Vegalta Sendai
ベガルタ仙台
Full nameVegalta Sendai
Founded1988 (1988)
GroundYurtec Stadium Sendai
Izumi-ku, Sendai
Capacity19,694
ChairmanHideki Itabashi
ManagerYoshiro Moriyama[1]
LeagueJ2 League
2023J2 League, 16th of 22
WebsiteClub website

Vegalta Sendai (ベガルタ仙台, Begaruta Sendai) is a Japanese professional football club located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football.

History

Founded in 1988 as Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club, Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after playing a few years in the JFL, with the nickname Brummell Sendai, to which they had been promoted in 1995 from the Tohoku Regional League. When joining the J-League, the name Vegalta was chosen as a homage to the famous Tanabata festival in Sendai. The names of the two celestial stars of the Tanabata legend, Vega and Altair were combined to form Vegalta.[2]

They were first promoted to the top flight in 2002 but in the following season the team went back down the following season. They were promoted again for the 2010 season.

In 2011, despite the earthquake and tsunami, they achieved their highest position up to that time, 4th place in the top division.

In 2012, despite leading the table for most of the season, Sanfrecce Hiroshima's challenge proved too strong, and losing the penultimate week game to relegation battler Albirex Niigata cost them the title, rendering them second-place winners, their highest position in history.

In 2018, the Vegalta reached vice place in the Emperor's Cup, losing the cup to the Urawa Reds.[3]

After twelve years spent at the J1 League, Vegalta returned to the J2 on 2022, after being relegated from the J1 on 2021. After finishing on 7th place at the 2022 J2 League, the club was not able to even play the promotion play-offs. Vegalta will play then, their 2nd consecutive season in the J2 on 2023. Ryang Yong-gi, a symbol of Sendai, retired at the end of the 2023 season.

From 2024, Yoshiro Moriyama, who has a track record of developing players in Sanfrecce Hiroshima's training age group and the U17 Japan National Team, will be appointed as Manager.

Stadium

Yurtec Stadium Sendai
Miyagi Stadium

Their home stadium is Yurtec Stadium Sendai, in Izumi-ku, Sendai, although a few home games have also been played at nearby Miyagi Stadium.

Sendai Stadium ranks among the top stadiums in Japan for its presence, comfort, and accessibility, and was once ranked second in an evaluation by a famous Japanese football media. It was also used by Azzurri as a camp site during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Miyagi Stadium is famous for the Japan national team, and for hosting matches of the Argentina national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Supporters and rivalries

As with most football clubs, fans in Sendai sing and dance during matches. However, most of the songs used by fans from other clubs are avoided due to the more eclectic set. Club themes sung before each game are Take Me Home, Country Roads, and during the game. Toy Dolls, Blitzkrieg Bop and other KISS and Twisted Sister.

Since Sendai is the hometown of Hirohiko Araki, who wrote JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, fans often wave flags with the same motifs of characters portrayed in Araki’s manga.

Michinoku Derby

Vegalta's traditional rivals are Montedio Yamagata from Yamagata Prefecture. The two have been rivals since meeting in the Tohoku Football League in 1991. Among the Tohoku derbies, this match is famous as the Michinoku derby.

Tohoku Derby

This is the derby played by the Tohoku region teams, currently the most important match is that of Vegalta Sendai and Montedio Yamagata. Other teams included in this classic include Blaublitz Akita, Iwate Grulla Morioka, Iwaki FC.

Record

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
SeasonLeagueTierTeamsPos. PW (OTW / PKW)DL (OTL)FAGDPtsAttendance
Brummell Sendai
1995 Former JFL21615th309-214079-3927
1996 166th3018-1267521556
1997 168th3012 (1 / 2)-153743-640
1998 167th301 (5 / 3)-125553243
Vegalta Sendai
1999 J22109th367 (3)418 (4)3058-2831134,462
2000 115th4015 (4)215 (4)6069-955177,967
2001 122nd4424 (3)59 (3)78562283308,243
2002 J111613th309 (2)1184057-1732327,925
2003 1615th3059163156-2524325,621
2004 J22126th441514156266-459356,359
2005 124th4419111466471968350,544
2006 135th4821141375433277346,868
2007 134th4824131172541883352,432
2008 153rd421816862471570295,679
2009 181st5132109873948106336,719
2010 J111814th34109154046-639294,644
2011 184th341414639251456266,144
2012 182nd341512759431657282,200
2013 1813th341112114138345252,725
2014 1814th34911143550-1538257,949
2015 1814th3498174448-435234,442
2016 1812th34134173948-943262,937
2017 1812th34118154453-941250,677
2018 1811th34136154454-1045242,791
2019 1811th34125173845-741254,503
2020 † 1817th34610183661-252836,113
2021 2019th38513203162-3128116,884
2022 J22227th42189156759863188,810
2023 2216th421212184861-1348235,521
2024 20TBD38
  • 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
  • Attendance = Total home league attendance
  • † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

Team awards

Individual awards

Players

Current squad

As of 10 January 2024.[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 Japan JPN Yuma Obata
2 DF Japan JPN Ryota Takada
5 DF Japan JPN Masahiro Sugata
7 FW Japan JPN Motohiko Nakajima (on loan from Cerezo Osaka)
8 MF Japan JPN Yoshiki Matsushita
9 FW Japan JPN Masato Nakayama
10 MF Japan JPN Hiromu Kamada
11 MF Japan JPN Yuta Goke
14 MF Japan JPN Ryunosuke Sagara
17 MF Japan JPN Aoi Kudo
19 DF Brazil BRA Mateus Souza Moraes
20 DF Japan JPN Tetsuya Chinen
21 GK Japan JPN Riku Umeda
22 DF Japan JPN Yuta Koide
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF Japan JPN Keito Arita
24 MF Japan JPN Toya Myogan (on loan from Kawasaki Frontale)
25 DF Japan JPN Takumi Mase
27 MF Japan JPN George Onaiwu
28 FW Japan JPN Ryunosuke Sugawara
29 GK Japan JPN Koki Matsuzawa
30 FW Japan JPN Minto Nishimaru
33 GK Japan JPN Akihiro Hayashi
37 MF Japan JPN Kazuki Nagasawa
39 MF Japan JPN Rikuto Ishio
41 DF Japan JPN Yuto Uchida
50 MF Japan JPN Yasushi Endo (captain)
98 FW Brazil BRA Eron

Notable players and coaches

International convention

National Team
FIFA Confederations Cup

EAFF E-1 Football Championship

Under National Team
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
  • 2016
    • Japan Makoto Teguramori
      ※Winner
  • 2020
    • Australia Graham Arnold
      ※3rd place

Toulon Tournament (U-22)

FIFA U-20 World Cup (Manager)

Club staff

For the 2024 season.

Position Staff
ManagerJapan Yoshiro Moriyama
First-team coachJapan Koichiro Katafuchi
Japan Akira Konno
Japan Yōsuke Nishi
Goalkeeper coachJapan Motoki Ueda
Physical coachJapan Makoto Muraoka
Athletic trainerJapan Tomoki Okabe
TrainerJapan Hiroaki Shibata
Japan Taisuke Ikoma
PhysiotherapistJapan Masaaki Taira
Chief trainer & PhysiotherapistJapan Takuya Matsuda
InterpreterBrazil Rodrigo Simões
CompetentJapan Shinya Naganuma
Side affairsJapan Yutaro Miura

Managerial history

ManagerNationalityTenure
Start dateFinish date
Takekazu Suzuki Japan1 July 199031 December 1995
Choei Sato Japan1996
Branko Elsner Slovenia1 February 199731 December 1997
Toshiya Miura Japan1 January 199831 January 1998
Takekazu Suzuki Japan1 February 199824 July 1999
Hidehiko Shimizu Japan27 July 199914 September 2003
Hajime Ishii Japan15 September 200320 September 2003
Zdenko Verdenik Slovenia21 September 200331 December 2004
Satoshi Tsunami Japan1 January 200530 November 2005
Joel Santana Brazil1 December 200531 December 2006
Tatsuya Mochizuki Japan1 January 200731 December 2007
Makoto Teguramori Japan1 February 200814 November 2013
Graham Arnold Australia14 November 20139 April 2014
Susumu Watanabe Japan10 April 201431 January 2020
Takashi Kiyama Japan1 February 202031 January 2021
Makoto Teguramori Japan1 February 202122 November 2021
Masato Harasaki Japan23 November 20215 September 2022
Akira Ito Japan6 September 202212 July 2023
Takafumi Hori Japan13 July 202313 November 2023
Yoshiro Moriyama Japan1 January 2024Current

Mascot and cheerleaders

Mascot

  • VEGATTA (Brother)
    • He has won "the J League mascot general election" many times and is quite popular.
    • The eagle, which is also used in the club emblem as a symbol of victory in Greek mythology, is associated with the Aquila constellation, to which Hikoboshi (Altair) belongs, which is the origin of the club's name. The name was decided by public submission. Vegatta's SNS (BLOG, Twitter), which is updated daily, is loved and popular among soccer fans in Japan, as the mascot loves mischief, and is by some fans, hard to believe it is a mascot.
  • LTAANA (Sister)
    • From the Sendai summer tradition "Sendai Tanabata", which is the origin of the team name, "Luta" for Vega (Orihime) and Altair (Hikoboshi), and "Tana" for Tanabata, it was named as a girlish name by combining "na", on a 7 August, which is the date of the event and the birthday. Sometimes she tweet with [#ルターナ] (LTAANA written phonetically on Katakana) on Sendai's official Twitter.
    • When Vegalta wins any match, she expresses her joy on Twitter.

Cheerleaders

  • The Vegalta Cheerleaders mainly support "Vegalta Sendai", participate in many events, and continue to work as a cheering group for people who are doing their best in the area. She has the longest history as a cheerleader for a professional sports team in Sendai, and has been active since 2003.

Best Match

① and ② were selected as "that game I want to see again" on the J League official YouTube channel, and 2 was also selected as "10 Best Matches" by J Chronicle Best. ② was also selected as the "Best Match" of the J30 Best Awards.

J Chronicle Best

This is a project to select the J.League "Best Eleven", "Best Goal" and "Best Match" over the past 20 years. A project held in 2013 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Japan Professional Soccer League. The mentioned two game is often featured as a legendary game in each media.

J30 BEST AWARDS

A project to select the "MVP", "Best Eleven", "Best Goal", "Best Match", and "Best Scene" of the J League over the past 30 years. An award hosted by the J.League to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the J.League in 2023.

Even in "Soccer Digest" (Japan's famous football media),the two were selected as "the best 3 selected J.League matches" by the reporter in charge of Sendai. Sendai's Yoshiaki Ota, who scored the equalizing goal against Kawasaki, said, "I think it was a goal that everyone worked together, including the thoughts of my teammates."

*The notation of the match card and the stadium where the match was held is at the time of the match.

Game Date/Stadium Overview Match data
① 2001 J League Division 2 Round 44

Kyoto Purple Sanga FC 0-1 Vegalta Sendai

 November 18, 2001

Takebishi Stadium Kyoto

 The long-awaited J1 first promotion match.

Head-to-head competition between leader Kyoto and 3rd place Sendai in the final round.

The first promotion to J1 as a club in the Tohoku region is decided.

 Official record
② 2011 J League Division 1 Round 7

Kawasaki Frontale 1-2 Vegalta Sendai

 April 23, 2011

Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium

 The first match after the suspension of the league match due to the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Sendai, who suffered severe damage to the club itself, came from behind to win. Recorded the club's first victory with Todoroki Stadium.

 Official record

Continental record

ACL

Sendai also participated in the ACL for the first time in 2013.

It was a tournament with many challenges other than matches, such as long-distance travel, overcrowded schedule with the J League, and local climate, but they did not lose in the extreme cold of Nanjing and the intense heat of Thailand, and the final match was a draw or better in the qualifying.

It was a good point to leave the possibility of breaking through.

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
2013 AFC Champions LeagueGroup EThailand Buriram United1–11–14th
China Jiangsu Sainty1–20–0
South Korea FC Seoul1–02–1

Kit evolution

Asian clubs ranking

As of 14 October 2018.[5]
Current RankCountryTeamPoints
66LebanonAl-Ahed SC1379
67United Arab EmiratesAl-Nasr Dubai SC1377
68JapanVegalta Sendai1375
69IndiaSalgaocar FC1372
70JapanSagan Tosu1372

Vegalta House

"Shichigashuku Town’ｓ Empty House Revitalization Project: Let's Build a Vegalta House" will start in July 2021 with the support of 143 crowdfunding people and a total of 78 local workers.[6] It is involved in a social collaboration activity, in line with Goal 11 "Sustainable cities and communities" and Goal 17 "Partnership for the goals" of the SDGs basic guidelines.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "森山佳郎監督就任のお知らせ". www.vegalta.co.jp (in Japanese). Vegalta Sendai. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "GET TO KNOW J.LEAGUE: Vegalta Sendai".
  3. ↑ "仙台、天皇杯準優勝は新時代の幕開け。渡邉体制6年目はサポーターの望むタイトル獲得へ". フットボールチャンネル (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  4. ↑ "Team" (in Japanese). Vegalta Sendai. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Asia Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". FootballDatabase.
  6. ↑ "Vegalta House Recent Report". 2022-11-07.
  7. ↑ "みなさん、おばんです。" (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Introducing clubs that received a lot of RT response". 2022-11-07.
  9. ↑ "You can stay at Vegalta House!". 2022-11-07.
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