Ventforet Kofu

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Ventforet Kofu

Full name	Ventforet Kofu
Nickname(s)	Ventforet
Founded	1965; 56 years ago (1965)
Ground	JIT Recycle Ink Stadium Kōfu
Capacity	17,000
Chairman	Kazuyuki Umino
Manager	Akira Ito
League	J2 League
2020	J2 League, 4th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Ventforet Kofu (ヴァンフォーレ甲府, Vanfōre Kōfu) is a Japanese football (soccer) club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team competes in the J2 League. Its home ground is the Kose Sports Stadium.

The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French root words: "vent" (wind) and "forêt" (forest). The name alludes to the famous phrase Fū-rin-ka-zan (風林火山）that Takeda Shingen, a prominent Kōfu-based daimyō in the Sengoku period, emblazoned on his war banners. The phrase contains four similies: as swift as the wind; as silent as a forest; as fierce as fire; as immovable as a mountain.

History[]

Kofu Club (1965–1994)

The club was founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School, the Kakujo Club, started to recruit graduates of other high schools with the intention of promotion to the Japan Soccer League.

The club joined the newly formed JSL Division 2 in 1972. They stayed there until the conclusion of the league in 1992 when it became a founding member of the former Japan Football League.

Kofu Club was formed by volunteers, unlike other mainstream football clubs at that time in Japan, whose players were mostly the employees of their sponsoring companies.

Ventforet Kofu (1995–present)

The club was renamed Ventforet Kofu in 1995 and joined J.League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. The club survived a difficult period between 1999 and 2001, when it suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch, including a streak of twenty-five consecutive losses. Ventforet finished bottom for three seasons in succession and was dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2".

Ventforet improved in 2002, and in 2005 finished third, gaining promotion to the Japanese first division by winning the promotion/relegation play-offs against Kashiwa Reysol. However, the team was relegated with a week remaining in the 2007 season.

At the end of 2010 season, the team was promoted a second time. Despite having striker Mike Havenaar contend for the Top Scorer award in division one the following year, the club was relegated again at the end of 2011. However, it returned after only one year's absence as champions of division two, Ventforet's first championship in its thirty-six year history. Ventforet remained in division one of the Japanese League until 2017.

League history[]

• Kanto League: 1967–71 (as Kofu Club)
• Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1972–91 (as Kofu Club)
• Division 3 (former JFL Div. 2): 1992–93 (as Kofu Club)
• Division 2 (former JFL): 1994–98 (Kofu Club until 1994, Ventforet Kofu since 1995)
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 1999–05
• Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2006–07
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2008–10
• Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2011
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2012
• Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2013–2017
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2018–

Honours[]

• J.League Division 2:

2012

• Shakaijin Cup:

1969

• Kantō Soccer League:

1969, 1970

Current squad[]

As of 15 July 2021.^[1] 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 Kohei Kawata 2 DF  JPN Hidehiro Sugai 3 DF  JPN Tatsushi Koyanagi 4 DF  JPN Hideomi Yamamoto (Captain) 5 DF  JPN Takashi Kanai 6 MF  JPN Hideyuki Nozawa 8 MF  JPN Ryohei Arai 9 FW  JPN Kazushi Mitsuhira 10 FW  BRA Willian Lira 11 FW  JPN Koki Arita 13 DF  JPN Fumitaka Kitatani 15 MF  JPN Ryotaro Nakamura 16 MF  JPN Gakuto Notsuda (On loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima) 17 MF  JPN Sho Araki

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  JPN Yoshiki Torikai 19 FW  JPN Jumma Miyazaki 21 GK  JPN Yuto Koizumi 22 DF  JPN Riku Nozawa 23 DF  JPN Masahiro Sekiguchi 24 MF  JPN Riku Yamada 25 FW  BRA Paulo Baya (On loan from FC Cascavel) 27 MF  JPN Iwana Kobayashi 30 DF  JPN Niki Urakami 31 GK  JPN Kosuke Okanishi 33 GK  JPN 39 MF  JPN Jin Izumisawa 40 DF  BRA Mendes 41 MF  JPN Motoki Hasegawa

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 — MF  JPN Riku Nakayama at Kataller Toyama

League record[]

Champions

Runners-up

Third place

Promoted

Relegated

Year	Division	Tier	Pos.	P	W	D	L	Pts	Manager
1992	former JFL Div. 2	2	5th	18	9	1	8	28	Kazutomo Fukazawa
1993			9th	18	6	-	12	-
1994	former JFL	2	14th	30	9	-	21	-	Susumu Katsumata
1995			9th	30	14	-	16	43	Yuji Tsukada
1996			11th	30	11	-	19	33
1997			6th	30	19	-	11	52
1998			4th	30	22	-	8	59
1999	J2	2	10th	36	5	4	27	18	Susumu Katsumata
2000			11th	40	5	3	32	18	Yuji Tsukada
2001			12th	44	8	2	34	25	Reis
2002			7th	44	16	10	18	58	Takeshi Oki
2003			5th	44	19	12	13	69	Hideki Matsunaga (Jan 1, 2002 – Dec 31, 2004)
2004			7th	44	15	13	16	58
2005			3rd	44	19	12	13	69	Takeshi Oki (Feb 1, 2005 – Dec 31, 2007)
2006	J1	1	15th	34	12	6	15	42
2007			17th	34	7	6	21	27
2008	J2	2	7th	42	15	14	13	59	Takayoshi Amma (Feb 1, 2008 – Dec 31, 2009)
2009			4th	51	28	13	10	97
2010			2nd	36	19	13	4	70	Kazuo Uchida (Jan 1, 2010 – Dec 31, 2010)
2011	J1	1	16th	34	9	19	6	33	Toshiya Miura (Jan 1, 2010 – Aug 7, 2011) Satoru Sakuma (Aug 8, 2011 – Dec 31, 2011)
2012	J2	2	1st	42	24	4	14	86	Hiroshi Jofuku (Jan 1, 2012 – Nov 25, 2014)
2013	J1	1	15th	34	8	13	13	37
2014			13th	34	9	11	14	41
2015			13th	34	10	17	7	37	Yasuhiro Higuchi (Dec 8, 2014 – May 11, 2015) Satoru Sakuma (May 13, 2015 – end of season)
2016			14th	34	7	17	10	31	Satoru Sakuma
2017			16th	34	7	16	11	32	Tatsuma Yoshida
2018	J2	2	9th	42	16	15	11	59	Tatsuma Yoshida Nobuhiro Ueno
2019			5th	42	20	11	11	71	Akira Ito
2020			4th	42	16	17	9	65
2021				42

Key

• Pos. = Position in league; P = Games Played; W = Games won; D = Games Drawn; L = Games Lost; Pts = Points gained
• Source: J.League Data Site

Affiliated clubs[]

• Persib Bandung^[2]

References[]

External links[]

• (in Japanese) Official website