Vegalta Sendai

Vegalta Sendai (ベガルタ仙台, Begaruta Sendai) is a Japanese professional football club based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football.
Founded in 1988 as Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club, Vegalta Sendai joined the J-League in 1999 after playing a few seasons in the JFL, with the nickname Brummell Sendai, to which they had been promoted in 1994 from the Tohoku Regional League. When joining the J-League, the name Vegalta was chosen as a homage to the famous Tanabata festival in Sendai. The names of the two celestial stars of the Tanabata legend, Vega and Altair were combined to form Vegalta.
They were first promoted to the top flight in 2002, but the team went back down the following season. They were promoted again for the 2010 season.
In 2011, despite the earthquake and tsunami, they achieved their highest position up to that time, 4th place in the top division.
In 2012, despite leading the table for most of the season, Sanfrecce Hiroshima's challenge proved too strong, and losing the penultimate week game to relegation battler Albirex Niigata cost them the title, rendering them second-place winners, their highest position in history.
In 2018, the Vegalta reached the final of the Emperor's Cup, losing 1-0 to Urawa Reds.
After twelve years spent in the J1 League, Vegalta returned to the J2 in 2022, after being relegated from the J1 at the end of 2021. After finishing in seventh place in the 2022 J2 League, thus failing to reach the promotion play-offs. Ryang Yong-gi, a symbol of Sendai, retired at the end of the 2023 season.
For the 2024 season, Yoshiro Moriyama, who has a track record of developing players at Sanfrecce Hiroshima's training age group and the U17 Japan National Team, was appointed as Manager.
Their home stadium is Yurtec Stadium Sendai, in Izumi-ku, Sendai, although a few home games have also been played at nearby Miyagi Stadium.
Sendai Stadium ranks among the top stadiums in Japan for its presence, comfort, and accessibility, and was once ranked second in an evaluation by a famous Japanese football media. It was also used by the Italian national football team as their basecamp during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Miyagi Stadium is famous for the Japan national team, and for hosting matches of the Argentine national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
As with most football clubs, fans in Sendai sing and dance during matches. However, most of the songs used by fans from other clubs are avoided due to the more eclectic set. Club themes sung before each game are Take Me Home, Country Roads, and during the game. Toy Dolls, Blitzkrieg Bop and other KISS and Twisted Sister songs.
Since Sendai is the hometown of Hirohiko Araki, who wrote JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, fans often wave flags with the same motifs of characters portrayed in Araki's manga.
Vegalta's traditional rivals are Montedio Yamagata from Yamagata Prefecture. The two have been rivals since meeting in the Tohoku Football League in 1991. Among the Tohoku derbies, this match is famous as the Michinoku derby.
This is the derby played by the Tohoku region teams, currently the most important match is that of Vegalta Sendai and Montedio Yamagata. Other teams included in this classic include Blaublitz Akita, Iwate Grulla Morioka, Iwaki FC.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For the 2024 season.
① and ② were selected as "that game I want to see again" on the J League official YouTube channel, and 2 was also selected as "10 Best Matches" by J Chronicle Best. ② was also selected as the "Best Match" of the J30 Best Awards.
This is a project to select the J.League "Best Eleven", "Best Goal" and "Best Match" over the past 20 years. A project held in 2013 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Japan Professional Soccer League. The mentioned two game is often featured as a legendary game in each media.
A project to select the "MVP", "Best Eleven", "Best Goal", "Best Match", and "Best Scene" of the J League over the past 30 years. An award hosted by the J.League to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the J.League in 2023.
Even in "Soccer Digest" (Japan's famous football media),the two were selected as "the best 3 selected J.League matches" by the reporter in charge of Sendai. Sendai's Yoshiaki Ota, who scored the equalizing goal against Kawasaki, said, "I think it was a goal that everyone worked together, including the thoughts of my teammates."
*The notation of the match card and the stadium where the match was held is at the time of the match.
Sendai also participated in the ACL for the first time in 2013.
It was a tournament with many challenges other than matches, such as long-distance travel, overcrowded schedule with the J.League and local climate, but they did not lose in the extreme cold of Nanjing and the intense heat of Thailand and the final match was a draw or better in the qualifying.
It was a good point to leave the possibility of breaking through.
"Shichigashuku Town's Empty House Revitalization Project: Let's Build a Vegalta House" will start in July 2021 with the support of 143 crowdfunding people and a total of 78 local workers. It is involved in a social collaboration activity, in line with Goal 11 "Sustainable cities and communities" and Goal 17 "Partnership for the goals" of the SDGs basic guidelines.