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Matsumoto Yamaga
松本山雅
Matsumoto Yamaga FC logo.svg
Full name Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club
Nickname(s) Ptarmigans, Gans
Founded 1965; 60 years ago (1965) as Yamaga Club
Stadium Matsumoto Stadium
(Alwin)
Matsumoto, Nagano
Stadium
capacity		 20,396
Chairman Fumiyuki Kanda
Manager Tomonobu Hayakawa
League J3 League
2022 J3 League, 4th of 18

Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club (which is Matsumoto Yamaga Futtobōru Kurabu in Japanese) is a professional football (soccer) team from Matsumoto city in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. People often call them just Matsumoto Yamaga. The club plays in the J3 League, which is the third level of professional football in Japan.

Club History and Achievements

The club started in 1965. It was formed by players who played for Nagano Prefecture. They used to meet at a cafe called Yamaga near Matsumoto railway station. That's why they were first known as Yamaga Club. In 2004, they changed their name to Matsumoto Yamaga. This happened when a group called Alwin Sports Project was created to help the club reach the J. League. The original cafe is gone, but the club opened a new one in 2017.

Climbing the Leagues

Matsumoto Yamaga played in the Hokushin'etsu First Division. They finished 1st in 2007 and 4th in 2008. But they couldn't get promoted to the Japan Football League (JFL) yet. In 2008, they had a great run in the Emperor's Cup. They beat a strong team, Shonan Bellmare, in a penalty shootout.

The 2009 season was a mix of ups and downs. They finished 4th in their regional league. But they caused a big surprise in the Emperor's Cup. They knocked out Urawa Red Diamonds, which was a huge win for them.

Later in 2009, they won the Shakaijin Cup. This win helped them get into the promotion series for the JFL. They won the series at home and were promoted to the Japan Football League for the 2010 season. In their first year in the JFL, they finished 7th.

In 2011, even with challenges from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Yamaga finished 4th. This earned them a promotion to the J. League Division 2. After three seasons there, they made it to the top league, J1 League, for the first time! However, they were relegated back to J2 after just one season.

Recent Seasons

Matsumoto Yamaga tried to get back to J1 in 2016 and 2017, but they didn't succeed. Then, in the 2018 season, they finished at the very top of the J2 table. They won their first league title and were automatically promoted back to J1.

After this success, the club faced some tough times. They changed many players often, which made it hard for the team to play well together. In 2020, they had a slow start and lost many games in a row. Their manager, Keiichiro Nuno, was replaced. The club finished 13th that season.

Things got even harder in 2021. Many players left and new ones joined again. The new manager, Kei Shibata, was also replaced by Hiroshi Nanami. But the team couldn't avoid being relegated. They finished last in the J2 League.

In 2022, Matsumoto Yamaga played in the J3 League. They aimed to get promoted back to J2. They finished 4th, tied on points with another team, Kagoshima United. But Kagoshima United had a better goal difference, so Matsumoto Yamaga missed out on promotion. The club is playing its third season in J3 during 2024.

Team Rivalry

Matsumoto Yamaga's biggest rival is Nagano Parceiro. They are from the same prefecture. Games between these two teams are called the "Shinshū derby." These matches are very exciting for fans in both cities. In the 2011 season, Nagano Parceiro joined Matsumoto Yamaga in the JFL, making their rivalry even bigger.

Home Stadium

ALWIN1
Matsumoto Stadium (Alwin)

Matsumoto Yamaga plays its home games at Matsumoto Stadium. It's also known as Alwin. The stadium is in the Kambayashi area of Matsumoto city. It can hold 20,000 people. About 16,000 are seats, and 4,000 are standing areas. It is the third largest Sport venue in Nagano Prefecture.

Club Mascot

The club's mascot is named "Gans-kun" (ガンズくん). He is a Ptarmigan, which is a special bird and the symbol of Nagano Prefecture.

Team Song

The club's theme song is "wanna be a superstar." It's by a local rock band called ASIAN2.

Partner Clubs

  • Singapore Geylang International (since 2016)

On November 23, 2016, Matsumoto Yamaga and Geylang International from Singapore signed an agreement. This agreement helps both clubs share their knowledge and skills. The goal is to help football grow in both clubs. They can exchange players and coaches for training. Geylang International can send young players to train with Matsumoto Yamaga. Matsumoto Yamaga can also send its junior players to Singapore for training before the season starts.

One important part of this partnership was when Geylang's head coach, Mohd Noor Ali, spent a year with Matsumoto Yamaga in 2018. He helped the club's Under-18 B team win a local title. Also, on August 17, 2018, Anders Aplin became the first Singaporean player to join a J.League team. He signed on loan with Matsumoto Yamaga until November 2018.

On October 30, 2022, both clubs confirmed their strong partnership. Officials from Geylang International visited Japan to discuss future plans. Epson, a company, has also supported the club since 2016. They have helped the Singaporean football community and young players through the Epson Youth Cup.

League and Cup Records

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J. League
Cup		 Emperor's
Cup
Season Division Tier Pos P W D L F A GD Pts
1975 Hokushin'etsu 3 6th 8 3 1 4 14 13 1 7 Not eligible Did not qualify
1976 6th 9 2 4 3 17 14 3 8
1977 8th 9 2 3 4 17 22 −5 7
1978 10th 9 1 0 8 9 27 −18 2
1979 2nd 9 6 1 2 18 11 7 13
1980 4th 9 6 2 1 19 8 11 14
1981 3rd 9 5 1 3 15 9 6 11
1982 5th 9 4 1 4 11 10 1 9
1983 7th 9 2 3 4 12 14 −2 7
1984 7th 9 2 3 4 13 15 −2 7
1985 1st 9 7 1 1 23 7 16 15
1986 4th 9 4 2 3 21 13 8 10
1987 4th 9 4 2 3 12 11 1 10
1988 3rd 9 4 3 2 19 8 11 11
1989 2nd 9 6 1 2 17 10 7 13
1990 4th 9 3 4 2 16 14 2 10
1991 5th 9 4 1 4 17 12 5 9
1992 4 5th 9 4 3 2 15 12 3 11
1993 6th 9 3 3 3 15 17 −2 9
1994 3 5th 9 2 5 2 11 13 −2 9
1995 6th 9 2 2 5 8 14 −6 8
1996 5th 9 3 2 4 9 19 −10 11
1997 8th 9 2 1 6 11 23 −12 7 1st round
1998 3rd 8 4 - 4 17 24 −7 12 Did not qualify
1999 4 9th 9 2(1) - 7 4 29 −25 4
2000 8th 8 1 0 7 6 18 −12 3
2001 9th 8 0 2 6 4 24 −20 2
2002 8th 9 3 1 5 12 18 −6 9
2003 9th 12 1 4 7 13 42 −29 7
2004 Hokushin'etsu
(Div. 2)		 5 6th 14 4 2 8 16 27 −11 14
2005 1st 13 8 3 2 36 11 25 27
2006 Hokushin'etsu
(Div. 1)		 4 2nd 14 11 1 2 34 10 24 34 2nd round
2007 1st 14 10 1 3 47 15 32 31 Did not qualify
2008 4th 14 7 3 4 31 18 13 24 4th round
2009 4th 14 9 2 3 40 14 26 29 3rd round
2010 JFL 3 7th 34 15 7 12 48 41 7 52 2nd round
2011 4th 34 17 8 8 60 38 22 59 4th round
2012 J2 League 2 12th 42 15 14 13 46 43 3 59 2nd round
2013 7th 42 19 9 14 54 54 0 66 3rd Round
2014 2nd 42 24 11 7 65 35 30 83 3rd round
2015 J1 League 1 16th 34 7 7 20 30 54 −24 28 Group stage 4th round
2016 J2 League 2 3rd 42 24 12 6 62 32 30 84 Not eligible 2nd round
2017 8th 42 19 9 14 61 45 16 66 4th round
2018 1st 42 21 14 7 54 34 20 77 3rd round
2019 J1 League 1 17th 34 6 13 15 21 40 -19 31 Group stage 2nd round
2020 J2 League 2 13th 42 13 15 14 44 52 -8 54 Group stage Did not qualify
2021 22nd 42 7 13 22 36 71 -35 34 Not eligible 3rd round
2022 J3 League 3 4th 34 20 6 8 46 33 13 66 2nd round
2023 9th 38 15 9 14 51 47 4 54 Did not qualify
2024 4th 38 16 12 10 61 45 16 60 2nd round
2025 TBD 38 2nd round 2nd round
Key
*Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points gained
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Club Honours and Trophies

Matsumoto Yamaga FC Honours
Honour No. Years
Hokushin'etsu Football League Div. 1 2 1985, 2007
Hokushin'etsu Football League Div. 2 1 2005
Shakaijin Cup 1 2009
Regional League promotion series 1 2009
J2 League 1 2018

Current Team Squad

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Issei Ouchi
4 Japan DF Shohei Takahashi
6 Japan MF Kazuma Yamaguchi
7 Japan DF Kazuaki Mawatari
10 Japan MF Yusuke Kikui
11 Japan FW Hayato Asakawa
13 Japan MF Aozora Ishiyama (on loan from Albirex Niigata)
14 Japan FW Tsubasa Ando
15 Japan MF Kosuke Yamamoto
16 Japan DF Taiki Miyabe
17 Japan DF Ryuhei Yamamoto
18 Japan MF Hisashi Ohashi
19 Japan DF Hayato Sugita (on loan from Yokohama FC)
20 Japan MF Rio Maeda
21 Japan GK Haruki Nishimura (on loan from Albirex Niigata)
22 Japan DF Kazuaki Saso
23 Japan MF Yuta Taki
24 Japan DF Daiki Ogawa
25 Japan MF Kotatsu Kawakami (on loan from Mito HollyHock)
No. Position Player
27 Japan DF Jiyo Ninomiya
28 Japan FW Kosuke Fujieda DSP
29 Brazil FW Lucas Vargas (on loan from Barra)
30 Japan MF Ryuji Kokubu
31 Japan FW Naito Watanabe
33 South Korea GK Kim Jun-hyeon
34 Japan MF Taku Inafuku
35 Japan GK Shoma Kanda
36 Japan MF Gen Matsumura
37 Japan MF Shotaro Hagiwara
38 Japan GK Rikuto Ito Type 2
40 Japan DF Daiki Higuchi
41 Japan MF Kaiga Murakoshi
42 Japan FW Sora Tanaka
44 Japan DF Takato Nonomura
46 Japan MF Reo Yasunaga
47 Brazil DF Tiago Santana (on loan from Concórdia)
49 Japan DF Justin Homma (on loan from Vissel Kobe)

Club Officials

Position Name
Manager Japan Tomonobu Hayakawa
Development coach Japan Nozomu Kato
Technical coach Japan Kohei Takeishi
Goalkeeper coach Japan Tetsuro Yoshimoto
Physical Coach Japan Rui Kokubo
Interpreter Brazil Felipe
Doctor Japan Takashige Momose
Chief trainer Japan Koji Inoue
Trainer Japan Chisato Chiba
Japan Fumiya Sugiuchi
Competent Japan Makoto Shiraki
Side affairs Japan Kazumasa Hirabayashi
Japan Kumpei Saito

Team Managers Through the Years

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Katsua Kobayashi  Japan 2004
Keiju Karashima  Japan 1 February 2005 31 January 2008
Hideo Yoshizawa  Japan 21 February 2008 8 June 2011
Yoshiyuki Katō  Japan 9 June 2011 31 January 2012
Yasuharu Sorimachi  Japan 1 February 2012 31 January 2020
Keiichirō Nuno  Japan 1 February 2020 24 September 2020
Kei Shibata  Japan 25 September 2020 20 June 2021
Hiroshi Nanami  Japan 21 June 2021 31 January 2023
Masahiro Shimoda  Japan 1 February 2023 31 January 2025
Tomonobu Hayakawa  Japan 1 February 2025 Current

Team Uniforms Over Time

First kit - home
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Second kit - away
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Third kit
2015
Club
50th anniversary
2016
Mountain Day
2017 3rd
2017
Mountain Day
2018
Mountain Day
2019
Mountain Day
2020
Club
55th anniversary
2021 SP
2022
Summer
2023
Summer
2024
Summer
2025
60th Anniversary
EMERALD

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Matsumoto Yamaga F. C. para niños

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