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Sagan Tosu
サガン鳥栖
Sagan Tosu logo.svg
Full name Sagan Tosu Football Club
Nickname(s) Sagan
Founded 1997; 28 years ago (1997)
Stadium Ekimae Real Estate Stadium
Tosu, Saga
Stadium
capacity
24,130
Chairman Minoru Takehara
Manager Akio Kogiku
League J1 League
2022 J1 League, 11th of 18

Sagan Tosu (サガン鳥栖, Sagan Tosu) is a professional football club from Tosu, Saga Prefecture, Japan. The team currently plays in the J2 League, which is the second-highest football league in Japan. They were moved down from the J1 League in 2024.

The name Sagan is a special word that has a few meanings. One meaning is "sandstone" in Japanese. This idea shows how many small parts can come together to make one strong thing, just like a football team. Also, Sagan Tosu can mean "Tosu of Saga (Prefecture)" in the local dialect.

Club History and Achievements

Starting the Team

Sagan Tosu was created in February 1997. It took over from a previous team called Tosu Futures that had financial problems. Sagan Tosu joined the Japan Football League from 1997 to 1998. They also played in the J. League Cup in 1997.

In 1999, the club became one of the first ten teams in the new J. League Division 2 (J2). They stayed in this league for many years. Slowly, Sagan Tosu became a stronger club in Japan, especially with their new President, Minoru Takehara.

Rising to the J1 League

At the end of the 2011 season, Sagan Tosu earned a promotion to the J1 League, the top league in Japan. Many people thought they would quickly go back down to J2. But in their first J1 season in 2012, they surprised everyone! They stayed between 5th and 11th place for most of the season.

They even had a chance to qualify for the 2013 AFC Champions League. This is a big tournament for top clubs in Asia. However, they lost their last game and finished in 5th place. In 2012, Sagan Tosu also became the first club in Asia to partner with Warrior Sports, a company that sponsors famous clubs like Liverpool.

Cup Success and International Players

In 2013, Sagan Tosu reached the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup for the first time. This was a big achievement for a club from the Kyushu region. That same year, they invited the A-League team Sydney FC to Japan. Famous Italian player Alessandro Del Piero also came with them.

The 2014 season was their most successful in the J1 League. They were even at the top of the league table several times. However, their coach, Yoon Jung-Hwan, left the team in August. The club also started a partnership with the Italian club Juventus for a youth tour in Japan.

A very exciting moment happened on July 10, 2018. The club signed Fernando Torres, a famous Spanish player. He had won the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Torres played 35 games for Sagan Tosu and scored 5 goals before he retired from football.

On October 19, 2024, Sagan Tosu was officially moved down to the J2 League. This happened after they lost to Kyoto Sanga. They had been in the top league for 13 years.

Team Uniforms and Colours

Home Kits Over the Years

Home kits
1999–2000
2001–2002
2003–2004
2005
2006–2007
2008–2010
2011–2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Away Kits Over the Years

Away kits
1999–2000
2001–2002
2003–2004
2005
2006–2007
2008–2010
2011–2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Special Edition Kits

Alternative kits
2013 Summer Carnival
2014 Falcon Festival Commemoration
2015 Commemoration
2015
Hawk Festival Memorial
2016
Ladies Day
2016
Hawk Festival Memorial
2017 Ladies' Day
2017
Hawk Festival Memorial
2017
20th Anniversary
2018 Ladies' Day
2018
Hawk Festival Memorial
2018 DAZN Day
2019 Ladies' Day
2019
Falcon Festival Commemoration
2019
F. Torres retirement game commemoration
2019
F. Torres Retirement Match
2022
25th Anniversary

Current Team Players

This section lists the players who are currently part of the Sagan Tosu squad.

No. Position Player
2 Japan MF Nagi Matsumoto (on loan from Cerezo Osaka)
4 Japan DF Yuta Imazu
5 Japan DF Shiva Tafari Nagasawa
7 Japan MF Haruki Arai
8 Japan MF Yoshiki Narahara
9 Brazil FW
10 Japan MF Fuchi Honda
11 Japan FW Jun Nishikawa (on loan from Cerezo Osaka)
12 Japan GK Ryota Izumori
13 Japan DF Taisei Inoue
14 Japan FW Keisuke Sakaiya
15 Japan FW Noriyoshi Sakai
16 Japan MF Kenta Nishizawa
18 Japan MF Shota Hino
19 Japan FW Daichi Suzuki
20 Brazil MF Cristiano
22 Japan MF Eitarō Matsuda (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos)
No. Position Player
23 Japan DF Fumiya Kitajima
26 Japan DF Toshiki Ando
27 Japan MF Tatsunori Sakurai (on loan from Vissel Kobe)
32 Japan DF Sora Ogawa

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34 Japan FW Hiroto Yamada
35 Japan GK Kei Uchiyama
37 Japan DF Reiya Morishita
38 Ghana FW Michael Quarcoo (on loan from Capital-DF)
44 Japan MF Yuki Horigome
45 Japan MF Aitaro Higashiguchi Type 2
46 Japan GK Ibuki Vincent Junior Ejike Type 2
47 Japan FW Shion Shinkawa Type 2
48 Japan DF Yuya Kuroki Type 2
77 Lithuania MF Vykintas Slivka
91 Japan DF Makito Uehara

Players on Loan to Other Teams

These players are still part of Sagan Tosu but are playing for other clubs for a period of time.

No. Position Player
1 Spain GK Arnau Riera (at Kochi United)
3 Japan DF Dai Hirase (at FC Gifu)
25 Japan MF Ryohei Watanabe (at Azul Claro Numazu)
South Korea GK Koh Bong-jo (at Kataller Toyama)
South Korea GK Lee Yun-sung (at YSCC Yokohama)
Japan DF Koma Osato (at ReinMeer Aomori)
No. Position Player
Japan DF Ryotaro Takeuchi (at Criacao Shinjuku)
Japan MF Hikaru Nakahara (at Shimizu S-Pulse)
Japan MF Shunya Sakai (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
Japan FW Ryonosuke Kabayama (at Giravanz Kitakyushu)
Brazil FW Marcelo Ryan (at FC Tokyo)

Special Retired Jersey Number

  • 17 Japan Sakata Michitaka – This number was retired to honor a former professor from Saga University. He helped a lot with starting Tosu Futures and bringing the team back as Sagan Tosu. He passed away on January 7, 2000. The number 17 marks the day he died.

Club Staff and Coaches

Here are the main people who work for the club for the 2025 season.

Role Name
Manager Japan Akio Kogiku
Assistant manager Japan Naoya Kikuchi
Coaches Japan Yuzuru Suwabe
Japan Naoyuki Iwata
Japan Yoshizumi Ogawa
South Korea Cho Dong-geon
Goalkeeping coach Japan Takuya Muro
Physical coach Japan Tadashi Noda
Analyst Japan Shota Tamaki
Japan Yutaro Hamada
Chief trainer Japan Toru Kawaguchi
Athletic trainer Japan Atsushi Shiga
Trainer Japan Daisuke Adachi
Japan Masahiro Hirano
Japan Masashi Maeda
Interpreter Italy Alesso Mariani
South Korea Lee Kang-haeng
Japan Naoto Muramatsu
Japan Ryuki Yamamoto
Competent Japan Yoshito Tsuichihara
Deputy officer Japan Naoki Egawa
Japan Ayaki Goto
Equipment manager Japan Yoshiki Sugimoto
Chief doctor Japan Kyota Nishifuru

Team Managers Through the Years

This table shows the different managers who have led the Sagan Tosu team.

Manager Nationality Tenure
Start Finish
Takashi Kuwahara  Japan 1 February 1993 31 January 1995
Hiroshi Sowa  Japan 1 February 1997 31 January 2000
Kazuhiro Kōso  Japan 1 February 2000 31 January 2002
Hiroshi Soejima  Japan 1 February 2002 31 January 2003
Yoshinori Sembiki  Japan 1 February 2003 31 January 2004
Ikuo Matsumoto  Japan 1 February 2004 31 January 2007
Yasuyuki Kishino  Japan 1 February 2007 31 January 2010
Ikuo Matsumoto  Japan 1 February 2010 31 January 2011
Yun Jeong-hwan  South Korea 1 February 2011 7 August 2014
Megumu Yoshida  Japan 8 August 2014 31 January 2015
Hitoshi Morishita  Japan 1 February 2015 31 January 2016
Massimo Ficcadenti  Italy 1 February 2016 18 October 2018
Kim Myung-hwi  South Korea 19 October 2018 31 January 2019
Luis Carreras  Spain 1 February 2019 4 May 2019
Kim Myung-hwi  South Korea 4 May 2019 20 December 2021
Kenta Kawai  Japan 1 February 2022 8 August 2024
Kosuke Kitani  Japan 9 August 2024 present

League and Cup Results

This table shows how Sagan Tosu has performed in different leagues and cups over the years.

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J. League Cup Emperor's Cup
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W (OTW/PKW) D L (OTL/PKL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G
1997 JFL 16 11th 30 12 (1/0) 17 38 54 –16 38 Not eligible 3rd round
1998 16 8th 30 11 (3) 16 40 55 –15 39 3rd round
1999 J2 10 8th 36 11 (1) 2 20 (2) 52 64 –12 37 3,385 1st round 3rd round
2000 11 6th 40 13 (2) 5 15 (5) 41 52 –11 48 3,714 1st round 3rd round
2001 12 10th 44 8 (2) 4 28 (2) 45 82 –37 32 3,479 1st round Round of 16
2002 12 9th 44 9 14 21 41 64 –23 41 3,890 Not eligible 3rd round
2003 12 12th 44 3 11 30 40 89 –49 20 3,172 1st round
2004 12 11th 44 8 11 25 32 66 –34 35 3,610 4th round
2005 12 8th 44 14 10 20 58 58 0 52 7,855 4th round
2006 13 4th 48 22 13 13 64 49 15 79 7,465 4th round
2007 13 8th 48 21 9 18 63 66 –3 72 6,114 Round of 16
2008 15 6th 42 19 7 16 50 51 –1 64 7,261 Quarter-finals
2009 18 5th 51 25 13 13 71 51 20 88 5,939 Round of 16
2010 19 9th 36 13 12 11 42 41 1 51 6,633 3rd round
2011 20 2nd 38 19 12 7 68 34 34 69 7,731 2nd round
2012 J1 18 5th 34 15 8 11 48 39 9 53 11,991 Group stage 2nd round
2013 18 12th 34 13 7 14 54 63 –9 46 11,515 Group stage Semi-finals
2014 18 5th 34 19 3 12 41 33 8 60 14,137 Group stage Round of 16
2015 18 11th 34 9 13 12 37 54 –17 40 13,450 Group stage Quarter-finals
2016 18 11th 34 12 10 12 36 37 –1 46 12,636 Group stage Round of 16
2017 18 8th 34 13 8 13 41 44 –3 47 14,194 Group stage 3rd round
2018 18 14th 34 10 11 13 29 34 –5 41 15,000 Group stage Quarter-finals
2019 18 15th 34 10 6 18 32 53 –21 36 15,050 Group stage Quarter-finals
2020 18 13th 34 7 15 12 37 43 –6 36 4,675 Group stage Did not qualify
2021 20 7th 38 16 11 11 53 35 8 59 7,276 Group stage Round of 16
2022 18 11th 34 9 15 10 45 44 1 42 9,358 Group stage Round of 16
2023 18 14th 34 9 11 14 43 47 –4 38 10,230 Group stage 3rd round
2024 20 20th 38 10 5 23 48 68 –20 35 9,800 Group stage (9) Round of 16
2025 J2 20 TBD 38 1st round TBD
Key
*Pos. = Team's final position in the league.
  • P = Total games played.
  • W = Games won.
  • D = Games drawn (tied).
  • L = Games lost.
  • F = Goals scored by the team.
  • A = Goals scored against the team.
  • GD = Goal difference (Goals For minus Goals Against).
  • Pts = Total points earned.
  • Attendance/G = Average number of fans at home games.
  • OTW / PKW = Wins in overtime or by penalty kicks (used in older seasons).
  • OTL / PKL = Losses in overtime or by penalty kicks (used in older seasons).
  • In 2020 and 2021, fewer fans could attend games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Source: J.League Data Site

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Sagan Tosu para niños

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Sagan Tosu Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.