Shonan Bellmare facts for kids
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| Full name | Shonan Bellmare | ||
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| Founded | 1968 as Towa Real Estate SC | ||
| Stadium | Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Hiratsuka, Kanagawa |
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| Stadium capacity |
15,380 | ||
| Chairman | Kiyoshi Makabe | ||
| Manager | Satoshi Yamaguchi | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2022 | J1 League, 12th of 18 | ||
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Shonan Bellmare (湘南ベルマーレ, Shōnan Berumāre) is a professional football club from Japan. They are based in Hiratsuka, which is in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture. This area is also part of the larger Greater Tokyo Area.
The team plays in the J1 League, which is the highest level of football in Japan. Their home games are held at Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium. The name Shonan comes from a beautiful coastal area along Sagami Bay that includes Hiratsuka. The word Bellmare is a mix of two Italian words: bello (meaning "beautiful") and mare (meaning "sea"). So, their name means "beautiful sea"!
Contents
The Story of Shonan Bellmare
How the Club Started (1968–1992)
The club began in 1968 as "Towa Real Estate SC". They were located in Nasu, Tochigi. In 1972, they moved up to the top division of the Japan Soccer League (JSL).
Later, the club changed its name to "Fujita Kogyo SC". This happened when a new company, Fujita Industries, took over. The team then moved to Hiratsuka. Between 1977 and 1981, they were very successful. They won the JSL three times! They even won the league and the Emperor's Cup in the same year twice.
However, in 1990, they were moved down to JSL's Division 2. Even though they won the Division 2 championship in 1991–92, they couldn't join the new professional J.League right away.
Joining the J.League (1993)
In 1993, the club changed its name again to "Shonan Bellmare". They were accepted to become a J.League Associate member. They played in the former Japan Football League Division 1 and won the championship.
The city of Hiratsuka promised to improve the Hiratsuka Stadium to meet J.League standards. Because of this, the J.League officially welcomed the club.
A Golden Time for the Team (1994–1997)
The club had to change its name to Bellmare Hiratsuka. This was because J.League rules at the time said teams had to include their hometown in their name. At first, the team found it tough in the J.League. But they improved a lot and finished 2nd in the second half of the 1994 season.
With this energy, they won the 1994–1995 Emperor's Cup. This win allowed them to play in the 1996 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. They won this international trophy by beating Al Talaba from Iraq in the final!
During this time, famous players like Hidetoshi Nakata joined the team in 1995. They also had Brazilian-born Wagner Lopes and the talented Korean player Hong Myung-bo. This was one of the most successful times in the club's history.
Tough Times (1998–1999)
Four Bellmare players were chosen to play in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. These were Nakata, Lopes, Hong, and goalkeeper Nobuyuki Kojima. But after the World Cup, Nakata left to play for an Italian club. The team's luck started to change.
Their main sponsor, Fujita, faced financial problems and stopped supporting the club in 1999. This meant the team had to let go of some of their best players, including Lopes, Hong, and Kojima. They finished last in J1 in 1999 and were moved down to J2.
Life in J2 League (2000–2009)
The club started fresh. A community-owned group took over the team. They also changed their name back to Shonan Bellmare. This was because the J.League now allowed teams to include several nearby cities and towns in their name.
For a while, the team struggled in J2 and wasn't able to get promoted back to J1. However, on December 5, 2009, Shonan Bellmare finally returned to J1. They finished third in the 2009 season, which was enough for promotion.
Back in J1 League (2010–Present)
Shonan Bellmare returned to J1 in 2010. But they faced many injuries and were moved back to J2 after only four games. They ended up with a tough record that year.
Since then, the team has often moved between J1 and J2. They get promoted, then sometimes get moved down again.
In 2014, the team had an amazing run in J2. They won 14 games in a row from the start of the season! They won the J2 League with 31 wins, 8 draws, and only 3 losses, earning 101 points. This meant they were automatically promoted to J1.
In 2016, Shonan Bellmare finished 8th in J1. This was the first time in their history they stayed in J1 for more than one season. Also, Wataru Endo, a player from the team, played for Japan in an international tournament that year.
A big moment came in 2018 when they won the J.League Cup! This was the first major trophy for Shonan Bellmare since they won the Emperor's Cup in 1994.
Team Rivals
The Shonan area used to be part of an old province called Sagami. Other cities like Yokohama and Kawasaki were part of a different province called Musashi. Because of this history, Shonan Bellmare has rivalries with teams from Yokohama and Kawasaki. These teams include Yokohama F. Marinos, Yokohama FC, and Kawasaki Frontale. It's like a local derby based on the different vibes of the areas!
Partner Clubs
Shonan Bellmare has partnerships with other football clubs around the world. These partnerships help the clubs share knowledge and develop players. Here are some of their partner clubs:
Davao Aguilas
Boeung Ket
Sudeva Delhi
Nongbua Pitchaya
Wuhan Three Towns
FC Chanthabouly
Kelantan Darul Naim
Persis Solo
Inter Milan- SS Lazio
Borussia Dortmund
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Team Players
Current Squad
As of 6 September 2024.
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Players on Loan
These players are currently playing for other teams to gain more experience:
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Club Staff
Here are some of the important people who help run the Shonan Bellmare team:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Satoshi Yamaguchi |
| Assistant manager | Yoshihiro Natsuka Masahiro Koga Yoshihiro Yatsukawa |
| Coach assistant | Taiga Soeda |
| Goalkeeper coach | Takeaki Yuhara |
| Analyst | Masayuki Hirakawa |
| Physical coach | Kazutaka Takahashi |
| Conditioning coach | Yuta Iguchi |
| Chief team doctor | Eiichi Suzuki |
| Team doctor | Hirofumi Katsutani Makoto Takahashi |
| Medical group chief trainer | Hisayoshi Kojima |
| Athletic trainer | Nobuhide Kurihara Takahiro Yoshikawa |
| Physiotherapist | Shusuke Shimada Shigeyuki Shimizu |
| Interpreter |  Kim Fan-ju Tiago Higa |
| Competent | Keita Mikami |
| Side affairs | Hiroto Araki Takahito Hiraga Hiroto Tanaka |
Team Achievements
Shonan Bellmare has won many important titles throughout its history, under different names: Towa / Fujita (until 1992), Bellmare Hiratsuka (1993–1999), and Shonan Bellmare (2000–present).
| Competition | Number of Wins | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| Kanto Soccer League | 1 | 1971 |
| All Japan Senior Football Championship | 1 | 1971 |
| JSL Cup | 1 | 1973 |
| Emperor's Cup | 3 | 1977, 1979, 1994 |
| Japan Soccer League Division 1 | 3 | 1977, 1979, 1981 |
| Japanese Super Cup | 2 | 1978, 1982 |
| Japan Soccer League Division 2 | 1 | 1991–92 |
| Japan Football League Division 1 | 1 | 1993 |
| Asian Cup Winners' Cup | 1 | 1995 |
| J2 League | 2 | 2014, 2017 |
| BTV Cup | 1 | 2016 |
| J.League Cup | 1 | 2018 |
Managers Through the Years
Here's a list of the people who have managed the Shonan Bellmare team over the years:
| Manager | Nationality | Time as Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Yukio Shimomura |  Japan |
1 February 1972 | 31 January 1979 |
| Yoshinobu Ishii | Japan |
1 January 1975 | 31 December 1980 |
| Tsutomu Nakamura | Japan |
1 February 1981 | 31 January 1985 |
| Hidemitsu Hanaoka | Japan |
1 February 1985 | 30 June 1988 |
| Yoshinobu Ishii | Japan |
1 January 1988 | 31 December 1990 |
| Mitsuru Komaeda | Japan |
1 July 1990 | 27 November 1995 |
| Shigeharu Ueki | Japan |
28 November 1995 | 31 January 1996 |
| Toninho Moura | Brazil |
1 February 1996 | 19 September 1996 |
| Shigeharu Ueki | Japan |
20 September 1996 | 31 January 1999 |
| Eiji Ueda | Japan |
1 February 1999 | 30 June 1999 |
| Mitsuru Komaeda | Japan |
1 July 1999 | 31 January 2000 |
| Hisashi Katō | Japan |
1 February 2000 | 31 January 2001 |
| Kōji Tanaka | Japan |
1 February 2001 | 30 November 2002 |
| Ajam Boujarari Mohammed |  Morocco |
1 February 2003 | 15 May 2003 |
| Matsuichi Yamada | Japan |
16 May 2003 | 14 July 2004 |
| Tatsuya Mochizuki | Japan |
15 July 2004 | 13 September 2004 |
| Eiji Ueda | Japan |
15 September 2004 | 5 June 2006 |
| Masaaki Kanno | Japan |
5 June 2006 | 31 January 2009 |
| Yasuharu Sorimachi | Japan |
1 February 2009 | 31 January 2012 |
| Cho Kwi-jae |  South Korea |
1 February 2012 | 8 October 2019 |
| Kenji Takahashi | Japan |
13 August 2019 | 9 October 2019 |
| Bin Ukishima | Japan |
10 October 2019 | 31 August 2021 |
| Satoshi Yamaguchi | Japan |
1 September 2021 | Current |
League History
Shonan Bellmare has played in different leagues over the years:
- Kanto Football League: 1970–71
- Division 1 (Japan Soccer League Div. 1): 1972–89 (as Towa Real Estate Development, then Fujita Industries)
- Division 2 (Japan Soccer League Div. 2): 1990–91 (as Fujita Industries)
- Division 2 (Japan Football League (former) Div. 1): 1992–93 (as Fujita Industries)
- Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 1994–99 (as Bellmare Hiratsuka)
- Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2000–09 (as Shonan Bellmare)
- Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2010
- Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2011–12
- Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2013
- Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2014
- Division 1 (J1 League): 2015–16
- Division 2 (J2 League): 2017
- Division 1 (J1 League): 2018–
As of 2017, the club has spent 28 seasons in the top league, 18 seasons in the second league, and 2 seasons in regional leagues.
See Also
In Spanish: Shonan Bellmare para niños
- Shonan Bellmare Futsal Club
