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| Full name | Kashiwa Reysol[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Taiyō-Ō (Sun King) Aurinegro (gold-and-black) | ||
| Short name | REY | ||
| Founded | 1940; 85 years ago (1940) as Hitachi S.C. | ||
| Stadium | Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium ("Hitachidai") Kashiwa, Chiba | ||
| Capacity | 15,900 | ||
| Owner | Hitachi | ||
| Chairman | Ryuichiro Takikawa | ||
| Manager | Ricardo Rodríguez[2] | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2024 | J1 League, 17th of 20 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
| Hitachi Sports | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kashiwa Reysol (柏レイソル,Kashiwa Reisoru) is a Japanese professionalfootball club based inKashiwa,Chiba Prefecture, part of theGreater Tokyo Area. The club plays in theJ1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium isSankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium, also known as "Hitachidai".Reysol is aportmanteau of the Spanish wordsRey andSol, meaning "Sun King". The name alludes to their parent companyHitachi, whose name means "rising sun" in Japanese.
The club was formed in 1940 and was a founding member ("Original Eight"[a]) of theJapan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, they have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of Japanese football. They have beenJapanese League champions twice in1972 and2011, and have won threeLeague Cups in1976,1999 and2013, and threeEmperor's Cups in1972,1975 and2012.
The club started in 1939 and was officially formed as thecompany team,Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in 1940 inKodaira,Tokyo. The club formed theJapan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, along with today'sUrawa Reds,JEF United Chiba,Cerezo Osaka,Sanfrecce Hiroshima and three other clubs ("Original Eight").[1] They had some successes during the mid-1970s, winningEmperor's Cups and JSL titles and contributing several players to theJapanese national team.
The club relocated fromKodaira toKashiwa in 1986, but it took a while to adapt to the new town, as they were relegated to the JSL Division 2 at end of the 1986.[3] They made it back to the top flight in1989–90, but dropped back in1990–91 and returned again in1991–92.[1] As theJ.League was formed while they were not strong enough, the club abandoned any attempt to once again be a founding member of the newly formed professional league. Instead, the club joined theJapan Football League Division 1 in1992, the second tier of theJapanese football hierarchy at the time, below the J.League.
The club changed its name toKashiwa Reysol in 1993. Reysol addedCareca of theBrazil national football team to their squad in the autumn of this year with the aim of winning theJFL champion and winning promotion to theJ1 League.[1] The club struggled in the 1993 season. However, with the help of Careca and Brazilian managerZé Sérgio, they secured the 2nd place in the JFL in1994, earning promotion to the top league.
Reysol debuted in theJ1 League in1995. In 1998 they welcomedAkira Nishino, the former manager ofJapan's Olympic team as their new manager, along with playerHristo Stoichkov of theBulgaria national football team. In 1999Hong Myung-bo of theKorea national football team was added to the squad. The team won theJ.League Cup in1999, their first title as Kashiwa Reysol.[4]
However, their next manager, EnglishmanSteve Perryman, unsettled the team and the club struggled over the next several seasons. After finishing at the 16th place out of 18 clubs in2005, the club lost the J.League promotion / relegation series againstVentforet Kofu, the 3rd placed team in theJ2 League that year, and was relegated to the J2 League.[5]
A new manager,Nobuhiro Ishizaki, led an almost entirely new squad in2006 and the club secured automatic promotion to the J1 League in the last game of the season.[6]
The club was relegated again at the end of2009. However, in2010 they won the J2 League led byNelsinho Baptista in and returned to the top flight. The club immediately won the J1 League in2011 with talented footballers such asHiroki Sakai,Junya Tanaka,Jorge Wagner andLeandro Domingues, and became the first Japanese club to win the second tier and the top tier back to back.[b][7] The club qualified for theFIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's league champion and became a semifinalist after defeatingAuckland City andMonterrey.
During the period from 2010 through 2014, Reysol won six different titles in five consecutive seasons; theJ2 League in 2010, theJ1 League in 2011, theEmperor's Cup and theSuper Cup in 2012, theJ.League Cup in 2013 and theSuruga Bank Championship in 2014.
Historically, Kashiwa Reysol's fiercest rivals have beenJEF United Chiba and theUrawa Reds, both close neighbors. The three were co-founders of theJapan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, and spent most seasons in the top tier through the JSL era. Because of their former parent companies' headquarters all being based inMarunouchi,Tokyo, the three clubs were known as theMarunouchiGosanke (丸の内御三家,"Marunouchi Big Three") and fixtures among them were known as the Marunouchi derbies.
Reysol and JEF United Chiba first met in 1941 in the ancientKanto regional football league. The two clubs are both now based inChiba Prefecture, and their rivalry is known as the Chiba derby. They play a pre-season friendly match every year, popularly known as the Chibagin Cup (i.e.,Chiba Bank Cup) since 1995.
Reysol also has a rivalry withKashima Antlers (commonly calledTonegawa clásico),FC Tokyo (commonly calledKanamachi derby) andOmiya Ardija (commonly calledNodasen derby).
Kashiwa Reysol's anthem is We Are Reysol, which is sung by anime singerHironobu Kageyama. The song released in 1994, the same year Reysol got promoted to J1.
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | P | W(OTW / PKW) | D | L (OTL / PKL) | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | AFC | FIFA CWC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | J1 | 14 | 12th | 52 | 21(0 / 0) | – | 29(0 / 1) | 18 | 30 | –12 | 22 | 16,102 | – | 2nd round | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 1996 | 16 | 5th | 30 | 20 | – | 10 | 67 | 52 | 15 | 60 | 13,033 | Semi-finals | 4th round | |||
| 1997 | 17 | 7th | 32 | 16(2 / 0) | – | 11(1 / 2) | 63 | 49 | 14 | 52 | 8,664 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | |||
| 1998 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 14(1 / 3) | – | 13(2 / 1) | 56 | 61 | –5 | 47 | 9,932 | Group stage | 4th round | |||
| 1999 | 16 | 3rd | 30 | 17(3 / -) | 1 | 8(1 / -) | 49 | 36 | 13 | 58 | 10,122 | Winners | Semi-finals | |||
| 2000 | 16 | 3rd | 30 | 15(6 / -) | 1 | 7(1 / -) | 48 | 32 | 16 | 58 | 10,037 | 2nd round | 4th round | |||
| 2001 | 16 | 6th | 30 | 12(2 / -) | 3 | 11(2 / -) | 58 | 46 | 12 | 43 | 12,477 | 2nd round | 3rd round | |||
| 2002 | 16 | 12th | 30 | 9(1 / -) | 3 | 17 | 38 | 48 | –10 | 32 | 11,314 | Quarter-final | 3rd round | |||
| 2003 | 16 | 12th | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 39 | –4 | 37 | 10,873 | Group stage | 4th round | |||
| 2004 | 16 | 16th | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 29 | 49 | –20 | 25 | 10,513 | Group stage | 4th Round | |||
| 2005 | 18 | 16th | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 39 | 54 | –15 | 35 | 12,492 | Group stage | 5th round | |||
| 2006 | J2 | 13 | 2nd | 48 | 27 | 7 | 14 | 84 | 60 | 24 | 88 | 8,328 | Not eligible | 4th Round | ||
| 2007 | J1 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 36 | 7 | 50 | 12,967 | Group stage | 4th Round | ||
| 2008 | 18 | 11th | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 48 | 45 | 3 | 46 | 12,308 | Group stage | Runners-up | |||
| 2009 | 18 | 16th | 34 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 41 | 57 | –16 | 34 | 11,738 | Group stage | 3rd round | |||
| 2010 | J2 | 19 | 1st | 36 | 23 | 11 | 2 | 71 | 24 | 47 | 80 | 8,098 | Not eligible | 4th round | ||
| 2011 | J1 | 18 | 1st | 34 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 65 | 42 | 23 | 72 | 11,917 | 1st round | 4th round | 4th place | |
| 2012 | 18 | 6th | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 57 | 52 | 5 | 52 | 13,768 | Semi-finals | Winners | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2013 | 18 | 10th | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 56 | 59 | –3 | 48 | 12,553 | Winners | 4th round | Semi-finals | ||
| 2014 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 60 | 10,715 | Semi-finals | 3rd round | Did not qualify | ||
| 2015 | 18 | 10th | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 43 | 3 | 45 | 10,918 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Quarter-finals | ||
| 2016 | 18 | 8th | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 44 | 8 | 54 | 10,728 | Group stage | 4th round | Did not qualify | ||
| 2017 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 33 | 16 | 62 | 11,820 | Group stage | Semi-finals | |||
| 2018 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 47 | 54 | –7 | 39 | 11,298 | Semi-finals | 3rd round | Group stage | ||
| 2019 | J2 | 22 | 1st | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 85 | 33 | 52 | 84 | 9,471 | Group stage | 3rd round | Did not qualify | |
| 2020† | J1 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 60 | 46 | 14 | 52 | 3,484 | Runners-up | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021† | 20 | 15th | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 56 | –19 | 41 | 4,444 | Group stage | 3rd round | |||
| 2022 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 43 | 44 | –1 | 47 | 8,499 | Group stage | Round of 16 | |||
| 2023 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 33 | 11,130 | Group stage | Runners-up | |||
| 2024 | 20 | 17th | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 41 | 12,070 | Playoff round | Round of 16 | |||
| 2025 | 20 | TBD | 38 | Runners-up | 2nd round |
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Soccer League Division 1/J1 League | 2 | 1972,2011 |
| Japan Soccer League Division 2/J2 League | 3 | 1990–91,2010,2019 |
| All Japan Works Football Championship | 2 | 1958, 1960 |
| All Japan Inter-City Football Championship | 1 | 1963 |
| Emperor's Cup | 3 | 1972,1975,2012 |
| JSL Cup/J.League Cup | 3 | 1976,1999,2013 |
| Japanese Super Cup | 1 | 2012 |
| Suruga Bank Championship | 1 | 2014 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
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| Captain | Nationality | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Takahiro Shimotaira |  Japan | –1998 |
| Hong Myung-bo |  Korea | 1999 |
| Tomokazu Myojin | Japan | 2000–2005 |
| Yuta Minami | Japan | 2006–2007 |
| Hidekazu Otani | Japan | 2008–2022 |
| Taiyo Koga | Japan | 2023–present |
Club staff 2025
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Ricardo Rodríguez |
| Assistant manager | Ryoichi Kurisawa |
| Coaches | Hidekazu OtaniYuta Someya |
| Coaches & Physical coach | Naoya Matsubara |
| Goalkeeping coach | Keita Inoue |
| Technical | Yasushi Okamura |
| Doctor | Kojiro Hyodo |
| Medical | Kaoru Arakawa Hiroyuki Akai Toshiya Itagaki Hisao Iwaki Fabiano |
| Interpreter | Isao Yakita Masayoshi Edson Hayakawa Michinori Katsuta |
| Scout and support coach |  Lee Chang-won |
| Equipment | Masafumi Kimura |
| Competent | Takumi Miyamoto |
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Tokue Suzuki | Japan | 1 February 1965 | 31 January 1966 |
| Masayoshi Miyazaki | Japan | 1 February 1966 | 31 January 1967 |
| Kotaro Hattori | Japan | 1 February 1967 | 31 January 1970 |
| Hidetoki Takahashi | Japan | 1 February 1970 | 31 January 1977 |
| Takato Ebisu | Japan | 1 February 1977 | 31 January 1979 |
| Mutsuhiko Nomura | Japan | 1 February 1979 | 31 January 1982 |
| Yoshiki Nakamura | Japan | 1 February 1982 | 31 January 1985 |
| Yoshikazu Nagaoka | Japan | 1 February 1985 | 30 June 1989 |
| Hiroyuki Usui | Japan | 1 July 1989 | 31 January 1993 |
| Zé Sérgio | Brazil | 1 February 1993 | 10 August 1995 |
| Antoninho | Brazil | 10 August 1995 | 31 January 1996 |
| Nicanor | Brazil | 1 February 1996 | 31 January 1998 |
| Akira Nishino | Japan | 1 February 1998 | 30 July 2001 |
| Steve Perryman |  England | 1 August 2001 | 8 August 2002 |
| Tomoyoshi Ikeya (caretaker) | Japan | 9 August 2002 | 30 August 2002 |
| Marco Aurelio | Brazil | 31 August 2002 | 31 January 2004 |
| Tomoyoshi Ikeya (caretaker) | Japan | 1 February 2004 | 31 July 2004 |
| Hiroshi Hayano | Japan | 1 August 2004 | 31 January 2006 |
| Nobuhiro Ishizaki | Japan | 1 February 2006 | 31 January 2009 |
| Shinichiro Takahashi | Japan | 1 February 2009 | 14 July 2009 |
| Masami Ihara (caretaker) | Japan | 15 July 2009 | 30 July 2009 |
| Nelsinho Baptista | Brazil | 1 August 2009 | 31 January 2015 |
| Tatsuma Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2015 | 31 January 2016 |
| Milton Mendes | Brazil | 1 February 2016 | 12 March 2016 |
| Takahiro Shimotaira | Japan | 12 March 2016 | 13 May 2018 |
| Nozomu Katō | Japan | 14 May 2018 | 10 November 2018 |
| Ken Iwase | Japan | 10 November 2018 | 31 January 2019 |
| Nelsinho Baptista | Brazil | 1 February 2019 | 17 May 2023 |
| Masami Ihara | Japan | 17 May 2023 | 4 December 2024[9] |
| Ricardo Rodríguez | Spain | 11 December 2024[2] | Current |
Kashiwa Reysol's main colour isyellow, like sunshine that is based on the club's name "Sun King". The uniform is yellow-black (calledAurinegro in Spanish) reminiscent ofPeñarol orBorussia Dortmund. Reysol is the only top division club in the country to wear yellow-black.
| Home Kits - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          1992 - 1994 |      1995 - 1996 |      1997 - 1998 |      1999 - 2000 |      2001 - 2002 |
     2003 - 2004 |      2005 - 2006 |      2007 - 2008 |      2009 - 2010 |      2011 - 2012 |
     2013 - 2014 |      2015 - 2016 |      2017 - 2018 |      2019 - 2020 |      2021 - 2022 |
     2023 - 2024 |     2025 - | |||
| Away Kit - 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
    1992 - 1994 |      1995 - 1996 |      1997 - 1998 |      1999 - 2000 |   2001 - 2002 |
     2003 - 2004 |      2005 - 2006 |      2007 - 2008 |      2009 - 2010 |      2011 - 2012 |
   2013 - 2014 |      2015 - 2016 |      2017 - 2018 |      2019 - 2020 |      2021 - 2022 |
     2023 - 2024 |     2025 - | |||
| Other Kits - 3rd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     2013 ACL 1st |      2013 ACL 2nd |    2015 ACL 1st |    2015 ACL 2nd |      2018 ACL 1st |
     2018 ACL 2nd |    2022 30th Anniversary |    2025 LIMITED Flare | ||
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | AFC Champions League | Group H |  Buriram United | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2nd |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 5–1 | 0–2 | ||||
 Guangzhou Evergrande | 0–0 | 3–1 | ||||
| Round of 16 | Ulsan Hyundai | 3–2 | ||||
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Group H | Guizhou Renhe | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1st |
 Central Coast Mariners | 3–1 | 0–3 | ||||
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 0–0 | 2–6 | ||||
| Round of 16 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2–5 | ||||
| Quarter-finals |  Al-Shabab | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 (a) | ||
| Semi-finals | Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–8 | ||
| 2015 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Chonburi | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | ||
| Group E | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1st | ||
 Becamex Bình Dương | 5–1 | 1–0 | ||||
| Shandong Luneng | 2–1 | 4–4 | ||||
| Round of 16 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–4 (a) | ||
| Quarter-finals | Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–4 | ||
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Muangthong United | 3–0 | ||
| Group E | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3rd | ||
| Tianjin Quanjian | 1–1 | 3–2 | ||||
 Kitchee | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||||
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