Matsumoto Yamaga FC

Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.
松本山雅FC
Full name	Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club
Nickname(s)	Ptarmigans, Gans
Founded	1965; 56 years ago
Ground	Matsumoto Stadium; (Alwin); Matsumoto, Nagano
Capacity	20,396
Manager	Kei Shibata
League	J2 League
2020	J2 League, 13th;
Website	Club website
Home colours	Away colours

Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club (松本山雅フットボールクラブ, Matsumoto Yamaga Futtobōru Kurabu) is the Japanese football (soccer) club based in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. The club currently plays in the J2 League. It was previously promoted to the J. League Division 1 in 2015 and 2019, but was each time relegated after one season in the first tier of Japanese football.

The mascot of the club is called "GANS KUN" (ガンズくん), which is related to the Ptarmigans (ターミガンズ, Tāmiganzu), symbol birds of Nagano Prefecture.^[1]

History[]

The club was founded in 1965 by the players who represented Nagano Prefecture. The players frequented a cafe called Yamaga in front of Matsumoto railway station and initially they were simply called Yamaga Club. In 2004, they were renamed as Matsumoto Yamaga FC when nonprofit organisation Alwin Sports Project were set up to support the club with the intention of promotion to J. League.

In the 2007 and 2008 season they finished respectively 1st and 4th in the Hokushin'etsu First Division, but failed to gain the promotion to the Japan Football League as they exited at the group stage of the Regional League promotion series against other regional champions. 2008 also brought a crucial Emperor's Cup run, where they defeated former Japanese champions Shonan Bellmare in the third round by penalty kicks, only to be eliminated 8–0 by Vissel Kobe.

The 2009 season brought inconsistency, as they took 4th place in the regional league but knocked Urawa Red Diamonds out of the Emperor's Cup in the second round, their biggest giant-killing ever.

By virtue of winning the Shakaijin Cup, they earned a berth in the Regional League promotion series, and won the series at home to earn promotion to the Japan Football League for 2010. They earned 7th place on their first season in the third tier.

In 2011, despite a season thrown off by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the resulting inability of Sony Sendai to play a full schedule, Yamaga earned 4th place and were promoted to J. League Division 2. After three seasons they earned their first ever promotion to J1 League, only to be relegated after one season.

After failing to secure promotion in 2016 and 2017, Yamaga finished their 2018 season at the top of the J2 table, winning their first ever league title and securing automatic promotion to J1 in the process.

Rivalry[]

The biggest rival of Matsumoto Yamaga are the prefectural neighbors and former Hokushin'etsu League fellows Nagano Parceiro. Matches between those teams are labelled "Shinshū derby" and generate a lot of interest in both cities.^[2] For 2011 season, Parceiro joined their rivals in JFL bringing the derby to the national level.

Stadium[]

Matsumoto Stadium (Alwin)

Matsumoto Yamaga's home ground is Matsumoto Stadium (popularly known as Alwin) located in the area of Matsumoto city. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 (16,000 seats and 4,000 standings).^[3] It is the third largest Sport venue in Nagano Prefecture.

Record[]

showSeason by season records
Season	Division	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Emperor's Cup
1975	Hokushin'etsu	6th	8	3	1	4	14	13	+1	7	Did not qualify
1976		6th	9	2	4	3	17	14	+3	8
1977		8th	9	2	3	4	17	22	−5	7
1978		10th	9	1	0	8	9	27	−18	2
1979		2nd	9	6	1	2	18	11	+7	13
1980		4th	9	6	2	1	19	8	+11	14
1981		3rd	9	5	1	3	15	9	+6	11
1982		5th	9	4	1	4	11	10	+1	9
1983		7th	9	2	3	4	12	14	−2	7
1984		7th	9	2	3	4	13	15	−2	7
1985		1st	9	7	1	1	23	7	+16	15
1986		4th	9	4	2	3	21	13	+8	10
1987		4th	9	4	2	3	12	11	+1	10
1988		3rd	9	4	3	2	19	8	+11	11
1989		2nd	9	6	1	2	17	10	+7	13
1990		4th	9	3	4	2	16	14	+2	10
1991		5th	9	4	1	4	17	12	+5	9
1992		5th	9	4	3	2	15	12	+3	11
1993		6th	9	3	3	3	15	17	−2	9
1994		5th	9	2	5	2	11	13	−2	9
1995		6th	9	2	2	5	8	14	−6	8
1996		5th	9	3	2	4	9	19	−10	11
1997		8th	9	2	1	6	11	23	−12	7	1st round
1998		3rd	8	4	-	4	17	24	−7	12	Did not qualify
1999		9th	9	2(1)	-	7	4	29	−25	4
2000		8th	8	1	0	7	6	18	−12	3
2001		9th	8	0	2	6	4	24	−20	2
2002		8th	9	3	1	5	12	18	−6	9
2003		9th	12	1	4	7	13	42	−29	7
2004	Hokushin'etsu (Div. 2)	6th	14	4	2	8	16	27	−11	14
2005	Hokushin'etsu (Div. 2)	1st	13	8	3	2	36	11	+25	27
2006	Hokushin'etsu (Div. 1)	2nd	14	11	1	2	34	10	+24	34	2nd round
2007		1st	14	10	1	3	47	15	+32	31	Did not qualify
2008		4th	14	7	3	4	31	18	+13	24	4th round
2009		4th	14	9	2	3	40	14	+26	29	3rd round
2010	JFL	7th	34	15	7	12	48	41	+7	52	2nd round
2011	JFL	4th	34	17	8	8	60	38	+22	59	4th round
2012	J2 League	12th	42	15	14	13	46	43	+3	59	2nd round
2013		7th	42	19	9	14	54	54	0	66	3rd Round
2014		2nd	42	24	11	7	65	35	+30	83	3rd round
2015	J1 League	16th	34	7	7	20	30	54	−24	28	4th round
2016	J2 League	3rd	42	24	12	6	62	32	+30	84	2nd round
2017		8th	42	19	9	14	61	45	+16	66	4th round
2018		1st	42	21	14	7	54	34	+20	77	3rd round
2019	J1 League	17th	34	6	13	15	21	40	-19	31	2nd round
2020	J2 League	13th	42	13	15	14	44	52	-8	54	Did not qualify
2021	J2 League		42								3rd round

Honours[]

J2 League
- Champions: 2018
- Runners-up: 2014
Hokushin'etsu League
- Champions: 1985, 2007
- Runners-up: 1979, 1989, 2006
Hokushin'etsu League Division 2
- Champions: 2005
All Japan Senior Football Championship
- Winners: 2009
Regional Football League Competition
- Winners: 2009

Squad[]

As of February 27, 2021^[4]

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	JPN	Kentaro Kakoi
2	DF	JPN	Kyowaan Hoshi (On loan from Yokohama FC)
3	DF	JPN	Hayuma Tanaka (captain)
4	MF	JPN	Akira Ando
5	DF	JPN	Takayuki Mae
6	DF	JPN	Kojiro Shinohara
7	MF	JPN	Paulo Junichi Tanaka
8	MF	JPN	Shuto Kawai
9	FW	BRA	Lucão
11	FW	JPN	Toyofumi Sakano
13	DF	JPN	Yuya Hashiuchi
14	FW	JPN	Kunitomo Suzuki
16	GK	JPN	Tomohiko Murayama
17	MF	JPN	Genta Omotehara
18	FW	JPN	Akira Toshima
20	DF	JPN	Takuma Hamasaki
21	GK	KOR	Goh Dong-min
22	MF	JPN	Shusuke Yonehara


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
23	MF	JPN	Ryo Toyama
24	MF	JPN	Rei Hirakawa (On loan from FC Tokyo)
25	FW	JPN	Itsuki Enomoto
27	DF	JPN	Yota Shimokawa
28	MF	JPN	Koki Kotegawa
29	MF	JPN	Kaiga Murakoshi
30	MF	JPN	Manato Yamada
32	FW	JPN	Ayumu Yokoyama
33	DF	JPN	Yuya Ono
34	MF	JPN
35	GK	JPN
37	DF	JPN	Taiki Miyabe
38	MF	JPN	Kazuhiro Sato
39	DF	JPN	Toshiya Takagi
43	DF	JPN	Masato Tokida
44	DF	JPN	Takato Nonomura
45	FW	JPN	Kazuma Yamaguchi
—	DF	MAS

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	JPN	Masaya Yoshida (to Tochigi SC)
—	DF	JPN	Daichi Inui (to Tochigi SC)
—	DF	JPN	Haruki Mitsuda (to FC Gifu)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	JPN	Ryuhei Yamamoto (to Nagano Parceiro)
—	FW	JPN	Ren Komatsu (to Renofa Yamaguchi)

Managers[]

Keiju Karashima 2005–2007
Hideo Yoshizawa 2008–2011
Yoshiyuki Kato 2011
Yasuharu Sorimachi 2012–2019
Keiichiro Nuno 2020
Kei Shibata 2021–

References[]

^ Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. - Club Profile
^ Senta, Houji. 信州ダービー (in Japanese). JAPAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
^ 【松本平広域公園】信州スカイパークアルウィン (in Japanese). TOYBOX. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
^ "選手・スタッフ". yamaga-fc.com. 27 February 2021.

External links[]

(in Japanese) Official Website

[1] Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. - Club Profile

[2] Senta, Houji. 信州ダービー (in Japanese). JAPAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.

[3] 【松本平広域公園】信州スカイパークアルウィン (in Japanese). TOYBOX. Retrieved 29 July 2011.

[4] "選手・スタッフ". yamaga-fc.com. 27 February 2021.

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show v t Matsumoto Yamaga FC
Club	Players History All articles
Stadium	Sunpro Alwin
Seasons	2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

show v t J.League
J1 League (2021)	Avispa Fukuoka Cerezo Osaka Consadole Sapporo Gamba Osaka Kashima Antlers Kashiwa Reysol Kawasaki Frontale Nagoya Grampus Oita Trinita Sagan Tosu Sanfrecce Hiroshima Shimizu S-Pulse Shonan Bellmare Tokushima Vortis FC Tokyo Urawa Red Diamonds Vegalta Sendai Vissel Kobe Yokohama F. Marinos Yokohama FC
J2 League (2021)	Albirex Niigata Blaublitz Akita Ehime FC Fagiano Okayama Giravanz Kitakyushu JEF United Chiba Júbilo Iwata Kyoto Sanga FC FC Machida Zelvia Matsumoto Yamaga FC Mito HollyHock Montedio Yamagata Omiya Ardija Renofa Yamaguchi FC FC Ryukyu SC Sagamihara Thespakusatsu Gunma Tochigi SC Tokyo Verdy V-Varen Nagasaki Ventforet Kofu Zweigen Kanazawa
J3 League (2021)	AC Nagano Parceiro Azul Claro Numazu FC Gifu FC Imabari Fujieda MYFC Fukushima United FC Gainare Tottori Iwate Grulla Morioka Kagoshima United FC Kamatamare Sanuki Kataller Toyama Roasso Kumamoto Tegevajaro Miyazaki Vanraure Hachinohe YSCC Yokohama
Former clubs	Yokohama Flügels J.League U-22 Selection FC Tokyo U-23 Gamba Osaka U-23 Cerezo Osaka U-23
Players	Foreign J1 League players Foreign J2 League players Designated special players
Statistics	Champions (J1·J2·J3) Records Historical goals
Awards	Most Valuable Player (MVP of the month) Manager of the Year Top Scorer Rookie of the Year Best XI