Tochigi Soccer Club (栃木サッカークラブ, Tochigi Sakkākurabu),[1] commonly referred to as Tochigi SC (栃木SC, Tochigi Esushi) is a Japanese football club based in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. They currently play in the J2 League, Japan's second tier of professional football.
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| Full name | Tochigi Soccer Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 | ||
| Stadium | Kanseki Stadium Tochigi | ||
| Capacity | 25,244 | ||
| Manager | Yu Tokisaki | ||
| League | J2 League | ||
| 2023 | J2 League, 19th of 22 | ||
| Website | http://www.tochigisc.jp/ | ||
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History
Teachers in Tochigi Prefecture founded the club in 1953. They were initially called Tochigi Teachers' Soccer Club (栃木教員サッカー部 Tochigi Kyōin Sakkā Bu). They started to welcome players with other professions in 1994 and renamed themselves as Tochigi Soccer Club. In 1999, Tochigi won the Kanto Regional League and were promoted to the Japan Football League after finishing runners-up in the Regional League play-off. In March 2005, they announced that they would set up a task force to give a serious consideration to turn professional and try to gain J.League status.
In January 2007 they achieved J.League Associate Membership status and in the 2008 season they secured qualification for promotion to professional status on November 16; on December 1 promotion was made official by J.League and Tochigi had competed in J2 from 2009. In 2015 Tochigi finished bottom and were relegated for the first time to J3, the third and lowest professional level in the league system. After two seasons, they returned to J2 as runners-up in 2017.
League and cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | ||
| 2007 | JFL | 18 | 8th | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 43 | 29 | 14 | 52 | 4,457 | 3rd round | |
| 2008 | 18 | 2nd | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 65 | 37 | 28 | 63 | 5,048 | 4th round | ||
| 2009 | J2 | 18 | 17th | 51 | 8 | 13 | 30 | 38 | 77 | -39 | 37 | 4,706 | 2nd round | |
| 2010 | 19 | 10th | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 46 | 42 | 4 | 50 | 4,157 | 3rd round | ||
| 2011 | 20 | 10th | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 44 | 39 | 5 | 56 | 4,939 | 3rd round | ||
| 2012 | 22 | 11th | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 50 | 49 | 4 | 60 | 3,850 | 2nd round | ||
| 2013 | 22 | 9th | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 55 | 6 | 63 | 4,922 | 3rd round | ||
| 2014 | 22 | 12th | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 58 | -6 | 55 | 5,294 | 2nd round | ||
| 2015 | 22 | 22nd | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 39 | 64 | -25 | 35 | 5,167 | 1st round | ||
| 2016 | J3 | 16 | 2nd | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 38 | 20 | 18 | 59 | 4,917 | Did not qualify | |
| 2017 | 17 | 2nd | 32 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 44 | 24 | 20 | 60 | 5,147 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2018 | J2 | 22 | 17th | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 38 | 48 | -10 | 50 | 5,657 | 2nd round | |
| 2019 | 22 | 20th | 42 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 33 | 53 | -20 | 40 | 5,148 | 3rd round | ||
| 2020 † | 22 | 10th | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 41 | 39 | 2 | 58 | 2,522 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021 † | 22 | 14th | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 37 | 51 | -14 | 45 | 3,861 | 3rd round | ||
| 2022 | 22 | 17th | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 32 | 40 | -8 | 49 | 4,429 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2023 | 22 | 19th | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 39 | 47 | -8 | 44 | 5,834 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2024 | 20 | TBA | 38 | 1st round | TBC | |||||||||
- 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
- Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
- Source: J.League Data Site
Players
Current squad
As of 16 February 2024.[2] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
For the 2023 season.[3]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Yu Tokisaki
|
| Assistant head coach | Masahiro Ohashi Minoru Takenaka
|
| Head goalkeeper coach | Akihiro Watanabe
|
| Analyst | Shogo Manabe
|
| Chief trainer | Yuta Matsumoto
|
| Trainer | Tetsuya Furuta Atsuya Kaneko
|
| Interpreter | Bruno Hideo Watanabe
|
| Side affairs | Tatsuya Sakakibara Yusuke Kenjo
|
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Kōichi Hashiratani | Japan |
January 1, 2007 | December 31, 2008 |
| Hiroshi Matsuda | Japan |
February 1, 2009 | September 13, 2013 |
| Ikuo Matsumoto | Japan |
September 13, 2013 | November 25, 2013 |
| Yūji Sakakura | Japan |
February 1, 2014 | July 20, 2015 |
| Yasuharu Kurata | Japan |
July 22, 2015 | December 31, 2015 |
| Yūji Yokoyama | Japan |
January 1, 2016 | December 31, 2018 |
| Kazuaki Tasaka | Japan |
February 1, 2019 | January 31, 2022 |
| Yū Tokisaki | Japan |
February 1, 2022 | Current |
Kit evolution
The team's colour is yellow.
| Home kits – 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          2008 |
     2009 |
     2010 |
    2011 |
    2012 |
     2013 |
    2014 |
     2015 |
   2016 |
   2017 |
     2018 |
   2019 |
   2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
     2023 - | ||||
| Away kits – 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     2008 |
     2009 |
     2010 |
     2011 |
     2012 |
     2013 |
    2014 |
     2015 |
   2016 |
     2017 |
     2018 |
   2019 |
   2020 |
     2021 |
     2022 |
     2023 - | ||||
References
- ^ クラブ情報 [Club profile] (in Japanese). Tochigi SC. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
- ^ "トップチーム｜栃木サッカークラブ公式サイト【栃木Sc】".
- ^ "2023シーズン トップチームスタッフ体制のお知らせ". tochigisc.jp. Tochigi SC. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
External links
- Official Website (in Japanese)
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