Ventforet Kofu
Encyclopedia
are a Japan
ese football (soccer)
club from Kofu
. They compete in the J. League Division 1, and their home ground is the Kose Sports Stadium
.
The word "Ventforet" is coined combining two French words Vent ("Wind") and Forêt ("Forest"). This derives from the famous phrase Fū-rin-ka-zan
(風林火山）that Shingen Takeda, a Kofu-based prominent daimyo
in the Sengoku period, liked to see on his war banners. This phrase refers to the idea of Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain.
The club were founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School called Kakujo Club started to recruit graduates of other highs 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 they became a founding member of the former Japan Football League.
Kofu Club were a club, in the real sense of the word, formed by voluntary members, 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 were given new name Ventforet Kofu in 1995 and joined J. League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. They survived the difficult times between 1999 and 2001, during which they suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch including a series of 25 losses. They finished bottom for 3 consecutive seasons and were dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2."
The club turned the corner in 2002 as a result of operation restructuring and enthusiastic efforts from their supporters. Kofu finished third in 2005 and were promoted to J1 by winning the promotion/relegation play-offs
against Kashiwa Reysol
. This spell in the top flight proved short lived after the team were relegated back to the J2 with a week remaining of the 2007 season.
At the end of 2010 season, the team were promoted again.
(youth)
Takafumi Ogura Takehito Shigehara Ovidiu Burcă
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club from Kofu
Kofu, Yamanashi
is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the city had a estimate population of 197,540, with 85,794 households. The total area is 212.41 km².-History:Kōfu's name means "capital of Kai Province"...
. They compete in the J. League Division 1, and their home ground is the Kose Sports Stadium
Kose Sports Stadium
Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kofu, Japan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It serves as a home ground of Ventforet Kofu. The stadium holds 17,000 people and was built in 1985....
.
The word "Ventforet" is coined combining two French words Vent ("Wind") and Forêt ("Forest"). This derives from the famous phrase Fū-rin-ka-zan
Furinkazan
, literally "Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain", was the battle standard used by the Sengoku period daimyo Takeda Shingen, quoting chapter 7 of Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "Move as swift as a wind, stay as silent as forest, attack as fierce as fire, undefeatable defense like a mountain."The original...
(風林火山）that Shingen Takeda, a Kofu-based prominent daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
in the Sengoku period, liked to see on his war banners. This phrase refers to the idea of Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain.
History
Kofu Club (1965–1994)The club were founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School called Kakujo Club started to recruit graduates of other highs with the intention of promotion to the Japan Soccer League
Japan Soccer League
, or JSL, was the top flight soccer league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J. League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional Japanese Baseball League that was founded in 1936...
.
The club joined the newly formed JSL Division 2 in 1972. They stayed there until the conclusion of the league in 1992 when they became a founding member of the former Japan Football League.
Kofu Club were a club, in the real sense of the word, formed by voluntary members, 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 were given new name Ventforet Kofu in 1995 and joined J. League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. They survived the difficult times between 1999 and 2001, during which they suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch including a series of 25 losses. They finished bottom for 3 consecutive seasons and were dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2."
The club turned the corner in 2002 as a result of operation restructuring and enthusiastic efforts from their supporters. Kofu finished third in 2005 and were promoted to J1 by winning the promotion/relegation play-offs
J. League Promotion/Relegation Series
In 2004, J. League introduced a series of two test matches called League between the sixteenth-place J. Division 1 club and third-place J.league Division 2 club...
against Kashiwa Reysol
Kashiwa Reysol
is a J. League Division 1 team. Its home town is Kashiwa, Chiba, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.-History:Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Koganei, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League...
. This spell in the top flight proved short lived after the team were relegated back to the J2 with a week remaining of the 2007 season.
At the end of 2010 season, the team were promoted again.
Current squad
As of June 29, 2011(youth)
Out on loan
Former players
BaréJader Volnei Spindler
Jader Volnei Spindler, more commonly known as Baré, is a Brazilian football player, currently associated with Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates. While playing for Japan's J. League Division 2 side Ventforet Kofu in 2005, he scored a double hat-trick in the 2nd leg of the J...
Takafumi Ogura Takehito Shigehara Ovidiu Burcă
Ovidiu Burca
Ovidiu Burcă is a Romanian footballer, currently playing for Romanian Liga I club Rapid Bucharest.- Emelec :He began his professional career in Ecuador at Club Sport Emelec in the Primera Categoría Serie A league making six apparences.- JEF United :A year later he got noticed by the Japanese club...
Season by season results and managers
| Year | League | Pld | Pt | W | L | D | Place | Manager | General Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Old JFL Div. 2 | 18 | 28 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 5th |  Kazutomo Fukazawa |
－ |
| 1993 | 18 | ||||||||
| 6 | 12 | ||||||||
| 9th | － | ||||||||
| 1994 | Former JFL | 30 | |||||||
| 9 | 21 | ||||||||
| 14th | Susumu Katsumata Susumu Katsumata (footballer) Susumu Katsumata is a former Japanese football player. He has played for Kofu.-References:*... |
－ | |||||||
| 1995 | 30 | 43 | 14 | 16 | |||||
| 9th | Yuji Tsukada Yuji Tsukada Yuji Tsukada is a former Japanese football player and manager.Tsukada last managed Cerezo Osaka, resigning following the club's relegation at the end of the 2006 season.-References:... |
－ | |||||||
| 1996 | 30 | 33 | 11 | 19 | |||||
| 11th | － | ||||||||
| 1997 | 30 | 52 | 19 | 11 | |||||
| 6th | － | ||||||||
| 1998 | 30 | 59 | 22 | 8 | |||||
| 4th | － | ||||||||
| 1999 1999 J. League Division 2 -Final table:... |
J2 | 36 | 18 | 5 | 27 | 4 | 10th | Susumu Katsumata |
Yuji Tsukada |
| 2000 2000 J. League Division 2 -Final table:... |
40 | 18 | 5 | 32 | 3 | 11th | Yuji Tsukada |
－ | |
| 2001 2001 J. League Division 2 -Overview:It was contested by 12 teams, and Kyoto Purple Sanga won the championship.-Final table:... |
44 | 25 | 8 | 34 | 2 | 12th |  ReisLuis dos Reis Goncalves Luis dos Reis Goncalves is a former Brazilian football manager.-References:*... |
－ | |
| 2002 2002 J. League Division 2 The 2002 J. League Division 2 season is the 31st season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 4th season since the establishment of J2 League.... |
44 | 58 | 16 | 18 | 10 | 7th | Takeshi Oki Takeshi Oki is a Japanese football coach and a former player. He played for Fujitsu.He managed J. League sides Ventforet Kofu and Shimizu S-Pulse . He was also an assistant coach for the Japan national football team .-References:*... |
－ | |
| 2003 2003 J. League Division 2 The 2003 J. League Division 2 season is the 32nd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 5th season since the establishment of J2 League.... |
44 | 69 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 5th | Hideki Matsunaga Hideki Matsunaga Hideki Matsunaga is a former Japanese football player.-References:*... |
－ | |
| 2004 2004 J. League Division 2 The 2004 J. League Division 2 season is the 33rd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 6th season since the establishment of J2 League.... |
44 | 58 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 7th | － | ||
| 2005 2005 J. League Division 2 The 2005 J. League Division 2 season is the 34th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 7th season since the establishment of J2 League.... |
44 | 69 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 3rd | Takeshi Oki |
－ | |
| 2006 | J1 | 34 | 42 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 15th | － | |
| 2007 | 34 | 27 | 7 | 21 | 6 | 17th | － | ||
| 2008 2008 J. League Division 2 The 2008 J. League Division 2 season is the 37th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 10th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 8 and ended on December 6.... |
J2 | 42 | 59 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 7th | Takayoshi Amma Takayoshi Amma is a Japanese football manager for Kataller Toyama in J. League Division 2.-References:... |
－ |
| 2009 2009 J. League Division 2 The 2009 J. League Division 2 season was the 38th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 11th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 7 and ended on December 5.... |
51 | 97 | 28 | 10 | 13 | 4th | － | ||
| 2010 2010 J. League Division 2 The 2010 J. League Division 2 season was the 39th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 12th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season began on March 6 and ended on December 4.... |
36 | 70 | 19 | 4 | 13 | 2nd | Kazuo Uchida Kazuo Uchida Kazuo Uchida is a former Japanese football manager. He is currently the manager of Guam national football team.-References:*... |
－ |
League history
- Kanto League: 1967-71 (as Kofu Club)
- Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1972-91 (as Kofu Club)
- Division 3 (Old JFL Div. 2): 1992-93 (as Kofu Club)
- Division 2 (Old JFL): 1994-98 (Kofu Club until 1994, Ventforet Kofu since 1995)
- Division 2 (J. League Div. 2): 1999-2005
- Division 1 (J. League Div. 1): 2006-07
- Division 2 (J. League Div. 2): 2008-10
- Division 1 (J. League Div. 1): 2011-