# Sagan Tosu

Sagan Tosu (サガン鳥栖, Sagan Tosu) is a Japanese professional football club based in Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football, since 2025 following relegation from the J1 League in 2024.
Sagan is a coined word with various suggested ideas behind where the name came from. One of its homophones is sandstone (砂岩, sagan) in Japanese. This symbolises many small elements uniting to form one formidable object, for example as a metaphor for a team. Also, Sagan Tosu can be interpreted as "Tosu of Saga (Prefecture)" (佐賀ん鳥栖, Saga-n Tosu) in the area's dialect.

## History

In February 1997, Sagan was established as a new club which virtually took over Tosu Futures, which became insolvent in the previous month. They were admitted to participate in the Japan Football League from 1997 to 1998, as well as the J. League Cup in 1997 as a preferential measure, although J. League Associate Membership status 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 that 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 Officer Minoru Takehara, who is also part owner of the club.
In their first season at the J1 League in 2012, confounding the prediction of many critics about their immediate relegation to J2, they maintained their position between 5th and 11th place 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 the 2013 AFC Champions League if they hadn't lost to Yokohama F. Marinos in the last match of the season. However, they only lost to Yokohama by 0–1, wrapping up the season in 5th place, while Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Nagoya Grampus and were ranked 3rd. They also became the first club in Asia to sign a partnership with Warrior Sports, who sponsor many overseas clubs, including English side Liverpool.
In 2013, they made it to the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup for the first time in the club's history, becoming the first club based in Kyushu to make it to the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup since Nippon Steel Yawata had done so in the 1981 edition. In 2013, they invited the A-League team Sydney FC along with the former Italian international player Alessandro Del Piero for a Japan Tour for the first time.
In 2014, the club had their most successful season in the J1 League, being ranked on the top of the 2014 J1 League on the 1st, 2nd, 13th, and 18th matchweek. However, the club suddenly made an announcement on the 8th of August which announced the termination of the contract with the head coach Yoon Jung-Hwan, despite the apparently good season. During the course of the year, they continued on their international expansion and started a partnership with the Italian side Juventus for its Juventus Under-16 Japan Tour 2014. 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.
On 19 October 2024, Sagan Tosu officially relegated to J2 League after defeat from Kyoto Sanga 2-0 and return to second tier after 13 years absence with four games left, ended in top tier at 13 years stint.

## Kit and colours
### Kit evolution

Home kits :
| 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 | 2025 |
Away kits :
| 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 | 2025 |
Alternative kits :
| 2013 Summer Carnival | 2014 Falcon Festival Commemoration | 2015 Commemoration | 2015 Hawk Festival Memorial | 2016 Ladies Day |
| 2016 Hawk Festival Memorial | 2017 Ladies' Day | 2017 Hawk Festival Memorial | 2017 20th Anniversary | 2018 Ladies' Day |
| 2018 Hawk Festival Memorial | 2018 DAZN Day | 2019 Ladies' Day | 2019 Falcon Festival Commemoration | 2019 F. Torres retirement game commemoration |
| 2019 F. Torres Retirement Match | 2022 25th Anniversary |

## Current squad

    As of 17 March 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 | ESP | Arnau Riera |
| 3 | DF | JPN | Dai Hirase |
| 4 | DF | JPN | Yuta Imazu |
| 5 | DF | JPN | Shiva Tafari Nagasawa |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Haruki Arai |
| 8 | MF | JPN | Yoshiki Narahara |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Jô |
| 10 | MF | JPN | Fuchi Honda |
| 11 | FW | JPN | Jun Nishikawa (on loan from Cerezo Osaka) |
| 12 | GK | JPN | Ryota Izumori |
| 13 | DF | JPN | Taisei Inoue |
| 14 | FW | JPN | Keisuke Sakaiya |
| 15 | FW | JPN | Noriyoshi Sakai |
| 16 | MF | JPN | Kenta Nishizawa |
| 18 | MF | JPN | Shota Hino |
| 19 | FW | JPN | Daichi Suzuki |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | BRA | Cristiano |
| 21 | GK | KOR | Yang Han-been |
| 22 | MF | JPN | Eitaro Matsuda (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos) |
| 23 | DF | JPN | Fumiya Kitajima |
| 25 | MF | JPN | Ryohei Watanabe |
| 26 | DF | JPN | Toshiki Ando |
| 27 | MF | JPN | Tatsunori Sakurai (on loan from Vissel Kobe) |
| 32 | DF | JPN | Sora Ogawa |
| 33 | MF | JPN | Kento Nishiya |
| 34 | FW | JPN | Hiroto Yamada |
| 35 | GK | JPN | Kei Uchiyama |
| 37 | DF | JPN | Reiya Morishita |
| 44 | MF | JPN | Yuki Horigome |
| 47 | FW | JPN | Shion Shinkawa $^{Type2}$ |
| 77 | MF | LTU | Vykintas Slivka |
| 91 | DF | JPN | Makito Uehara |

### 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 | KOR | Koh Bong-jo (at Kataller Toyama) |
| — | GK | KOR | Lee Yun-sung (at YSCC Yokohama) |
| — | DF | JPN | Koma Osato (at ReinMeer Aomori) |
| — | DF | JPN | Ryotaro Takeuchi (at Criacao Shinjuku) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | JPN | Hikaru Nakahara (at Shimizu S-Pulse) |
| — | MF | JPN | Shunya Sakai (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki) |
| — | FW | JPN | Ryonosuke Kabayama (at Giravanz Kitakyushu) |
| — | FW | BRA | Marcelo Ryan (at FC Tokyo) |

### Retired number

* 17 Sakata Michitaka – A former professor of Saga University and the person which backed up in both the establishment of Tosu Futures and 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

Club official for 2025 season.
| Role | Name |
| Manager | Akio Kogiku |
| Assistant manager | Naoya Kikuchi |
| Coaches | 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 Ryuki Yamamoto |
| Competent | Yoshito Tsuichihara |
| Deputy officer | Naoki Egawa Ayaki Goto |
| Equipment manager | Yoshiki Sugimoto |
| Chief doctor | Kyota Nishifuru |

## Managerial history

| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | 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 | 8 August 2024 |
| Kosuke Kitani | Japan | 9 August 2024 | present |

## League & cup record

| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | 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 | J2 | 11 | 6th | 40 | 13 (2) | 5 | 15 (5) | 41 | 52 | –11 | 48 | 3,714 | 1st round | 3rd round |
| 2001 | J2 | 12 | 10th | 44 | 8 (2) | 4 | 28 (2) | 45 | 82 | –37 | 32 | 3,479 | 1st round | Round of 16 |
| 2002 | J2 | 12 | 9th | 44 | 9 | 14 | 21 | 41 | 64 | –23 | 41 | 3,890 | Not eligible | 3rd round |
| 2003 | J2 | 12 | 12th | 44 | 3 | 11 | 30 | 40 | 89 | –49 | 20 | 3,172 | Not eligible | 1st round |
| 2004 | J2 | 12 | 11th | 44 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 32 | 66 | –34 | 35 | 3,610 | Not eligible | 4th round |
| 2005 | J2 | 12 | 8th | 44 | 14 | 10 | 20 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 52 | 7,855 | Not eligible | 4th round |
| 2006 | J2 | 13 | 4th | 48 | 22 | 13 | 13 | 64 | 49 | 15 | 79 | 7,465 | Not eligible | 4th round |
| 2007 | J2 | 13 | 8th | 48 | 21 | 9 | 18 | 63 | 66 | –3 | 72 | 6,114 | Not eligible | Round of 16 |
| 2008 | J2 | 15 | 6th | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 50 | 51 | –1 | 64 | 7,261 | Not eligible | Quarter-finals |
| 2009 | J2 | 18 | 5th | 51 | 25 | 13 | 13 | 71 | 51 | 20 | 88 | 5,939 | Not eligible | Round of 16 |
| 2010 | J2 | 19 | 9th | 36 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 42 | 41 | 1 | 51 | 6,633 | Not eligible | 3rd round |
| 2011 | J2 | 20 | 2nd | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 68 | 34 | 34 | 69 | 7,731 | Not eligible | 2nd round |
| 2012 | J1 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 48 | 39 | 9 | 53 | 11,991 | Group stage | 2nd round |
| 2013 | J1 | 18 | 12th | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 54 | 63 | –9 | 46 | 11,515 | Group stage | Semi-finals |
| 2014 | J1 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 60 | 14,137 | Group stage | Round of 16 |
| 2015 | J1 | 18 | 11th | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 37 | 54 | –17 | 40 | 13,450 | Group stage | Quarter-finals |
| 2016 | J1 | 18 | 11th | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 37 | –1 | 46 | 12,636 | Group stage | Round of 16 |
| 2017 | J1 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 41 | 44 | –3 | 47 | 14,194 | Group stage | 3rd round |
| 2018 | J1 | 18 | 14th | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 29 | 34 | –5 | 41 | 15,000 | Group stage | Quarter-finals |
| 2019 | J1 | 18 | 15th | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 32 | 53 | –21 | 36 | 15,050 | Group stage | Quarter-finals |
| 2020 † | J1 | 18 | 13th | 34 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 37 | 43 | –6 | 36 | 4,675 | Group stage | Did not qualify |
| 2021 † | J1 | 20 | 7th | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 53 | 35 | 8 | 59 | 7,276 | Group stage | Round of 16 |
| 2022 | J1 | 18 | 11th | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 45 | 44 | 1 | 42 | 9,358 | Group stage | Round of 16 |
| 2023 | J1 | 18 | 14th | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 47 | –4 | 38 | 10,230 | Group stage | 3rd round |
| 2024 | J1 | 20 | 20th | 38 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 48 | 68 | –20 | 35 | 9,800 | Group stage (9) | Round of 16 |
| 2025 | J2 | 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 by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
* Source: J.League Data Site