FC Machida Zelvia

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Machida Zelvia
FC町田ゼルビア
crest used since 2008
Full nameFootball Club Machida Zelvia
Nickname(s)Zelvia
Founded1989; 32 years ago (1989)
GroundMachida Municipal Athletic Stadium
Machida, Tokyo
Capacity15,489
OwnerCyberAgent
ManagerRanko Popović
LeagueJ2 League
202019th of 22
WebsiteClub website
Away colours
[[2021|Current season]]

Football Club Machida Zelvia (FC町田ゼルビア, Efu Shi Machida Zerubia) is a Japanese football club based in Machida, Tokyo.

Old FC Machida crest, used till 2008

History[]

Machida is known as "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; it has, in fact, produced the second-largest number of J. League players though its football school. Originally formed in 1977 by Machida's football federation, this school is well known for its development of young talent into professional players. In 1989, in order to retain that talent in Machida, F.C. Machida established its own top team, which, at that time, played in the Tokyo Prefecture League.

In 2003 they became a under the name Athletic Club Machida, and in 2005 were promoted to the Kanto League, having won the Tokyo Prefectural League (First Division). They came first in the Kanto league (Second Division) the following year, and were promoted to First Division, where they stayed until promotion to Japan Football League as champions of the Regional Promotion Playoff Series in 2008.

In 2009, they adopted the current nickname Zelvia, a portmanteau of the Portuguese words zelkova (Machida city's official tree) and salvia (a grassy plant commonly used in football pitches).

The same year, the club declared its intent to be promoted to J. League's 2nd division, and its status of semi-affiliate was officially approved by the J. League. However, its home stadium capacity and light specifications did not meet the J. League's requirements, average attendance did not reach 3,000, and the team's final position of 6th place did not allow for Zelvia's promotion to the J. League.

In 2010, Machida Zelvia appointed Naoki Soma, a former star player who played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as its new head coach. The stadium's lighting was renewed, and club added several J. League players to its roster. Zelvia also announced its partnership with Major League Soccer's D.C. United, which became the first historic partnership between a Japanese and American football club.[1] The reborn team beat Tokyo Verdy, its arch-rival from the J. League, in the Emperor's Cup, but was knocked out by Albirex Niigata in the third round. Soma left at the end of the season and was replaced by Ranko Popović, former coach of Oita Trinita.

The stadium's capacity and conditions were still short of fulfilling J. League criteria, so the club completed another renovation between the end of the 2010 and start of the 2011 seasons. Machida Zelvia finished the 2011 season in third place after beating Kamatamare Sanuki in the final match of that season, thereby granting them promotion to J. League (Second Division),[2] but were relegated after a bottom-placed finish. They became one of the original J3 clubs after finishing at 4th place in the 2014 JFL season and returned to J2 as 2015 runners-up by beating Oita Trinita in the promotion/relegation playoff.

Stadium[]

Machida Zelvia currently plays at Machida Municipal Athletic Stadium (Nozuta Stadium). Capacity until 2011 was 6,200, including grassy areas, and has had lighting for night games since 2009. Between the 2010 and 2011 seasons the stadium was upgraded and is now all-seated. Although the minimum seating requirement for J2 is 10,000, Nozuta fell short of that number. However, under an agreement made with J-League officials, home games where a large attendance is expected will be played at other stadia leased specifically for the purpose, and upgrades to Nozuta were made to meet the 10,000-capacity requirement. The current capacity of the stadium is 15,489.

League and cup record[]

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
Season Div. Teams Pos. Attendance/G Emperor's Cup
2009 JFL 18 6th 1,886 –
2010 18 3rd 3,503 3rd round
2011 18 3rd 3,515 2nd round
2012 J2 22 22nd 3,627 4th round
2013 JFL 18 4th 3,174 –
2014 J3 12 3rd 3,134 –
2015 13 2nd 3,766 4th round
2016 J2 22 7th 5,123 1st round
2017 22 16th 4,056 2nd round
2018 22 4th 4,915 3rd round
2019 22 18th 4,718 2nd round
2020 † 22 19th 1,302 Did not qualify
2021 22
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • † 2020 season attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Kit history[]

Home, away, and third kits.

  • Home
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
  • Away
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018

Colour, sponsors and manufacturers[]

Season(s) Main Shirt Sponsor Collarbone Sponsor Additional Sponsor(s) Kit Manufacturer
2019 AbemaTV - EAGLE KENSO (Right) odakyu TERADA
株式会社寺��電機製作所		 Tamagawa University - svlome
2020 AbemaTV AQUA RESORT (Left) 25th Anniversary[a] (Right) odakyu TERADA
株式会社寺田電機製作所		 Tamagawa University - svlome

Current squad[]

As of February 25, 2021.[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Japan JPN Masayuki Okuyama
3 DF Japan JPN Kai Miki (On loan from Montedio Yamagata)
4 DF Japan JPN Hiroki Mizumoto (captain)
5 DF Japan JPN Kota Fukatsu
6 MF Japan JPN Kaishu Sano
7 FW Serbia SRB Alen Mašović
8 MF Japan JPN Leo Takae
9 FW North Korea PRK Jong Tae-se
10 MF Japan JPN Taiki Hirato
11 FW Brazil BRA Dudu
13 FW Japan JPN Yuki Okada
14 MF Japan JPN Kaina Yoshio (On loan from Yokohama F. Marinos)
15 DF Japan JPN Reiya Morishita (On loan from Cerezo Osaka)
17 DF Japan JPN Shohei Takahashi
18 MF Japan JPN Ariajasuru Hasegawa
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF Japan JPN Shuta Doi
20 DF Japan JPN Carlos Duke (On loan from Fagiano Okayama)
21 FW Japan JPN Talla Ndao (On loan from Yokohama F. Marinos)
23 DF Japan JPN Ryusuke Sakai
24 DF Japan JPN
26 DF Japan JPN Takumi Narasaka
27 FW Japan JPN Misaki Haruyama
28 FW Japan JPN Shunsuke Ota
29 FW Japan JPN Daiki Sato
30 FW Japan JPN Yuki Nakashima
42 GK Japan JPN Koki Fukui
45 GK Japan JPN Shu Mogi (On loan from Cerezo Osaka)
50 GK Japan JPN
— MF Japan JPN Takuya Yasui

Out on loan[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Japan JPN Naoki Otani (at Ehime FC)

Technical staff[]

As of June 2020
Position Name
Manager Serbia Ranko Popovic
Head Coach Serbia Vladica Grujic
Assistant Coach Japan Atsushi Yoneyama
Goalkeeping Coach Japan Jiro Takeda

Manager History[]

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
[4] Japan Japan 2002 2007
Tetsuya Totsuka Japan Japan Feb 1 2008 Jan 31 2010
Naoki Soma Japan Japan Feb 1 2010 Jan 31 2011
Ranko Popović Serbia Serbia Feb 1 2011 Jan 31 2012
Osvaldo Ardiles Argentina Argentina Feb 1 2012 Nov 17 2012
Yutaka Akita Japan Japan Nov 26 2012 Jun 25 2013
Naoki Kusunose Japan Japan Jun 25 2013 Jan 31 2014
Naoki Soma Japan Japan Feb 1 2014 Jan 31 2020
Ranko Popović Serbia Serbia Feb 1 2020

Notes[]

  1. ^ EAGLE KENSO

References[]

  1. ^ "D.C. United to partner with FC Machida Zelvia". Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  2. ^ McKirdy, Andrew, "Ardiles ready to face new challenge", Japan Times, 6 March 2012, p. 18.
  3. ^ "2021シーズン". FC Machida Zelvia. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ^ Interview Minoru Moriya Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Tokyo Football Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-12-17.

External links[]

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