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JEF United Chiba

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This article is about the men's football club based in Japan. For the women's team, see JEF United Chiba Ladies.
JEF United Chiba
ジェフユナイテッド千葉
Full nameJEF United Ichihara Chiba
Nickname(s)JEF, Inu (The Dogs)
Founded1946; 78 years ago (1946)
as Furukawa Electric SC
GroundFukuda Denshi Arena
Chiba
Capacity19,781
OwnerEast Japan Railway Company (50%)
Furukawa Electric (50%)
ChairmanAkira Shimada
ManagerYoshiyuki Kobayashi
LeagueJ2 League
2023J2 League, 6th of 22
Websitehttp://jefunited.co.jp/
Current season

JEF United Chiba (ジェフユナイテッド千葉, Jefu Yunaiteddo Chiba), full name JEF United Ichihara Chiba (ジェフユナイテッド市原・千葉, Jefu Yunaiteddo Ichihara Chiba) and also known as JEF Chiba (ジェフ千葉, Jefu Chiba), is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football.

History

Furukawa Electric SC (1946–1991)

The club began as the company team, Furukawa Electric Soccer Club (古河電気工業サッカー部) in 1946. As the company team, it won the Japan Soccer League twice, the Emperor's Cup four times and the JSL League Cup three times. Furukawa also won the 1986–87 Asian Club Championship, the top club honor in Asia; they were the first Japanese club to do so.

The club was a founding member ("Original Eight"[a]) of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, the club had always played in the top flight in Japan and was the only Japanese club to never be relegated from the JSL Division 1, a record they kept into the J1 years. They did finish the 1978 season in a relegation position (last of 10) but stayed up after beating Honda FC 1–0 on aggregate in a two-legged playoff. The last place was not automatically relegated until the 1980 season.

JEF United Ichihara (1992–2004)

In 1991, it merged with the JR East's company team to become East Japan JR Furukawa Football Club (東日本ジェイアール古河サッカークラブ) and rebranded itself as JEF United Ichihara upon the J.League's founding in 1993. JEF United Ichihara was an original member ("Original Ten"[b]) of the J.League in 1993. The club initially built itself around the former Germany national football team player Pierre Littbarski.

From 1998 to 2000, the club struggled to stay in the J.League and it began a series of efforts to be a competitive team. Since the hiring of Ivica Osim in 2003, JEF United has contended for the league title each year despite limited resources and struggling attendance.

JEF United Chiba (2005–)

On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. Of its club name, JEF is taken from the JR East and Furukawa Electric companies and United is meant to represent the unity of the club and its home city. Also, JEF United is the only team in J.League which corporate name survived the transition from the JSL in 1992, as J.League mandated that "corporate teams are not allowed in the J.League", and that any corporate teams need to adapt a hometown.

On 16 July 2006, Osim left the club to take over the coach of the Japan national team and was succeeded by Amar Osim, his son and assistant coach.[1] On December 5, 2007, it was announced that Amar Osim had been sacked after the club's lowly 13th-place finish in the 2007 season.[2]

After 13 games in the 2008 season Josip Kuže was sacked as team manager. On 8 May 2008 it was announced that the new manager was Alex Miller. Miller was First Team Coach at Liverpool F.C. alongside Rafael Benítez prior to joining JEF United.

The Furukawa Electric is no longer the main sponsor of the club, a job these days taken over by Fuji Electric.

On November 8, 2009, JEF United Chiba was relegated to J2 after 44 seasons in the Japanese top division; since 2010, JEF United Chiba is playing in J.League Division 2.

JEF United Chiba was close to being promoted to J.League Division 1 during the 2012 season. The club was considered one of the favorites to be directly promoted to J1. However, after defeats to clubs considered lesser than them such as FC Gifu and F.C. Machida Zelvia, JEF played the playoffs, making their road to the final. They defeated Yokohama FC by 4–0, but lost the final match to Oita Trinita by 1–0, at Tokyo National Stadium.

In the 2013 season they played in the promotion to J1 playoffs. They lost the semi-final match to Tokushima Vortis by 1–1(Chiba was 6th place and Tokushima was 3rd place in the league, regulation decides up high club can go final even draw.)

In the 2014 season they played in the promotion playoffs to J1 again. The club did not have to play in the semi-final(Chiba was 4th place but the 3rd place club named Giravanz Kitakyushu had a J League original stadium problem so Kitakyushu could not go to the promotion play off). In the final against Montedio Yamagata, they lost by 0–1, at Ajinomoto Stadium.

The club will play their 14th consecutive season at the J2 on 2023.

Symbols

Stadiums

It had played its home matches at Ichihara Seaside Stadium, but has since moved to the larger, football-specific and more conveniently located Fukuda Denshi Arena, which opened in Chiba during the 2005 season. The club had initially practiced at Urayasu, Chiba planning to base itself in Narashino, Chiba before opposition by those living around Akitsu Stadium forced it to be based in Ichihara. Since 2000, training has been held at Footpark Anesaki in Ichihara in normally. Since 1 October 2009, they made new practice place UNITED PARK near the Fukuda Denshi Arena.

Mascot

Akitas and Mina

JEF United Ichihara's mascot characters are Akita Inu brothers named Jeffy and Unity. The squad number of Jeffy is 2 and that of Unity is 9. They are also joined by a third mascot named Mina, or Mina-chan. Her backstory was that she one day came to Soga Station (the railway station nearest to Fukuda Denshi Arena) and offered to work alongside Jeffy and Unity.[3] Her squad number is 12.

Slogan

JEF United considers its philosophy to be encapsulated in its tagline "Win By All" [4] since 2001.

Affiliated clubs

Furukawa Electric Chiba

This was JEF's reserve team during the JSL years. They were formed in 1967 and were first promoted to the JSL Second Division in 1975. They still exist, although they are no longer affiliated on paper, and play in the Kanto Regional League. In 2008 they renamed themselves S.A.I. Ichihara and in 2011 they adopted the name Vonds Ichihara. Now separate from Furukawa Electric control, they aim to form its power base in Ichihara as JEF is now based in Chiba city.

JEF Reserves

JEF's reserve team played until 2011 in the Japan Football League, the third tier of Japanese football. But in 2011, the club announced the end of the B team because of financial problems.

JEF United Chiba Ladies

Further information: JEF United Chiba Ladies

Rivalries

Marunouchi Gosanke

Historically, JEF United's fiercest rivals have been Kashiwa Reysol and Urawa Reds, both close neighbors. The three were co-founders ("Original Eight") of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, and spent most seasons in the top tier through the JSL era. Because of their former parent companies' headquarters being all based in Marunouchi, Tokyo, the three clubs were known as the Marunouchi Gosanke (丸の内御三家) and fixtures among them were known as the Marunouchi derbies.

Chiba derby

JEF United and Reysol first met in 1941 in ancient Kanto regional football league. The two clubs both now based in Chiba Prefecture, and their rivalry is known as the Chiba derby. They annually contest a pre-season friendly match well known as the Chibagin Cup (i.e., Chiba Bank Cup) since 1995.


Record as J.League member

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
Season Division Teams Position P W (PKW / OTW) D L (PKL / OTL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G J.League
Cup		 Emperor's
Cup
JEF United Ichihara
1992 – – – – Group stage Quarter final
1993 J1 10 8th 36 14 - 22 51 67 -16 - 20,273 Group stage Quarter final
1994 12 9th 44 19 - 25 69 85 -16 - 22,262 2nd round 2nd round
1995 14 5th 52 28 (0 / -) - 20 (4 / -) 97 91 6 88 15,418 – 1st round
1996 16 9th 30 13 (0 / -) - 16 (1 / -) 45 47 -2 40 12,008 Group stage 3rd round
1997 17 13th 32 6 (0 / 5) - 17 (1 / 3) 43 66 -23 28 5,693 Quarter-final 4th round
1998 18 16th 34 8 (1 / 0) - 20 (1 / 4) 49 75 -26 25 5,365 Final 3rd round
1999 16 13th 30 6 (0 / 4) 2 14 (0 / 4) 41 56 -15 28 5,774 2nd round 3rd round
2000 16 14th 30 8 (0 / 1) 2 14 (0 / 5) 37 49 -12 28 6,338 2nd round Quarter final
2001 16 3rd 30 14 (0 / 3) 2 9 (0 / 2) 60 54 6 50 7,818 Quarter-final Quarter final
2002 16 7th 30 12 (- / 1) 3 14 38 42 -4 41 7,897 Quarter-final Semi-final
2003 16 3rd 30 15 8 7 57 38 19 53 9,709 Group stage Quarter final
2004 16 4th 30 13 11 6 55 45 10 50 10,012 Group stage 4th round
JEF United Chiba
2005 J1 18 4th 34 16 11 7 56 42 14 59 9,535 Winner 5th round
2006 18 11th 34 13 5 16 57 58 -1 44 13,393 Winner 4th round
2007 18 13th 34 12 6 16 51 56 -5 42 14,149 Group stage 4th round
2008 18 15th 34 10 8 16 36 53 17 38 14,084 Quarter final 4th round
2009 18 18th 34 5 12 17 32 56 -24 27 14,730 Group stage 4th round
2010 J2 19 4th 36 18 7 11 58 37 21 61 11,689 Not eligible 4th round
2011 20 6th 38 16 10 12 46 39 7 58 9,680 Quarter final
2012 22 5th 42 21 9 12 61 33 28 72 9,281 Quarter final
2013 22 5th 42 18 12 12 68 49 19 66 10,004 3rd round
2014 22 3rd 42 18 14 10 55 44 11 68 9,333 Semi-final
2015 22 9th 42 15 12 15 50 45 5 57 10,725 3rd round
2016 22 11th 42 13 14 15 52 53 -1 53 10,292 3rd round
2017 22 6th 42 20 8 14 70 58 12 68 9,983 3rd round
2018 22 14th 42 16 7 19 72 72 0 55 9,858 3rd round
2019 22 17th 42 10 13 19 46 64 -18 43 9,701 2nd round
2020 † 22 14th 42 15 8 19 47 51 -4 53 2,778 Did not qualify
2021 † 22 8th 42 17 15 10 48 36 12 66 4,068 3rd round
2022 22 10th 42 17 10 15 44 42 2 61 5,775 2nd round
2023 22 TBA 42 2nd round
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
  • OTW / PKW = Overtime wins / Penalty kicks wins 1997 & 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002 Overtime wins only
  • OTL / PKL = Overtime losses / Penalty kicks losses 1997 and 1998 seasons - 1999, 2000 & 2001 Overtime losses only
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

As Furukawa Electric SC (1946–1992), JEF United Ichihara (1992–2004), and JEF United Chiba (2005–present)

National

League

Cups

International

League history

  • Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1965–1992
  • Division 1 (J1): 1993–2009
  • Division 2 (J2): 2010–present

Players

Current squad

As of 26 August 2023.[5] 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 Japan JPN Shota Arai (vice-captain)
2 MF Japan JPN Issei Takahashi
4 MF Japan JPN Taishi Taguchi (vice-captain)
5 MF Japan JPN Yusuke Kobayashi
6 DF Japan JPN Ikki Arai (vice-captain)
8 MF Japan JPN Koya Kazama
9 FW Japan JPN Hiroto Goya
10 MF Japan JPN Tomoya Miki (vice-captain)
11 DF Japan JPN Koki Yonekura
13 DF Japan JPN Daisuke Suzuki (captain)
14 MF Japan JPN Naoki Tsubaki
16 FW Japan JPN Kazuki Tanaka (on loan from Kyoto Sanga)
17 MF Japan JPN Takaki Fukumitsu
18 MF Japan JPN Andrew Kumagai
20 FW Japan JPN Toshiyuki Takagi
22 DF Japan JPN Shogo Sasaki
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 GK Japan JPN Ryota Suzuki
24 DF Japan JPN Shuntaro Yaguchi
26 DF Japan JPN Shunsuke Nishikubo
28 MF Japan JPN Tomoya Shinohara
31 GK Japan JPN Sota Matsubara
33 GK Japan JPN Issei Kondo
36 DF Japan JPN Riku Matsuda
39 FW Japan JPN Ryuta Shimmyo
40 DF Brazil BRA Mendes
41 FW Japan JPN Hiiro Komori
47 MF Japan JPN Cojiro Higashi Type 2
48 DF Japan JPN Soshiro Tanida Type 2
52 DF Japan JPN Ryota Kuboniwa DSP
65 MF Japan JPN Hisatoshi Nishido (on loan from FC Tokyo)
67 MF Japan JPN Masaru Hidaka
77 FW Brazil BRA Dudu

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
25 MF Japan JPN Rui Sueyoshi (at Fagiano Okayama until 31 January 2024)
37 FW Japan JPN Keita Buwanika (at Mito HollyHock until 31 January 2024)
— FW Japan JPN Raito Saito (at ReinMeer Aomori until 31 January 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Brazil BRA Saldanha (at Partizan until 31 December 2023)
— FW Japan JPN Solomon Sakuragawa (at Fagiano Okayama until 31 January 2024)
— FW Japan JPN Taichi Sakuma (at Vanraure Hachinohe until 31 January 2024)

International capped players

JFA
AFC/ CAF/ OFC
UEFA
CONMEBOL

Coaching staff

Position Name
Manager Japan Yoshiyuki Kobayashi
First Team coach Japan Masataka Sakamoto
Japan Masashi Owada
Japan Shunta Nagai
Goalkeeper coach Japan Motoki Kawahara
Physical coach Japan Ryota Mizuguchi

Managerial history

Manager Nationality Tenure
Yoshikazu Nagai Japan Japan 1992–1993
Eijun Kiyokumo Japan Japan 1994–1995
Yasuhiko Okudera Japan Japan 1996
Jan Versleijen Netherlands Netherlands 1997–1998
Gert Engels Germany Germany 1999
Nicolae Zamfir Romania Romania 1999–2000
Sugao Kambe (interim) Japan Japan 2000
Zdenko Verdenik Slovenia Slovenia 2000–2001
Sugao Kambe (interim) Japan Japan 2001
Jozef Vengloš Slovakia Slovakia 2002
Ivica Osim Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 2003–2006
Amar Osim Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006–2007
Josip Kuže Croatia Croatia 2008
Shigeo Sawairi (interim) Japan Japan 2008
Alex Miller Scotland Scotland 2008–2009
Atsuhiko Ejiri Japan Japan 2009–2010
Dwight Lodeweges Netherlands Netherlands 2011
Sugao Kambe Japan Japan 2011
Takashi Kiyama Japan Japan 2012
Jun Suzuki Japan Japan 2013–2014
Kazuo Saito (interim) Japan Japan 2014
Takashi Sekizuka Japan Japan 2014–2016
Shigetoshi Hasebe (interim) Japan Japan 2016
Juan Esnáider Argentina Argentina 2017–2019
Atsuhiko Ejiri Japan Japan 2019
Yoon Jong-hwan South Korea South Korea 2020–2022
Yoshiyuki Kobayashi Japan Japan 2023–

Kit and colours

The club colours of JEF United Chiba are yellow, green and red.

Kit evolution

Notes

  1. ^ The Original Eight of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965 were Mitsubishi, Furukawa, Hitachi, Yanmar, Toyo Industries, Yahata Steel, Toyota Industries and Nagoya Mutual Bank.
  2. ^ The Original Ten of the J.League in 1992 were Kashima Antlers, Urawa Red Diamonds, JEF United Ichihara, Verdy Kawasaki, Yokohama Marinos, Yokohama Flügels, Shimizu S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus Eight, Gamba Osaka and Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to JEF United Chiba.
Achievements
Preceded by Champions of Asia
1986–87 		Succeeded by
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