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Kyoto Sanga
京都サンガ
logo
Full name Kyoto Sanga Football Club
Nickname(s) Purple Sanga
Founded 1922; 102 years ago (1922),
as Kyoto Shiko Club (京都紫光クラブ)
Ground Sanga Stadium by Kyocera
Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Ground Capacity 21,600
Owner Kyoto Purple Sanga Co., Ltd.
Chairman Masaaki Ito
Manager Cho Kwi-jae
League J1 League
2022 J1 League, 13th of 18
Kyoto Purple Sanga Co., Ltd.
Public
Industry Sports
Founded January 13, 1994 (1994-01-13) in Kyoto, Japan
Key people
Hiroshi Imai (Chairman)
Kazuo Inamori (Honorary President)
Products Football club
Revenue Increase ¥ 2140 million (2014)
Owners Kyocera (55.4%)
Nintendo (16.6%)

Kyoto Sanga (京都サンガ) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. The club plays in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country. Its name "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word sangha, a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist temples.

The club was formerly known as Kyoto Purple Sanga with "purple", the colour of the team uniforms, an imperial colour reflecting Kyoto's status as Japan's ancient imperial capital city. It was decided that, from 2007, the team will simply be known as "Kyoto Sanga". They are the oldest club competing in the J.League.

Kyoto Sanga have won two J2 League titles and one Emperor's Cup.

History

The club was started as Kyoto Shiko Club, one of the few proper Japanese football clubs in the sense of being strictly dedicated to football and not being part of a company. Like Ventforet Kofu, it could not rise to a Japan Soccer League First Division dominated by company teams; in 1993, after the J.League was created, Kyoto Shiko Club, aided by funds from local new sponsors Kyocera and Nintendo, professionalized (though some players broke away and formed their own clubs, see below) and joined the former Japan Football League under the new name Kyoto Purple Sanga.

First joining the J.League in 1996, Kyoto Purple Sanga hold the dubious distinction of being the League's most relegated side, having been demoted on three separate occasions. Relegation to J2 League occurred at the end of the 2000, 2003 and 2006 seasons; more than any other team. The 2003 relegation happened despite having many national team players such as Park Ji-sung and Daisuke Matsui on its roster, and they eventually left for European clubs.

In December 2007, the club gained J1 League status for the fourth time in their history via the promotion/relegation playoff and therefore shorten its club name to Kyoto Sanga. A 0–2 home defeat to Urawa Reds on 14 November 2010 confirmed Sanga's relegation back to J2, bringing an end to their three-season spell in the top flight.

In the 2021 season, Kyoto Sanga returned to J1 League after an 11-year absence and finished as runner-up. In 2022, Kyoto Sanga remained in J1 League after draw 1–1 against Roasso Kumamoto in Promotion Relegation play-offs.

Affiliated clubs

  • Amitie SC (Kansai Soccer League Division 1) – broke away from the original Kyoto Shiko Club upon professionalization; amateur club
  • Kyoto Shiko Club (Kansai Soccer League Division 2) – broke away from Kyoto BAMB 1993 (now Kyoto Amitie) in 1998; amateur club
  • Shiko Club women's (Kansai Women's Soccer League) – linked with today's Kyoto Shiko Club

Kit and colours

Colours

Kyoto Sanga is considered the main continuation of the Kyoto Shiko Club that competed in the Japan Soccer League Second Division. "Shiko" (紫光) means "brilliant purple" and is the colour that Shiko/Sanga have always worn.

Kit evolution

Home Kit - 1st
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 -
Away Kit - 2nd
1997 - 1998
1999 - 2000
2001 - 2002
2003 - 2004
2005 - 2006
2007 - 2008 2nd
2007 - 2008 3rd
2009
2010
2011 - 2012
2013
2014
2015 - 2016
2017 - 2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 -
3rd choice
2007 - 2008 3rd
2019
Club 25th Anniversary
2022
September Home Limited
2023
August Home Limited

Home stadium

Sanga stadium by kyocera03
Sanga Stadium by Kyocera

Takebishi Stadium Kyoto

Kyoto Sanga played most of their home match at the Takebishi Stadium Kyoto since their interception. The stadium holds up to 20,588 capacity and was built in 1942. In 2019, Kyoto Sanga announced plans to move to Sanga Stadium by Kyocera, a new, football-specific stadium being built in Kameoka, in time for the 2020 season .

Sanga Stadium by Kyocera

On 11 January 2020, Kyoto Sanga moved to their new stadium, the Sanga Stadium by Kyocera which is the first professional football-specific stadium in Kyoto. The naming rights were purchased by ceramic company Kyocera having signed a 20-years deal worth ¥2 billion.

Current squad

No. Position Player
2 Japan DF Shinnosuke Fukuda
3 Japan DF Shogo Asada
4 Japan DF Keita Matsuda
5 Japan DF Hisashi Appiah Tawiah
6 Japan DF Yuto Misao
7 Japan MF Sota Kawasaki
8 Japan MF Koki Tsukagawa (on loan from FC Tokyo)
9 Brazil FW Marco Túlio
10 Japan MF Shimpei Fukuoka
13 Japan FW Takumi Miyayoshi
14 Japan FW Taichi Hara
16 Japan MF Shohei Takeda
17 Japan FW Yuto Anzai
18 Japan MF Temma Matsuda
19 Japan MF Daiki Kaneko
20 Japan DF Kazunari Kita
21 Suriname GK Warner Hahn
23 Japan FW Yuta Toyokawa
No. Position Player
24 Japan DF Yuta Miyamoto (on loan from Urawa Reds)
26 Japan GK Gakuji Ota
28 Japan DF Toichi Suzuki
31 Japan FW Sora Hiraga
36 Japan GK Akira Fantini
37 Japan MF Takuji Yonemoto (on loan from Nagoya Grampus)
39 Japan MF Taiki Hirato
44 Japan MF Kyo Sato
45 Japan DF Kotaro Kanda Type 2
46 Japan MF Taiga Ishimoto Type 2
47 Japan FW Yuma Nishioka Type 2
48 Japan MF Ryuma Nakano DSP
50 Japan DF Yoshinori Suzuki
77 Brazil MF Murilo Costa
88 Japan GK Kentaro Kakoi
94 South Korea GK Gu Sung-yun
96 Brazil DF Lucas Oliveira (on loan from Cruzeiro)
99 Brazil FW Rafael Elias (on loan from Cruzeiro)

Out on loan

No. Position Player
25 Japan MF Teppei Yachida (on loan to South Korea FC Anyang)
30 Japan DF Rikuto Iida (on loan to Nara Club)
Japan GK Tomoya Wakahara (on loan to V-Varen Nagasaki)
Japan DF Takahiro Iida (on loan to Ventforet Kofu)
No. Position Player
Japan DF Yuta Ueda (on loan to Omiya Ardija)
Japan FW Yudai Kimura (on loan to Tokyo Verdy)
Japan FW Fuki Yamada (on loan to Tokyo Verdy)

Club officials

For the 2024 season.

Position Name
Manager South Korea Cho Kwi-jae
First-team coach Japan Ryuji Ishikawa
Japan Koichi Sugiyama
Japan Naomichi Wakamiya
Japan Shuto Wakui
Goalkeeping coach Japan Yasuhiro Tominaga
Physical coach Japan Hirokazu Nishigata
Chief Trainer Japan Minoru Kimoto
Trainer Japan Yoshiaki Shirai
Japan Masaki Dozono
Japan Takuya Kawada
Interpreter Japan Taketo Okamoto
Japan Hiroki Kimura
Competent Japan Naoya Omae
Side Affairs Japan Ryusei Ishikura
Kit man Japan Noriyuki Matsuura

Honours

Kyoto Sanga honours
Honour No. Years
Kansai Soccer League 4 1969, 1971, 1979, 1988
All Japan Senior Football Championship 1 1988
J2 League 2 2001, 2005
Emperor's Cup 1 2002

Managerial history

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Bunji Kimura  Japan 1 January 1983 30 June 1990
George Yonashiro  Japan 1 February 1994 31 January 1995
Oscar  Brazil 1 February 1995 10 June 1996
George Yonashiro  Japan 11 June 1996 31 January 1997
Pedro Rocha  Uruguay 1 January 1997 31 December 1997
Hans Ooft  Netherlands 1 February 1998 1 June 1998
Hidehiko Shimizu  Japan 2 June 1998 30 June 1999
Shū Kamo  Japan 1 July 1999 31 May 2000
Gert Engels  Germany 1 June 2000 31 May 2003
Bunji Kimura  Japan 1 June 2003 30 June 2003
Pim Verbeek  Netherlands 1 July 2003 31 December 2003
Akihiro Nishimura  Japan 1 February 2004 13 June 2004
Kōichi Hashiratani  Japan 14 June 2004 4 October 2006
Naohiko Minobe  Japan 5 October 2006 11 October 2007
Hisashi Katō  Japan 12 October 2007 27 July 2010
Yutaka Akita  Japan 27 July 2010 31 January 2011
Takeshi Ōki  Japan 1 February 2011 31 January 2014
Valdeir Vieira  Brazil 1 January 2014 18 June 2014
Ryōichi Kawakatsu  Japan 29 June 2014 31 January 2015
Masahiro Wada  Japan 1 February 2015 10 July 2015
Kiyotaka Ishimaru  Japan 11 July 2015 6 December 2016
Takanori Nunobe  Japan 1 January 2017 10 May 2018
Boško Gjurovski  Macedonia 11 May 2018 31 January 2019
Ichizō Nakata  Japan 1 February 2019 31 January 2020
Noritada Saneyoshi  Japan 1 February 2020 31 January 2021
Cho Kwi-jae  South Korea 1 February 2021 Current

Club captains

Record as J.League member

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W (OTW / PKW) D L (OTL / PKL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G J.League
Cup
Emperor's
Cup
Kyoto Purple Sanga
1996 J1 16 16th 30 8 0 22 22 54 -32 24 9,404 Group stage Quarter-finals
1997 17 14th 32 9 (0 / 0) - 18 (3 / 2) 40 70 -30 27 7,881 Group stage Round of 16
1998 18 13th 34 10 (4 / 1) - 16 (3 / 0) 47 63 -16 39 8,015 Group stage 3rd round
1999 16 12th 30 9 (2) 0 15 (4) 38 58 -20 31 8,859 2nd round Round of 16
2000 16 15th 30 7 (1) 2 15 (5) 39 66 -27 25 7,253 Semi-finals 3rd round
2001 J2 12 1st 44 23 (5) 5 11 (0) 79 48 31 84 3,808 1st round Round of 16
2002 J1 16 5th 30 11 (6) 1 12 44 42 2 46 10,352 Group stage Winner
2003 16 16th 30 6 5 19 28 60 -32 23 10,850 Group stage 3rd round
2004 J2 12 5th 44 19 12 13 65 53 12 69 7,807 Not eligible 4th round
2005 12 1st 44 30 7 7 89 40 49 97 7,857 4th round
2006 J1 18 18th 34 4 10 20 38 74 -36 22 9,781 Group stage 4th round
Kyoto Sanga
2007 J2 13 3rd 48 24 14 10 80 59 21 86 6,629 Not eligible 3rd round
2008 J1 18 14th 34 11 8 15 37 46 -9 41 13,687 Group stage Round of 16
2009 18 12th 34 11 8 15 35 47 -12 41 11,126 Group stage 3rd round
2010 18 17th 34 4 7 23 30 60 -30 19 10,510 Group stage 3rd round
2011 J2 20 7th 38 17 7 14 50 45 5 58 6,294 Not eligible Runners-up
2012 22 3rd 42 23 5 14 61 45 16 74 7,273 3rd round
2013 22 3rd 42 20 10 12 68 46 22 70 7,891 3rd round
2014 22 9th 42 14 18 10 57 52 5 60 7,520 3rd round
2015 22 17th 42 12 14 16 45 51 -6 50 7,491 3rd round
2016 22 5th 42 18 15 9 50 37 13 69 6,524 2nd round
2017 22 12th 42 14 15 13 55 47 8 57 6,748 2nd round
2018 22 19th 42 12 7 23 40 58 -18 43 5,663 3rd round
2019 22 8th 42 19 11 12 59 56 3 68 7,850 2nd round
2020 22 8th 42 16 11 15 47 45 2 59 2,924 Did not qualify
2021 22 2nd 42 24 12 6 59 31 28 84 5,207 Round of 16
2022 J1 18 16th 34 8 12 14 30 38 -8 36 11,692 Play-off stage Semi-finals
2023 18 13th 34 12 4 18 40 45 -5 40 12,141 Group stage 2nd round
2024 20 TBA 38 2nd Round Semi-finals
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
  • 3 points for a win; 2 points for an overtime win (OTW), 1 point for a penalty kick win (PKW); 1 point for a drawn game.
  • Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
  • 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

League History

  • Kansai Soccer League: 1966–1971 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 2 (JSL Division 2): 1972–1978 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Kansai Soccer League: 1979–1988 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 2 (JSL Division 2): 1989–1991 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 3 (Old JFL Division 2): 1992 (as Kyoto Shiko Club)
  • Division 2 (Old JFL Division 1): 1993–1995 (as Kyoto Shiko Club 1993; Kyoto Purple Sanga afterwards)
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 1996–2000 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2001 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2002–2003 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2004–2005 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2006 (as Kyoto Purple Sanga)
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2007
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2008–2010
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2011–2021
  • Division 1 (J1 League): 2022–present

(As of 2023): 13 seasons in the top tier, 28 seasons in the second tier, 1 season in the third tier and 16 seasons in the Regional Leagues.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kyoto Sanga FC para niños

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