Sagan Tosu

Sagan Tosu
サガン鳥栖

Full name	Sagan Tosu Football Club
Nickname(s)	Sagan
Founded	1997 (1997)
Stadium	Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Tosu, Saga
Capacity	24,130
Chairman	Minoru Takehara
Manager	Akio Kogiku
League	J2 League
2024	J1 League, 20th of 20 (relegated)
Website	www.sagan-tosu.net
Home colours Away colours

Sagan Tosu (サガン鳥栖, Sagan Tosu) is a Japanese professional football club based in Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club set to play in the J2 League from 2025 after relegation from J1 in 2024, which is the second tier of Japanese football.

Sagan is a coined word with various suggested ideas behind where the name came from. One of its homophones is sandstone (砂岩, sagan) in Japanese. This symbolises many small elements uniting to form one formidable object, for example as a metaphor for a team. Also, Sagan Tosu can be interpreted as "Tosu of Saga (Prefecture)" (佐賀ん鳥栖, Saga-n Tosu) in the area's dialect. And... the owner of the club, when naming them decided he wanted the name of the club to sound like his beloved Juventus! Hence Sagantos(u).

History

In February 1997, Sagan was established as a new club which virtually took over Tosu Futures, which became insolvent in the previous month, and were admitted to participate Japan Football League from 1997 to 1998, as well as J. League Cup in 1997 as a preferential measure, although J. League Associate Membership status was not awarded to Sagan. In 1999 they were admitted to the new J. League Division 2 (J2) as one of the "Original Ten", which were the ten first members of the J2. They remained at the league until their promotion to J1 at the end of the 2011 season. Little by little, Sagan Tosu started to establish itself as one of the top clubs in the country with the new President & Chief Operating Officer Minoru Takehara, who is also part owner of the club.

In their first season at the J1 League in 2012, confounding the prediction of many critics about their immediate relegation to J2, they have been maintaining their position between 5th and 11th places all the way through the season, except on Matchweek 2, in which they were ranked 13th. They were ranked third after the 33rd week, having a chance to qualify for the 2013 AFC Champions League if they hadn't lost to Yokohama F. Marinos in the last match of the season. However, they have lost to Yokohama by 0–1, wrapping up the season in 5th place, while Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Nagoya Grampus and were ranked 3rd. They also became the first club in Asia to sign a partnership with Warrior Sports, who sponsor many overseas clubs, including English side Liverpool.

In 2013, they made it to the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup for the first time in the club's history, becoming the first club based in Kyushu to make it to the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup since Nippon Steel Yawata had done in the 1981 edition. In 2013, they invited A-League team Sydney FC along with the former Italian international player Alessandro Del Piero, for a Japan Tour for the first time.

In 2014, the club had been in their most successful season in the J1 League, being ranked on the top of 2014 J1 League on the 1st, 2nd, 13th, and 18th matchweek. However, the club made an announcement on 8 August which announced the termination of contract with the head coach Yoon Jung-Hwan all of a sudden, despite the apparently good season. During the course of the year, they continued on its international expansion and started a partnership with Italian side Juventus, for its Juventus Under-16 Japan Tour 2014. On 10 July 2018, the club reached an agreement with former FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League winner, Fernando Torres. The aging star would play 35 games for the side, netting 5 goals before finally hanging up his boots on his star-studded career.

On 19 October 2024, Sagan Tosu officially relegated to J2 League after defeat from Kyoto Sanga 2-0 and return to second tier after 13 years absence with four games left, ended in top tier at 13 years stint.

Kit and colours

Kit evolution

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–present

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–

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

Current squad

As of 21 August 2024.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ESP	Arnau Riera
2	DF	JPN	Kosuke Yamazaki
3	DF	JPN	Seiji Kimura (on loan from FC Tokyo)
4	DF	JPN	Yuta Imazu
6	MF	JPN	Akito Fukuta
8	MF	JPN	Hikaru Nakahara
10	MF	JPN	Fuchi Honda
11	FW	BRA	Vinícius Araújo
13	FW	JPN	Ayumu Yokoyama
14	MF	JPN	Naoyuki Fujita (captain)
16	DF	JPN	Katsunori Ueebisu
18	MF	JPN	Shota Hino
19	MF	JPN	Kentaro Moriya
20	DF	KOR	Kim Tae-hyeon
21	MF	JPN	Yuki Horigome
22	FW	JPN	Cayman Togashi
24	MF	JPN	Tojiro Kubo (on loan from Nagoya Grampus)
25	MF	JPN	Ryohei Watanabe

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
27	MF	JPN	Yoshiki Narahara
28	DF	JPN	Yusuke Maruhashi
29	DF	JPN	Taisei Inoue DSP
31	GK	JPN	Masahiro Okamoto
32	FW	JPN	Keisuke Sakaiya
33	MF	JPN	Kento Nishiya
36	DF	JPN	Fumiya Kitajima
42	DF	JPN	Wataru Harada
47	FW	JPN	Daichi Suzuki Type 2
51	GK	KOR	Lee Yun-sung
55	MF	JPN	Hiroshi Kiyotake (on loan from Cerezo Osaka)
70	MF	BRA	Jája Silva (on loan from FC Tokyo)
71	GK	JPN	Park Il-gyu (vice-captain)
77	MF	LTU	Vykintas Slivka
99	FW	BRA	Marcelo Ryan

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
12	GK	KOR	Koh Bong-jo (at Ventforet Kofu)
34	DF	JPN	Shiva Tafari Nagasawa (at Mito HollyHock)
41	FW	JPN	Ryonosuke Kabayama (at Thespa Gunma)
—	GK	JPN	Kei Uchiyama (at Fujieda MYFC)
—	DF	JPN	Dai Hirase (at Renofa Yamaguchi FC)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	JPN	Ryotaro Takeuchi (at Criacao Shinjuku)
—	DF	JPN	Koma Osato (at Reilac Shiga FC)
—	MF	JPN	Shunya Sakai (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki)
—	FW	JPN	Oji Kawanami (at FC Gifu)

Sagan Tosu U-18

As of 16 April 2024.

The main U-18 team of Sagan Tosu currently plays in the Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League, the top-flight league for U-18 clubs in the country. Only the registered players for the competition will be displayed.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	JPN	Kota Imoto
2	DF	JPN	Shuya Furutachi
3	DF	JPN	Kanta Uchimaru
4	DF	JPN	Shotaro Oba
5	DF	JPN	Teppei Ikematsu
6	MF	JPN	Haruki Yamasaki
7	MF	JPN	Tentaro Onuki
8	MF	JPN	Sena Morimoto
9	MF	JPN	Tomomichi Yoza
10	FW	JPN	Daichi Suzuki
11	FW	JPN	Shion Watanabe
12	GK	JPN	Kosei Tanaka
13	DF	JPN	Yuto Kakimoto
14	MF	JPN	Ryu Sakurada
15	FW	JPN	Shion Shinkawa

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	DF	JPN	Yuya Kuroki
17	DF	JPN	Hikaru Yamaguchi
18	MF	JPN	Tokito Mizumaki
19	MF	JPN	Ryoma Koga
20	MF	JPN	Aitaro Higashiguchi
21	MF	JPN	Konosuke Haraguchi
22	MF	JPN	Kento Yamamura Chidi
23	MF	JPN	Yuki Suzuki
24	MF	JPN	Tokia Ikeda
25	FW	JPN	Yuto Tanaka
26	FW	JPN	Yuta Shimoda
27	DF	JPN	Junnosuke Iwamura
29	FW	JPN	Taichi Tani
31	MF	JPN	Ren Ono
32	FW	JPN	Rentaro Harada
40	GK	JPN	Teyan Tani
69	GK	JPN	Frankie Farmer-Liang

Retired number

• 17 Sakata Michitaka – A former professor of Saga University and the person which backed up in both the establishment of Tosu Futures and the team's revival as Sagan Tosu. He died due to kidney cancer on 7 January 2000. The number 17 indicates his day of death.

Club officials

Club official for 2024 season.

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

Managerial history

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 & cup record

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									TBD	TBD

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
• Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
• 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
• † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances were reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
• Source: J.League Data Site

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)