Honda FC

Honda FC (ホンダFC Honda Efu Shī?) is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. They play in the Japan Football League. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 J's Gatekeeper 3 Stadium 4 Results 5 Honours 6 Current squad 7 References 8 External links History[edit] The club was founded as Honda Motor, Honda works team in 1971.They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1975 and to the JSL Division 1 in 1981; the closest they came to the title was in 1985–86 and 1990–91 seasons, when they finished in third place. In 1991 they also made the finals of both the Japan Soccer League Cup and Konica Cup, but lost both times. They also made the Emperor's Cup semi-finals in 1990 and 1991. They stayed in the top flight until the conclusion of the league in 1992. In early 90's, the club considered the possibilities of turning professional and participating in J. League. They sought the merger with their sister club Honda Motor Sayama F.C. and Urawa was chosen as a possible hometown. However, they failed to persuade the owner Honda Motor who insisted they should abide by their principle to concentrate on their core business of automobile manufacturing. As a result of this decision, many players left the club. They played in the newly formed Japan Football League Division 1 in 1992 and finished 9th out of 10. They were relegated to Division 2 where they won the championship in 1993. The 2 divisions of the JFL were merged in 1994 and the club joined the league. In 1996, they won the championship in the JFL. Around that time, the club made the second effort to be a professional club. They acquired associate membership in J. League under new name Acute Hamamatsu but the inadequate stadium and insufficient local support (the closest professional club is Júbilo Iwata, formerly part of Yamaha Motor Corporation), forced them to give it up. Iwata was a common derby foe in the JSL and their fixtures were known as Tenryu-side Derby (天竜川決戦). In 1999, the JFL was reorganised as the new JFL. They have been playing in the league since its inception. J's Gatekeeper[edit] Honda F.C. does not intend to be promoted to the J. League due to the mandatory loss of corporate backing, although they have been always considered as one of the JFL title contenders. They provide a big hurdle for those independent sides (such as Gainare Tottori or F.C. Ryūkyū) who wish to gain promotion. In order to achieve this goal, these teams need to finish in the top four in the league. Honda perennially occupying one of these spots makes their challenge even more difficult. Supporters of these clubs have dubbed Honda F.C. as J's Gatekeeper (the Gatekeeper of J. League) with respect and some resentment.[1] Honda F.C., having played in the old Japan Soccer League in the past but never contending for the title, has in 2007 given some J1 teams a run for their money in the Emperor's Cup, reaching the quarterfinals after disposing of former champions Kashiwa Reysol and top contenders Nagoya Grampus (their first quarterfinals since 1991). They were nevertheless defeated by J1 champions Kashima Antlers on 22 December.[2] The 2008 cup did not go well for them, as they were eliminated by Sagan Tosu 4–0 in the third round, but they still won the JFL championship. Stadium[edit] Miyakoda Soccer Stadium The club's home arena is the Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium located in Kita-ku, Hamamatsu. It is owned by Honda Motor Company. The stadium was redeveloped in 1996. This reconstruction included the building of a new mobile platform (1,000 seats) and corner floodlights. The stadium now holds 4,000 spectators.[3] Results[edit] Season Div. Pos.(Tms.) Pld Pts W D L League Cup Emperor's Cup 1971 Western Shizuoka 1 – Did not qualify 1972 Shizuoka 1 – Did not qualify 1973 Tōkai 1 (8) 14 25 12 1 1 – 3rd round 1974 1 (10) 13 21 9 3 1 – 2nd round 1975 JSL Div.2 4 (10) 18 22 10 2 6 – Did not qualify 1976 4 (10) 18 21 6 9 3 Quarter-final 1st round 1977 7 (10) 18 29 8 0 10 Semi-final 2nd round 1978 1 (10) 18 57 14 0 4 Quarter-final 2nd round 1979 4 (10) 18 44 11 0 7 2nd round 2nd round 1980 1 (10) 18 28 13 2 3 1st round 2nd round 1981 JSL Div.1 6 (10) 18 14 5 4 9 Quarter-final 2nd round 1982 9 (10) 18 14 4 6 8 Quarter-final 1st round 1983 8 (10) 18 14 4 6 8 Quarter-final Quarter-final 1984 5 (10) 18 19 7 5 6 Semi-final Quarter-final 1985–86 3 (12) 22 28 8 12 2 Semi-final 2nd round 1986–87 9 (12) 22 20 6 8 8 Semi-final Semi-final 1987–88 8 (12) 22 20 6 8 8 Semi-final Quarter-final 1988–89 9 (12) 22 27 7 6 9 2nd round Quarter-final 1989–90 6 (12) 22 22 10 2 10 1st round 2nd round 1990–91 3 (12) 22 38 10 8 4 Semi-final Semi-final 1991–92 10 (12) 22 23 5 8 9 Final Semi-final 1992 JFL (former) Div.1 9 (10) 18 16 4 4 10 – 2nd round 1993 JFL (former) Div.2 1 (10) 18 15 0 3 – Did not qualify 1994 JFL (former) 9 (16) 30 12 0 18 – Did not qualify 1995 7 (16) 30 49 16 0 14 – 1st round 1996 1 (16) 30 75 25 0 5 – 3rd round 1997 4 (16) 30 65 23 0 7 – 3rd round 1998 5 (16) 30 54 19 0 11 – 4th round 1999 JFL 2 (9) 24 50 18 1 5 – 3rd round 2000 2 (12) 22 49 17 0 5 – 3rd round 2001 1 (16) 30 71 22 5 3 – 3rd round 2002 1 (18) 17 41 13 2 2 – 3rd round 2003 2 (16) 30 67 21 4 5 – 3rd round 2004 2 (16) 30 62 19 5 6 – 4th round 2005 5 (16) 30 56 17 5 8 – 4th round 2006 1 (18) 34 83 26 5 3 – 4th round 2007 5 (18) 34 58 16 10 8 – Quarter-final 2008 1 (18) 34 74 22 8 4 – 3rd round 2009 7 (18) 34 51 13 12 9 – 2nd round 2010 4 (18) 34 59 18 5 11 – 2nd round 2011 6 (18) 34 52 15 7 11 – - Source: JFL, Honda FC website Honours[edit] Japan Soccer League Division 2 Champions (2): 1978, 1980 Japan Football League (former) Champions (1): 1996 Japan Football League (former) Division 2 Champions (1): 1993 Japan Football League Champions (4): 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008 Runners-up (4): 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 All Japan Senior Football Championship Winners (2): 1974, 1999 Konica Cup Runners-up (1): 1991 Current squad[edit] As of 25 July 2011 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. No. Position Player 1 Japan GK Yūki Shimizutani 2 Japan DF Masayuki Kawashima 3 Japan DF Yūhei Nakagawa 4 Japan DF Hiroyuki Abe[disambiguation needed] 5 Japan MF Yasunao Makino 6 Japan MF Masashi Sudo 7 Japan MF Shota Itokazu 8 Japan MF Nozomi Nishi 9 Japan FW Kichi Iga 10 Japan MF Junichiro Shibata 11 Japan MF Ryuta Hosokai 12 Japan GK Gen Nakamura No. Position Player 13 Japan DF Daiki Asada 14 Japan DF Ryu Okeda 15 Japan FW Tatsuya Saito 16 Japan MF Takahiro Tsuchiya (captain) 17 Japan MF Yūya Nakamura 18 Japan FW Taisei Kawano 19 Japan MF Taisuke Fukaya 21 Japan GK Yūichiiro Isikawa 22 Japan DF Takumi Oguri 24 Japan