001 | 8 August 2002 |
| Tomoyoshi Ikeya (caretaker) | Japan | 9 August 2002 | 30 August 2002 |
| Marco Aurelio | Brazil | 31 August 2002 | 31 January 2004 |
| Tomoyoshi Ikeya (caretaker) | Japan | 1 February 2004 | 31 July 2004 |
| Hiroshi Hayano | Japan | 1 August 2004 | 31 January 2006 |
| Nobuhiro Ishizaki | Japan | 1 February 2006 | 31 January 2009 |
| Shinichiro Takahashi | Japan | 1 February 2009 | 14 July 2009 |
| Masami Ihara (caretaker) | Japan | 15 July 2009 | 30 July 2009 |
| Nelsinho Baptista | Brazil | 1 August 2009 | 31 January 2015 |
| Tatsuma Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2015 | 31 January 2016 |
| Milton Mendes | Brazil | 1 February 2016 | 12 March 2016 |
| Takahiro Shimotaira | Japan | 12 March 2016 | 13 May 2018 |
| Nozomu Katō | Japan | 14 May 2018 | 10 November 2018 |
| Ken Iwase | Japan | 10 November 2018 | 31 January 2019 |
| Nelsinho Baptista | Brazil | 1 February 2019 | 17 May 2023 |
| Masami Ihara | Japan | 17 May 2023 | 4 December 2024 |
| Ricardo Rodríguez | Spain | 11 December 2024 | Current |

## Kit and colours
### Colours

Kashiwa Reysol's main colour is yellow, like sunshine that is based on the club's name "Sun King". The uniform is yellow-black (called Aurinegro in Spanish) reminiscent of Peñarol or Borussia Dortmund. Reysol is the only top division club in the country to wear yellow-black.

### Kit evolution

Home Kits - 1st :
| 1992 - 1994 | 1995 - 1996 | 1997 - 1998 | 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 - |
Away Kit - 2nd :
| 1992 - 1994 | 1995 - 1996 | 1997 - 1998 | 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 - |
Other Kits - 3rd :
| 2013 ACL 1st | 2013 ACL 2nd | 2015 ACL 1st | 2015 ACL 2nd | 2018 ACL 1st |
| 2018 ACL 2nd | 2022 30th Anniversary |

## Continental record

| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 2012 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Buriram United | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2nd |
| 2012 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2nd |
| 2012 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Guangzhou Evergrande | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2nd |
| 2012 | AFC Champions League | Round of 16 | Ulsan Hyundai | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Guizhou Renhe | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1st |
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Central Coast Mariners | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1st |
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 0–0 | 2–6 | 1st |
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Round of 16 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2–5 | 2–5 | 2–5 |
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Quarter-finals | Al-Shabab | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 (a) |
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Semi-finals | Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–8 |
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Chonburi | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | 3–2 (a.e.t.) |
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Group E | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1st |
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Group E | Becamex Bình Dương | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1st |
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Group E | Shandong Luneng | 2–1 | 4–4 | 1st |
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Round of 16 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–4 (a) |
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Quarter-finals | Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–4 |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Muangthong United | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Group E | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3rd |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Group E | Tianjin Quanjian | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3rd |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Group E | Kitchee | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3rd |