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Tokushima Vortis
徳島ヴォルティス
Tokushima Vortis logo.svg
Full name Tokushima Vortis
Nickname(s) Vortis
Founded 1955; 70 years ago (1955)
Ground Pocarisweat Stadium
Naruto, Tokushima
Ground Capacity 17,924
Chairman Kazuhiro Kishida
Manager Kosaku Masuda
League J2 League
2022 J2 League, 8th of 22

Tokushima Vortis (徳島ヴォルティス, Tokushima Vorutisu) is a professional football club from Tokushima, Japan. They play in the J2 League, which is the second-highest football league in Japan.

What Does "Vortis" Mean?

The name "Vortis" was chosen in 1997. It comes from the Italian word "Vortice." This word means "whirlpool."

The name is inspired by the famous Naruto whirlpools. These whirlpools are found in the Naruto Strait near Tokushima. The club chose this name to show their power and speed. They hoped to excite all their fans with their strong and united play.

Club History

Tokushima Vortis started in 1955. Back then, they were called Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Soccer Club. They joined the J-League, Japan's professional football league, in 2005. The team is still sponsored by Otsuka's famous sports drink, Pocari Sweat.

The team first moved up to the old Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1989. However, the company did not want the team to become fully professional. So, they played in other leagues like the former JFL and the current JFL.

In 1997, they used the name Vortis Tokushima for a short time. But because not many fans were interested, they went back to their old company name. They finally became Tokushima Vortis for good after winning the new JFL championship in 2004. This win also helped them get promoted to the J-League.

Their first season in J2 (2005) was tough. But the team surprised many people with their strong play. They even reached fourth place at one point. They finished the season in ninth place. In 2006, the team had to rebuild. Older players left, and younger players joined. This caused the team to drop down the league table. They finished last in 2007 and 2008.

In 2013, Tokushima Vortis finished fourth in J2 again. They then won the playoff games. They beat Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the final match in Tokyo. This made them the first professional football club from Shikoku to play in Japan's top league. Before this, they were the only JSL team that had never played in the top division.

In 2019, they finished 4th in J2 once more. They almost returned to J1 but lost in the playoffs. In 2020, even with the COVID-19 pandemic, they did even better. They won the J2 championship and were promoted to J1. They played in J1 in 2021 but were relegated back to J2 for the 2022 season.

Team Name Changes

  • Otsuka Pharmaceutical (1955–1996, 1998–2004)
  • Vortis Tokushima (1997)
  • Tokushima Vortis FC (2005–present)

Home Stadium

Tokushima Vortis plays their home games at Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium. This stadium is located in Naruto, Tokushima.

League and Cup Results

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J.League
Cup
Emperor's
Cup
Season Div. Teams Pos.
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals
2003 JFL 16 1st Not eligible 3rd round
2004 16 1st 2nd round
Tokushima Vortis
2005 J2 12 9th Not eligible 4th round
2006 13 13th 4th round
2007 13 13th 4th round
2008 15 15th 3rd round
2009 18 9th 2nd round
2010 19 8th 3rd round
2011 20 4th 2nd round
2012 22 15th 3rd round
2013 22 4th 2nd round
2014 J1 18 18th Group stage 3rd round
2015 J2 22 14th Not eligible 4th round
2016 22 9th 3rd round
2017 22 7th 2nd round
2018 22 11th 3rd round
2019 22 4th 3rd round
2020 22 1st Semi-finalist
2021 J1 20 17th Group stage 3rd round
2022 J2 22 8th Group stage 3rd round
2023 22 15th Not eligible 3rd round
2024 20 8th 1st round 3rd round
2025 20 TBA TBD TBD
Key
* Pos. = Position in league
  • Div. = Division (League Tier)
  • Teams = Number of teams in the league
  • J.League Cup = Japan League Cup
  • Emperor's Cup = Emperor's Cup (another major tournament)
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Club Achievements

Tokushima Vortis honours
Award How Many Years Won Notes
Shikoku Football League 4 1978, 1979, 1981, 1989 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical
Japan Football League 2 2003, 2004 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical
J2 League 1 2020

Current Players

Team Roster

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Hayate Tanaka
2 Japan DF Taiki Tamukai
3 Japan DF Nao Yamada
4 Brazil DF Kaique Mafaldo (on loan from V-Varen Nagasaki)
5 Japan DF Hayato Aoki
7 Japan MF Shunto Kodama
8 Japan MF Ken Iwao
9 Brazil FW Thonny Anderson
10 Japan MF Taro Sugimoto
11 Japan MF Koki Sugimori
13 Japan FW Taiyo Nishino
14 Japan MF Rio Hyon
15 Japan DF Kohei Yamakoshi
16 Japan FW Daiki Watari
18 Brazil DF Elsinho
19 Brazil FW João Victor
21 Japan GK Kengo Nagai
22 Japan DF Ko Yanagisawa
No. Position Player
23 Japan MF Yu Takada
24 Japan MF Soya Takada
25 Japan MF Yudai Yamashita
26 Japan MF Yusei Onoe
27 Nigeria FW Lawrence David
28 Japan MF Naoki Kanuma
29 Japan GK Daiki Mitsui
30 Japan FW Kiyoshiro Tsuboi
31 Japan GK Toru Hasegawa
40 Japan MF Ryota Nagaki
42 Japan DF Yuya Takagi
44 Japan DF Tatsuya Yamaguchi (on loan from Renofa Yamaguchi)
55 Japan MF Takuya Shigehiro
84 Japan MF Muku Fukuta Type 2
85 Japan DF Riku Miyamura Type 2
86 Japan FW Neo Nagamura Type 2
99 Brazil FW Lucas Barcellos

Players on Loan

No. Position Player
Japan GK Naoki Goto (at Vanraure Hachinohe)
Japan DF Towa Nishisaka (at ReinMeer Aomori)
Japan MF Hiroshi Omori (at Tochigi SC)
No. Position Player
Brazil MF Thales Paula (at Nagano Parceiro)
Japan FW Wadi Ibrahim Suzuki (at Azul Claro Numazu)
Japan FW Akito Tanahashi (at Tochigi SC)

Club Staff

Position Staff
Manager Japan Kosaku Masuda
First-team coach Japan Masaya Yamaguchi
Japan Tsuyoshi Furukawa
Goalkeeper coach Japan Masahiko Nakagawa
Analyst Japan Akira Nakajima
Physical coach Brazil Wellington
Rehabilitation fitness coach Japan Atsushi Nagatani
Chief trainer Japan Shoji Suzuki
Trainer Japan Hisaaki Maehara
Japan Masaya Furukawa
Japan Kenta Saito
Interpreter Japan Masahiro Fukasawa
Japan Masayuki Hatamoto Ferreira
Japan Hiroki Nunome
General manager Japan Yusuke Abe
Assistant general manager Japan Yuya Ishii
Japan Daiki Sugawara

Team Managers Through the Years

Manager Nationality Time with Team
Start Finish
Kunio Yamade  Japan 1988 January 31, 1993
Hajime Ishii  Japan February 1, 1993 January 31, 1996
Edinho  Brazil February 1, 1996 December 31, 1998
Shinji Tanaka  Japan January 1, 1999 September 28, 2006
Yutaka Azuma  Japan September 28, 2006 January 31, 2007
Masataka Imai  Japan January 1, 2007 January 31, 2008
Naohiko Minobe  Japan February 1, 2008 January 31, 2012
Shinji Kobayashi  Japan February 1, 2012 January 31, 2016
Hiroaki Nagashima  Japan November 25, 2015 January 31, 2017
Ricardo Rodríguez  Spain February 1, 2017 January 31, 2021
Takeshi Komoto (Interim)  Japan February 1, 2021 April 16, 2021
Dani Poyatos  Spain February 1, 2021
Actual start date
April 16, 2021
January 31, 2023
Beñat Labaien  Spain February 1, 2023 August 22, 2023
Tatsuma Yoshida  Japan August 23, 2023 March 31, 2024
Kosaku Masuda  Japan April 1, 2024 (Interim)
May 7, 2024 (Official)
Current

Team Uniforms Over Time

Home kits - 1st
2005-2006
2007-2008
2009-2010
2011-2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Away kits - 2nd
2005-2006
2007-2008
2009-2010
2011-2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025 -
Other kits - 3rd
2017
Summer 3rd
2019
15th Anniversary
Summer Only
2021
Summer
2024
20th Anniversary

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Tokushima Vortis para niños

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