Júbilo Iwata facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Júbilo Iwata
ジュビロ磐田

Full name	Júbilo Iwata
Nickname(s)	Júbilo
Founded	1972; 53 years ago (1972) as Yamaha Motor S.C.
Stadium	Yamaha Stadium Iwata, Shizuoka
Stadium capacity	15,165
Owner	Yamaha Motor Company
Chairman	Yoshirou Takahira
Manager	John Hutchinson
League	J2 League
2022	J1 League, 18th of 18 (relegated)
Home colours Away colours

Júbilo Iwata (pronounced Joo-bee-loh Ee-wah-tah) is a professional football team from Japan. They are based in Iwata, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture. The team currently plays in the J2 League. They moved down from the J1 League in 2024.

What Does "Júbilo" Mean?

The team's name Júbilo comes from Spanish and Portuguese. It means 'joy'.

Team History

Early Days and First Wins (1972–1996)

The team started in April 1972 as a company team for Yamaha Motor Corporation. They played in local leagues in Shizuoka and Tōkai. Later, they joined the Japan Soccer League. This league became the J.League in 1992.

Júbilo Iwata won their first big titles in 1982. They won the Emperor's Cup and were promoted to the top division. In the 1987/88 season, they won their first Japanese league title.

In 1993, they finished second in the JFL 1st division. This earned them a spot in the J1 league for 1994. The team brought in Marius Johan Ooft as manager. They also welcomed Brazil's national team captain Dunga. Dunga's ideas about football greatly influenced the club.

The Golden Years (1997–2003)

Between 1997 and 2003, Júbilo Iwata had an amazing time. They won many titles using mostly Japanese players. During these seven years, Júbilo won the J.League title three times. They also finished second three times. They won each of the main domestic cup competitions once.

In 1999, Júbilo became the Champions of Asia. They won the final match against Esteghlal in front of 121,000 fans.

During this successful period, Júbilo set several records in the J.League.

• They scored the most goals in a season (107 goals in 1998).
• They let in the fewest goals in a season (26 goals in 2001).
• They had the biggest goal difference (plus 68 goals in 1998).
• They had their largest win (9–1 against Cerezo Osaka in 1998).
• In 2002, they won both parts of the championship. This was a first in J.League history.
• In the same year, seven of their players were chosen for the J.League Team of the Year. All these records are still held by Júbilo today.

Later Years and Challenges (2003–2015)

Yamaha Stadium Júbilo Iwata

After their last cup win in 2003, the team's older players started to retire. New players were not as skilled. Júbilo's strength began to fade. In 2007, the club finished in 9th place, which was their lowest at the time. Their local rivals, Shimizu S-Pulse, started performing better.

In 2008, Júbilo finished 16th out of 18 teams. This was their lowest position ever. But they stayed in J1 by winning a playoff match.

In the 2013 season, they struggled a lot. They did not win their first league match until the 8th week. They never moved higher than 16th place. They were eventually moved down to the J2 League after losing a match in their 31st week. Júbilo was promoted back to J1 in 2015 after finishing second in the J2 League.

Up and Down Seasons (2019–Present)

After finishing 18th in 2019, Iwata was moved down to J2 for 2020. The next year, Júbilo won the J2 League. This meant they were promoted back to the J1 League for the 2022 season.

In 2022, Júbilo did not have a successful season. They were eliminated early from the J.League Cup. In the Emperor's Cup, they lost in the Round of 16.

In October 2022, Júbilo Iwata announced a ban on new player signings for 2023. This ban was put in place by FIFA and the CAS. It was due to issues with a player's contract. The ban did not stop them from promoting youth players or bringing back players from loan.

The team struggled in J1 and stayed in the relegation zone for the last 16 rounds. They were moved down to the J2 League for the 2023 season. However, just one year later, Iwata quickly returned to J1 for the 2024 season. They finished second in the J2 League. This was confirmed with a 2–1 win against Tochigi SC in November 2023. In March 2024, Ryo Germain scored 4 goals in a memorable 5–4 win against Kawasaki Frontale.

Team Rivalries

Júbilo Iwata's biggest rivals are Shimizu S-Pulse. They are from Shizuoka city. This match is called the Shizuoka derby. The club also has rivalries with Kashima Antlers and Yokohama Marinos. These teams often competed for the Japanese league championship in the late 1980s.

In the past, during the Japan Soccer League days, they had a local derby with Honda. This team is from Hamamatsu. But Honda decided not to become a professional team. So, competitive matches between them are rare now. Júbilo also played against another Shizuoka club, Fujieda MYFC, in 2014 and 2023. Iwata won all those matches.

Home Stadium

Yamaha Stadium

Júbilo plays their home games at the Yamaha Stadium. The stadium can hold 15,165 people. It is one of the few football stadiums in Japan owned and managed by a club. Many say it is the easiest place to watch a game in Japan.

For big matches, like the Shizuoka derby or games against top J1 teams, Júbilo plays at the larger Ecopa Stadium. This stadium is in Fukuroi City. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Ecopa Stadium is surrounded by nature and can hold 50,000 people.

Júbilo trains at Okubo Ground in Iwata and Iwata Sports Park Yumeria.

Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Eiji Kawashima (captain) 2 DF Ikki Kawasaki 3 DF Riku Morioka 4 DF Ko Matsubara (vice-captain) 5 DF Takuro Ezaki 6 MF Daiki Kaneko 7 MF Rikiya Uehara (vice-captain) 8 MF Hirotaka Tameda 9 FW Ryo Watanabe 11 FW Matheus Peixoto 13 GK Koto Abe 14 FW Poramet Arjvirai (on loan from Muangthong United) 16 FW Gustavo Silva 18 MF Shion Inoue (on loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima) 20 FW Ryoga Sato 21 GK Ryuki Miura 22 DF Katsunori Ueebisu

No. Position Player 23 MF Jordy Croux 25 MF Shun Nakamura (vice-captain) 28 GK Tsubasa Nishizawa 29 DF Kota Kuwabara DSP 32 DF Hassan Hilu 33 MF Tokumo Kawai 36 DF Ricardo Graça 38 DF Naoki Kawaguchi (on loan from Kashiwa Reysol) 39 MF Koshiro Sumi 45 DF Yua Kai Type 2 46 MF Rea Ishizuka Type 2 48 MF Yuki Aida 52 DF Jan Van den Bergh 65 MF Kento Nishioka Type 2 67 DF Ryusei Yoshimura DSP 71 MF Ken Masui (on loan from Nagoya Grampus)

Players on Loan

No. Position Player 26 DF Shunsuke Nishikubo (at SC Sagamihara) 35 DF Park Se-gi (at Kochi United) 50 MF Hiroto Uemura (at Albirex Niigata) 77 MF Kensuke Fujiwara (at Tochigi SC) GK Keitaro Nakajima (at Criacao Shinjuku)

No. Position Player GK Mitsuki Sugimoto (at Giravanz Kitakyushu) MF Bruno José (at Novorizontino) MF Mahiro Yoshinaga (at Giravanz Kitakyushu) FW Weverton (at Azul Claro Numazu)

Club Leaders

For the 2025 season.

Position	Name
Sports director	Toshiya Fujita
Head Coach	John Hutchinson
Assistant Coach	Fumitake Miura Yasumasa Nishino
Goalkeeping coach	Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Physical coach	Kentaro Chuman
Assistant physical coach	Ryosuke Inada
Chief analyst	Kiyotaka Sakai
Analyst	Takashi Harada
Chief trainer	Takahiro Abe
Physiotherapist	Toyohiro Oshiro
Athletic trainer	Yusuke Otsuga Kazumasa Terui
Chief manager	Yuichi Kiyan
Manager	Hideki Masaki Satoru Tanigawa
Interpreter	Shio Murray Antonio Danilo Hideki Uehara Gabriel Norikazu Murakami

Team Achievements

Manager History

Manager	Nationality	Tenure
		Start	Finish
Ryuichi Sugiyama	Japan	1974	30 June 1987
Kikuo Konagaya	Japan	1 July 1987	31 December 1991
Kazuaki Nagasawa	Japan	1 January 1992	31 January 1994
Hans Ooft	Netherlands	1 February 1994	31 January 1997
Luiz Felipe Scolari	Brazil	1 February 1997	29 May 1997
Takashi Kuwahara	Japan	29 May 1997	31 January 1998
Valmir	Brazil	1 February 1998	31 December 1998
Takashi Kuwahara	Japan	1 February 1999	31 January 2000
Gjoko Hadžievski	Macedonia	1 February 2000	31 August 2000
Masakazu Suzuki	Japan	1 September 2000	31 January 2003
Masaaki Yanagishita	Japan	1 February 2003	31 January 2004
Takashi Kuwahara	Japan	1 February 2004	31 August 2004
Masakazu Suzuki	Japan	1 September 2004	9 November 2004
Masakuni Yamamoto	Japan	9 November 2004	19 June 2006
Adílson Batista	Brazil	23 June 2006	1 September 2007
Atsushi Uchiyama	Japan	1 September 2007	31 August 2008
Hans Ooft	Netherlands	2 September 2008	31 January 2009
Masaaki Yanagishita	Japan	1 February 2009	31 January 2011
Hitoshi Morishita	Japan	1 February 2012	4 May 2013
Tetsu Nagasawa	Japan	5 May 2013	26 May 2013
Takashi Sekizuka	Japan	27 May 2013	31 January 2014
Péricles Chamusca	Brazil	1 February 2014	24 September 2014
Hiroshi Nanami	Japan	25 September 2014	30 June 2019
Hideto Suzuki	Japan	1 July 2019	15 August 2019
Minoru Kobayashi	Japan	15 August 2019	19 August 2019
Fernando Jubero	Spain	20 August 2019	1 October 2020
Masakazu Suzuki	Japan	2 October 2020	31 January 2021
Akira Ito	Japan	1 February 2022	14 August 2022
Hiroki Shibuya	Japan	17 August 2022	31 January 2023
Akinobu Yokouchi	Japan	1 February 2023	18 December 2024
John Hutchinson	Malta	19 December 2024	present

J.League Records

• 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). For 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002, this means Overtime wins only.
• OTL / PKL = Overtime losses / Penalty kicks losses (1997 and 1998 seasons). For 1999, 2000 & 2001, this means Overtime losses only.
• Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
• † In 2020 & 2021, attendances were lower due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
• Source: J.League Data Site

Players in the FIFA World Cup

The following players were chosen for their country's World Cup team while playing for Júbilo Iwata:

• Dunga (1998)
• Hiroshi Nanami (1998)
• Masashi Nakayama (1998, 2002)
• Toshihiro Hattori (1998, 2002)
• Takashi Fukunishi (2002, 2006)
• Kim Jin-Kyu (2006)
• Yūichi Komano (2010)
• Masahiko Inoha (2014)

Award Winners

The following players won awards while playing for Júbilo Iwata:

• J.League Player of the Year
  • Dunga (1997)
  • Masashi Nakayama (1998)
  • Toshiya Fujita (2001)
  • Naohiro Takahara (2002)
• J.League Top Scorer
  • Masashi Nakayama (1998, 2000)
  • Naohiro Takahara (2002)
  • Ryoichi Maeda (2009, 2010)
• J.League Best XI
  • Hiroshi Nanami (1996, 1997, 1998, 2002)
  • Dunga (1997, 1998)
  • Tomoaki Ōgami (1997)
  • Masashi Nakayama (1997, 1998, 2000, 2002)
  • Daisuke Oku (1998)
  • Toshiya Fujita (1998, 2001, 2002)
  • Makoto Tanaka (1998)
  • Takashi Fukunishi (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003)
  • Arno van Zwam (2001)
  • Toshihiro Hattori (2001)
  • Go Oiwa (2001)
  • Hideto Suzuki (2002)
  • Makoto Tanaka (2002)
  • Naohiro Takahara (2002)
  • Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (2006)
  • Ryoichi Maeda (2009, 2010)
  • Yūichi Komano (2012)
• J.League Rookie of the Year
  • Robert Cullen (2005)
• J.League Cup MVP
  • Nobuo Kawaguchi (1998)
  • Ryoichi Maeda (2010)
• J.League Cup New Hero Award
  • Hiroshi Nanami (1996)
  • Naohiro Takahara (1998)
• J2 League Top Scorer
  • Jay Bothroyd (2015)

Club Captains

• Shinichi Morishita(1994)
• Mitsunori Yoshida (1995)
• Masashi Nakayama (1996–1998)
• Toshihiro Hattori (1999–2005)
• Takashi Fukunishi (2006)
• Hideto Suzuki (2007)
• Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (2008)
• Ryo Takano (2009)
• Daisuke Nasu (2010–2011)
• Daiki Yamada (2012–2013)
• Daisuke Matsui (2014)
• Ryoichi Maeda (2014)
• Kota Ueda (2015–2016)
• Kentaro Oi (2017)
• Nagisa Sakurauchi (2018–2020)
• Hiroki Yamada (2021–)

Famous Former Players

Players who have played for their country's national team:

Team Uniforms Over Time

Home kits 1st
1994 - 1996	1997	1998 - 1999	2000 - 2001	2002
2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
2008	2009	2010 - 2011	2012	2013
2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
2024	2025

Away kits 2nd
1994 - 1996	1997	1998 - 1999	2000 - 2001	2002
2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
2008	2009	2010 - 2011	2012	2013
2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
2024 -	2025 -

Third kits
2003 3rd	2005 Friendly match	2013 20 Anniversary 3rd	2016 Midsummer decisive battle	2017 Midsummer challenge
2017 3rd	2018 Limited	2019 Summer Night Challenge	2020 Limited	2021 Limited
2023 30th Anniversary	2024 3rd

See also

In Spanish: Júbilo Iwata para niños