Tokushima Vortis

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Tokushima Vortis
徳島ヴォルティス
Logo
Full name Tokushima Vortis
Nickname(s) Vortis
Founded 1955; 69 years ago (1955)
Ground Naruto Athletic Stadium
Naruto, Tokushima
Ground Capacity 20,000
Owner Otsuka Pharmaceutical
League J. League Division 2
2014 Division 1, 18th (Relegated)
Website Club home page
Current season

Tokushima Vortis (徳島ヴォルティス Tokushima Vorutisu?) is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Athletic Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima.

The name, "Vortis" was named in 1997 (see below), and it was explained as a combination of Italian "Vortice" (meaning whirlpool, after the famous Naruto whirlpool in Naruto Strait).[1]

History

Founded in 1955 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Soccer Club, VORTIS joined the J-League in 2005. They are still sponsored by Otsuka's best-known brand, Pocari Sweat sports drink.[1]

They were first promoted to the old Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1989, but the company's reluctance to professionalize the team forced it to compete in the former JFL and current JFL. In the 1997 old JFL season, they first sported a Vortis Tokushima name, but the lack of fan interest at the time forced them to go back to the corporate identity. They finally adopted the Tokushima Vortis name for good after winning the new JFL championship in 2004 and being promoted.[2]

The first season in J2 was naturally a difficult one for Vortis, but they surprised many sceptics with their determination and quality of play. The team rose as high as fourth place, at one point, before slipping down the table later in the season to finish ninth. In 2006, the team was forced to rebuild, as the players who took the team into the J.League began to hit the ceiling of their abilities, and made way for younger replacements. As a result, despite the encouragement of a local rivalry with Ehime FC, Tokushima drifted down-table, and they followed it up with a last-place finish in 2007 and 2008.[2]

In 2013 they earned fourth place in J2, matching the same placement they had two years before in the division and twenty years before in the old JFL Division 1; this time they won the playoff, defeating Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the final round at the National Stadium in Tokyo, thus becoming the first professional Shikoku football club to compete in the top division of their national league.[3]

Until their promotion, they were the only former JSL member currently a member of the J. League which has never competed in the top tier of Japanese football. With promotion and the creation of the J. League Division 3 in 2014, the distinction will be taken over by Blaublitz Akita.

Record as J. League member

Season Div. Tms. Pos. Attendance/G J. League Cup Emperor's Cup
2005 J2 12 9 4,366 – 4th Round
2006 J2 13 13 3,477 – 4th Round
2007 J2 13 13 3,289 – 4th Round
2008 J2 15 15 3,862 – 3rd Round
2009 J2 18 9 4,073 – 2nd Round
2010 J2 19 8 4,614 – 3rd Round
2011 J2 20 4 5,207 – 2nd Round
2012 J2 22 15 3,991 – 3rd Round
2013 J2 22 4 4,348 – 2nd Round
2014 J1 18 18 8,884 Group Stage 3rd Round
2015 J2 22 14 5,019 – 3rd Round
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Honours

2003, 2004
1978, 1979, 1981, 1989

Current players

As of 2 February, 2015.[4]

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

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Takashi Aizawa
2 Japan DF Yohei Fukumoto
3 Brazil MF Alex
4 Japan DF Kotaro Fujiwara
5 Japan DF Hidenori Ishii
6 Japan MF Ryo Kubota
7 Japan MF Yuji Kimura
8 South Korea MF Kim Kyung-Jung
9 South Korea FW Kim Jong-min
10 Japan FW Junya Osaki
11 Japan FW Tomohiro Tsuda
13 Japan FW Ikki Sasaki
14 Japan MF Takeshi Hamada
15 Japan MF Tomoyasu Hirose
No. Position Player
16 Japan MF Daisuke Saito (captain)
17 Japan MF Yu Eto
18 Japan MF Akihiro Sato
19 Japan DF Yuto Uchida
20 Colombia MF Estiven
21 Japan GK Yasuhiro Watanabe
22 Japan DF Rikuto Hirose
23 Japan FW Yu Hasegawa
24 Japan MF Yoji Sasaki
25 Japan FW Daisuke Tomita
26 Japan DF Ossan
27 South Korea DF Son Se-hwan
28 Japan MF Atsushi Izawa
31 Japan GK Toru 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. Position Player
Japan DF Yoshiaki Kinoshita (at FC Osaka)
Brazil FW Douglas (at Sanfrecce Hiroshima)

Managers

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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