Honda FC

This article is about the football club. For the concept car, see Honda FC Sport.
Honda Football Club
Full name Honda Motor Football Club
Founded 1971
Ground Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.
Ground Capacity 4,000
Chairman Masaaki Miyaji
Manager Yoshitaka Maeda
League Japan Football League
2015 3rd
Website Club home page

Honda FC (ホンダFC Honda Efu Shī) is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. They play in the Japan Football League.

History

The club was founded as Honda Motor, Honda works team in 1971.They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1975 and to the JSL Division 1 in 1981; the closest they came to the title was in 1985–86 and 1990–91 seasons, when they finished in third place. In 1991 they also made the finals of both the Japan Soccer League Cup and Konica Cup, but lost both times. They also made the Emperor's Cup semi-finals in 1990 and 1991. They stayed in the top flight until the conclusion of the league in 1992.

In early 90's, the club considered the possibilities of turning professional and participating in J. League. They sought the merger with their sister club Honda Motor Sayama F.C. and Urawa was chosen as a possible hometown. However, they failed to persuade the owner Honda Motor who insisted they should abide by their principle to concentrate on their core business of automobile manufacturing.

As a result of this decision, many players left the club. They played in the newly formed Japan Football League Division 1 in 1992 and finished 9th out of 10. They were relegated to Division 2 where they won the championship in 1993. The 2 divisions of the JFL were merged in 1994 and the club joined the league.

In 1996, they won the championship in the JFL. Around that time, the club made the second effort to be a professional club. They acquired associate membership in J. League under new name Acute Hamamatsu but the inadequate stadium and insufficient local support (the closest professional club is Júbilo Iwata, formerly part of Yamaha Motor Corporation), forced them to give it up. Iwata was a common derby foe in the JSL and their fixtures were known as Tenryu-side Derby (天竜川決戦).

In 1999, the JFL was reorganised as the new JFL. They have been playing in the league since its inception.

J's Gatekeeper

Honda F.C. does not intend to be promoted to the J. League due to the mandatory loss of corporate backing, although they have been always considered as one of the JFL title contenders. They provide a big hurdle for those independent sides (such as Gainare Tottori or F.C. Ryūkyū) who wish to gain promotion. In order to achieve this goal, these teams need to finish in the top four in the league. Honda perennially occupying one of these spots makes their challenge even more difficult. Supporters of these clubs have dubbed Honda F.C. as J's Gatekeeper (the Gatekeeper of J. League) with respect and some resentment.[1]

Honda F.C., having played in the old Japan Soccer League in the past but never contending for the title, has in 2007 given some J1 teams a run for their money in the Emperor's Cup, reaching the quarterfinals after disposing of former champions Kashiwa Reysol and top contenders Nagoya Grampus (their first quarterfinals since 1991). They were nevertheless defeated by J1 champions Kashima Antlers on 22 December.[2] The 2008 cup did not go well for them, as they were eliminated by Sagan Tosu 4–0 in the third round, but they still won the JFL championship.

Stadium

Miyakoda Soccer Stadium

The club's home arena is the Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium located in Kita-ku, Hamamatsu. It is owned by Honda Motor Company. The stadium was redeveloped in 1996. This reconstruction included the building of a new mobile platform (1,000 seats) and corner floodlights. The stadium now holds 4,000 spectators.[3]

Results

Season Div. Pos.(Tms.) Pld Pts W D L League Cup Emperor's Cup
1971 Western Shizuoka 1Did not qualify
1972 Shizuoka 1Did not qualify
1973 Tōkai 1 (8)142512113rd round
1974 1 (10)13219312nd round
1975 JSL Div.2 4 (10)18221026Did not qualify
1976 4 (10)1821693Quarter-final1st round
1977 7 (10)18298010Semi-final2nd round
1978 1 (10)18571404Quarter-final2nd round
1979 4 (10)184411072nd round2nd round
1980 1 (10)182813231st round2nd round
1981 JSL Div.1 6 (10)1814549Quarter-final2nd round
1982 9 (10)1814468Quarter-final1st round
1983 8 (10)1814468Quarter-finalQuarter-final
1984 5 (10)1819756Semi-finalQuarter-final
1985–86 3 (12)22288122Semi-final2nd round
1986–87 9 (12)2220688Semi-finalSemi-final
1987–88 8 (12)2220688Semi-finalQuarter-final
1988–89 9 (12)22277692nd roundQuarter-final
1989–90 6 (12)2222102101st round2nd round
1990–91 3 (12)22381084Semi-finalSemi-final
1991–92 10 (12)2223589FinalSemi-final
1992 JFL (former) Div.1 9 (10)181644102nd round
1993 JFL (former) Div.2 1 (10)181503Did not qualify
1994 JFL (former) 9 (16)3012018Did not qualify
1995 7 (16)3049160141st round
1996 1 (16)307525053rd round
1997 4 (16)306523073rd round
1998 5 (16)3054190114th round
1999 JFL 2 (9)245018153rd round
2000 2 (12)224917053rd round
2001 1 (16)307122533rd round
2002 1 (18)174113223rd round
2003 2 (16)306721453rd round
2004 2 (16)306219564th round
2005 5 (16)305617584th round
2006 1 (18)348326534th round
2007 5 (18)345816108Quarter-final
2008 1 (18)347422843rd round
2009 7 (18)3451131292nd round
2010 4 (18)3459185112nd round
2011 6 (18)345215711-
2012 5 (17)325316511-
2013 5 (18)345314119-
2014 1 (14)26531655-
2015 3 (16)30682154-

Source: JFL, Honda FC website

Honours

Current squad

As of 25 February 2016.[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 Yūki Shimizutani
2 Japan DF Masayuki Kawashima
3 Japan DF Yūhei Nakagawa
5 Japan DF Yuya Suzuki
6 Japan DF Masashi Sudo
7 Japan MF Shota Itokazu
8 Japan FW Daiki Kagawa
9 Japan FW Shogo Omachi
10 Japan MF Junichiro Shibata
11 Japan MF Ryuta Hosokai
13 Japan MF Kazuki Matsumoto
14 Japan DF Ryu Okeda
15 Japan FW Kai Harada
No. Position Player
16 Japan MF Takahiro Tsuchiya (captain)
17 Japan FW Keita Miyauchi
18 Japan FW Tatsuya Furuhashi
19 Japan MF Yusuke Sone
20 Japan MF Hiroki Kurimoto
21 Japan GK Hirotaka Takamura
22 Japan MF Yuya Tomita
23 Japan FW Junya Kuno
24 Japan DF Masafumi Miura
25 Japan MF Daichi Watanabe
26 Japan MF Shingo Honda
27 Japan GK Yuki Kusumoto

References

  1. Utsunomiya, Tetsuichi (13 October 2009). "Emperor's Cup 2009 report" (in Japanese). Y's Sports Inc. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  2. Shizuoka Shimbun. "The 90th Emperor's Cup: Prefectural finals winners" (in Japanese). JFA. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  3. "Stadium guide" (in Japanese). Honda FC. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  4. http://www.honda-fc.gr.jp/profile/members.html

External links

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