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| Full name | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Azzurro Nero (Sky-Blue-black), Frontale | ||
| Founded | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) | ||
| Ground | Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, Nakahara,Kawasaki, Japan | ||
| Capacity | 26,232 | ||
| Owner | Fujitsu | ||
| Chairman | Yoshihiro Warashina | ||
| Manager | Shigetoshi Hasebe | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2024 | J1 League, 8th of 20 | ||
| Website | frontale | ||
 Current season | |||
Kawasaki Frontale (川崎フロンターレ,Kawasaki Furontāre) is a Japanese professionalfootball club based inKawasaki,Kanagawa Prefecture, south ofTokyo. The club currently compete in theJ1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium isKawasaki Todoroki Stadium inNakahara Ward, located in the central area of Kawasaki.
The club was founded in 1955 asFujitsu Soccer Club. It was one of many city clubs that comprised theJapan Soccer League (JSL), includingYomiuri (laterTokyo Verdy 1969),Toshiba (laterConsadole Sapporo) andNKK SC (now defunct). They first made the JSL Division 1 in1977, only to be relegated the next season.
Fujitsu's club became professional in 1997, and changed its name to "Kawasaki Frontale", which means "frontal" in Italian. The club old crest and colours are based on those of Brazilian sideGrêmio, because both clubs have cooperated since 26 March 1997.[1]
The club joined the second division of the J.League in 1999 and went on to become the champion of the division. But in the next season, they sank to the bottom ofJ.League Division 1 and were relegated.
Frontale would not return to the top flight until 2000, when they were promoted to the rebrandedJ1. But they were once again dropped to the J2 at the end of the season.
In 2004, Frontale crowned champions of J2 and won promotion to J1 for the second time. With the former rival city clubs out of the way due to relocation or liquidation, they began building their power base in the city.
In 2006, the club achieved runners-up position in J1, their highest league position up to that time. As a result, they entered theAFC Champions League for the first time in2007 from the group stage.
Kawasaki made important success in the competition, as they became the first Japanese club for qualifying its group stage before the eventual winners,Urawa Red Diamonds. However, they eventually lost in the quarter finals against Iranian club,Sepahan, in a penalty shoot-out, following two scoreless games.
After two more second-place finishes in 2008 and 2009, Kawasaki finally won thetitle in2017, coming from behind to upstage bitter rivalsKashima Antlers after they were held to a draw atJúbilo Iwata, 16 seasons and 40 years after their first promotion to the top division.
Kawasaki became the first team to win four J1 titles in a five-year span. They came up short multiple times (2000, 2007, 2009 and 2017) but won their firstJ.League Cup in2019, beatingHokkaido Consadole Sapporo on penalties. In 2020, they successfully won their third J1 League title with 83 points, staying 17 points clear off the runners-up,Gamba Osaka. They made sure of the title with four games to spare, which was a record under the 34-match league format. With a player depth not being restricted to the starting XI, Frontale managed to get the best out of the five substitutions allowed by theJ. League, perFIFA recommendation, instated after theCOVID-19 outbreak. A good example was a breakout season byKaoru Mitoma, who started more matches on the bench than in the starting XI.[2]
In 2021, Frontale won their first title of the year in the opening match of the season, beating Gamba Osaka 3–2 in the2021 Japanese Super Cup.
Raised standards, eye-catching performances, and increase of national team level players coming from Frontale led foreign clubs to pay attention to their players. Among the most significant departures, Frontale saw two major talents leaving the club mid-season. Kaoru Mitoma was included in the 2020J.League Best XI in his first full season as a professional despite playing less than half of his matches as a starter for Frontale, being signed byBrighton & Hove Albion of thePremier League. The second one was midfielder,Ao Tanaka. The 2020 J.League Rookie of the Year which quickly earned his spot on the starting XI after turning professional, transferring toFortuna Düsseldorf of2. Bundesliga on loan, which later would have his deal turning permanent. They weren't the only departures leaving a mark on the team, as they followedHidemasa Morita to Europe, as the latter went on to sign forSanta Clara of thePrimeira Liga.
However, despite Frontale having their future performances being apparently threatened after these departures, the club went on to win the2021 J1 League with a record-breaking season, which saw them: Winning the most points on a single J1 League season ever, with 92 points won on 38 matches; Achieving the fewest number of losses on a J1 League season, registering only two losses in total (the first J1 loss only came six months after the season opening); Being the joint unbeaten team at home matches in a J1 League season, equallingUrawa Red Diamonds's tally in 2006; Being the first ever J1 team to win more than 80 points on consecutive seasons.[3]
Leandro Damião, with 23 goals, was Frontale's individual highlight on the 2021 season, helping him win the MVP award, after being the joint league top-scorer and one of the players with the most assists of the tournament. The latter record was accomplished by another Frontale players,Miki Yamane, which also saw several call-ups for theJapan national football team throughout the 2021 and 2022 season, alongside other Frontale players and formers players, like the team captainShogo Taniguchi, and midfielderYasuto Wakizaka. They joined many other players who previously were selected for the national team while playing at Frontale.[4] Of the selected players, some players can be highlighted, like defenderYoshinobu Minowa, who was selected in 2005. After the2006 FIFA World Cup, midfielderKengo Nakamura and forwardKazuki Ganaha became new Japan internationals, especially Kengo Nakamura, who being a mainstay at club and country for a long time. Long-serving for the national team, goalkeeperEiji Kawashima was also selected while at Frontale, making his debut on the2008 East Asian Cup.Shuhei Terada, who played all of his 13-year professional career at Frontale, was also selected for the national team from 2008 to 2009.
After five consecutive seasons winning at least one major title from 2017 to 2021, Frontale tasted a season without winning any silverware for the entire 2022. Taking their previous overall season into account, the club went through an uninspired season, which saw early eliminations in all four competitions the club played that involved knockout-stage formats. In February, the club already saw their first match of the season resulting on a defeat, after losing 2–0 by Urawa Red Diamonds at theSuper Cup. On April, the club was eliminated at the2022 AFC Champions League at its group stage, finishing their group as runners-up, behindMalaysian championsJohor Darul Ta'zim. In June, at theEmperor's Cup, Frontale were unexpectedly eliminated, at the third round of the competition, after being defeated byJ2 League clubTokyo Verdy by 1–0.
On the latter half of the season, Frontale continued an atypically poor run of form. On August, the club started their campaign at theJ.League Cup, entering the competition late in the double-legged quarterfinals, after receiving a bye from the early stages of the competition due to their AFC Champions League qualification. The club played this quarterfinal againstCerezo Osaka and was awarded the hosting rights of the tie's second leg. Despite not losing any of the two legs, Frontale didn't won any, either. At Cerezo, the match ended 1–1, giving a theoretical relief for Frontale ahead of the match, who only needed a 0–0 draw or a win to proceed in the competition. Frontale started the second leg winning 2–0, withMarcinho scoring two goals at the 40th and 53rd minute. Surprisingly, Frontale collapsed at the dying minutes of the match, conceding two heading goals at the 90th and 95th minute, respectively.
Following the elimination at the J.League Cup, only theJ1 League title was then available for Frontale to chase. Oscillating placements throughout the campaign, the club still managed to finish five separate matchweeks at the top of the league in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, though, never again did Frontale get past the second place. Serving as a minor consolation for their season, the club held to a hardly fought title chase alongsideSanfrecce Hiroshima (until the closing matchweeks). In December, at the 38th round, the last round of the season, Frontale were narrow two points away from first-placedYokohama F. Marinos. A 13-goal difference was also in Frontale's way, meaning that in the more realistic scenario, Frontale needed to win their match and expect Marinos to lose theirs. Playing the round againstFC Tokyo, Frontale were early threatened with a red card, asJung Sung-ryong was sent off a few minutes after Frontale's first goal. Despite playing the rest of the match with 10 players, Frontale still managed to win past FC Tokyo by 3–2. Playing againstVissel Kobe, Marinos won the match by 3–1, and then were handed theJ1 League title. On the plus side, finishing as the league's runners-up led the club to qualify for the2023–24 AFC Champions League, entering the competition in the group stage.
On 9 December 2023, Frontale won the2023 Emperor's Cup title, beatingKashiwa Reysol 8–7 in the penalty shootout after the match ended 0–0.[5] This second national cup victory resulting their qualification for the2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite, entering directly from the league stage.
On 17 February 2024, Frontale defeated2023 J1 League champions, Vissel Kobe, in the2024 Japanese Super Cup atJapan National Stadium to clinch their third title of the competition.[6][7]
On 16 October 2024, it was announced that Toru Oniki would step down as head coach of the club at the end of the season, following the expiration of his contract.[8]
Following the departure of Oniki, along with mid-table finish at 8th position in both2023 and2024, it was announced by Frontale thatShigetoshi Hasebe, who left his position atAvispa Fukuoka, would become the new manager for2025 season.[9] Hasebe began his tenure with a 4-0 victory over thePohang Steelers in the2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite group stage, and followed up with a 4–0 win overNagoya Grampus in the J1 League opener. Kawasaki went on to defeat Chinese clubShanghai Shenghua with an aggregate of 5–1 in the AFC Champions League Elite round of 16 tie, thus advancing to the quarter-finals.
Playing at a centralized venue onSaudi Arabia from this stage on, Kawasaki faced off against Qatari sideAl Sadd at the quarter-finals. Club captainYasuto Wakizaka scored the winner in extra time putting the team to win 3–2, thus advancing to the club first ever semi-finals in the AFC Champions League Elite. They ended up qualifying to their first final as well, as Kawasaki beatAl-Nassr by the same 3–2 score, this time during the usual 90 minutes. At the final, they faced anotherSaudi Pro League team,Al-Ahli on 3 May 2025. Despite their efforts, Kawasaki finished the 2024–25 AFC Champions League as runners-up, losing by 2–0 to the saudi side.
Frontale's rivalry withFC Tokyo is known as theTamagawa Clásico (using the Spanish word"Clásico" as used in derbies in Spain and Latin America). The two clubs first met in the inauguralKanto Soccer League in1967, but did not meet again until1991 in the oldJapan Soccer League (JSL) Division 2 and were rivals for promotion to the J.League in the 1990s. They co-founded the newJ2 League in1999 and were promoted together the same year; although Frontale were immediately relegated, they were promoted again in 2005 and the two clubs have regularly met since.
Frontale also has a Tamagawa rivalry withTokyo Verdy, which was originally also based in Kawasaki and subsequently moved toChōfu in 2000. The two clubs were co-founders of the JSL Division 2 in1972 and, although they spent 20 seasons (1979 to 1999) in separate tiers, their rivalry was rekindled in the late 1990s as Kawasaki fans deserted Tokyo Verdy to support Frontale, who were seen as a more community-focused club. Their fortunes have since been reversed, as Frontale is now a top flight mainstay while Tokyo Verdy sunk into the second tier in 2005, only recently being promoted back to J1 in 2024.
Fukushima United (1 February 2024−31 January 2026)[10]
Grêmio (26 March 1997−present)| Season(s) | Main Shirt Sponsor | Collarbone Sponsor | Additional Sponsor(s) | Kit Manufacturer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Fujitsu | - | SMBC Nikko Securities | @nifty | Fujitsu Marketing | PFU | Puma | |
| 2018 | - / RENOSY | - / Fujitsu BSC | Fujitsu Fsas | |||||
| 2019 | RENOSY | Fujitsu BSC | ||||||
| 2020 | Fujitsu Marketing / Fujitsu Japan | |||||||
| 2021 | Anker Japan | Fujitsu Japan | - / Matsuo Komuten | |||||
| 2022 | Matsuo Komuten | |||||||
| 2023 | PwC Consulting | Ebara Food Industry | ||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||
| Home Kit - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          1999-2000 |      2001-2003 |      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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     1999-2003 |      2004 |    2005 |     2006 |      2007 |
     2008 |      2009 |      2010 |      2011 |      2012 |
    2013 |      2014 |      2015 |     2016 |     2017 |
     2018 |      2019 |     2020 |      2021 |      2022 |
    2023 |    2024 |      2025 | ||
| Alternative kits - 3rd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2014 ACL |     2014 Kawasaki City 90th Anniversary |     2015 New Main Stand Completion |    2016 Cup Competition |      2016 Space Brothers Collaboration |
   2017 ACL 1st |    2017 ACL 2nd |      2017 SUMMER |  2018 ACL 1st |  2018 ACL 2nd |
     2018 Limited |    2019 ACL 1st |    2019 ACL 2nd |    2019 Kawasaki City 95th Anniversary |  2020 Limited |
     2021 ACL 1st |      2021 ACL 2nd |      2021 Limited |    2022 ACL 1st |     2022 ACL 2nd |
    2022 Limited |    ACL2023/24 1st |      ACL2023/24 2nd | ||
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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Below are list of U-18 team players belong to Kawasaki Frontale academy that competing in2025 Prince Takamado U-18 Premier League, the top-flight league for U-18 team of football clubs and senior high school football teams in the country. Only registered players for the competition will be displayed.
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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Club officials for 2025 season.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Shigetoshi Hasebe |
| Assistant manager | Yasuhiro Nagahashi |
| Coaches | Yuki YoshidaMasashi OguroHideki Sahara Kazuno Nakashima |
| Goalkeeper coach | Tomoaki Ishino |
| Strength and Conditioning Coach | Sotaro Higuchi |
| Assistant S&C coach | Keisuke Matsumoto |
| Analyst |  Shlok Asher |
| Trainer | Yoji Hirahara Tomohisa Seki Katsuhiro Suzuki Naoya Kinoshima |
| Physiotherapist | Hiroshi Nishimura Ryota Kudo |
| Interpreter | Kazuya Nakayama Hiroto Furukawa Kim Myong-ho |
| Roupeiro | Hiroyuki Ito |
| Side manager | Takashi Seto Akito Kobayashi |
| Scouting | Tatsuru Mukojima |
| Doctor | Hiroshi Iwaso Hidetaka Goto Yutaro Ishida Ryota Kuzuhara Eisaburo Honda Kensuke Kimura |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | Avg. Attd. | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | Super Cup | AFC CL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | JFL | 16 | 3rd | Did not enter | 3rd round | – | – | |
| 1998 | 2nd | Group stage | – | |||||
| 1999 | J2 | 10 | 1st | 5,396 | 1st round | 4th round | ||
| 2000 | J1 | 16 | 16th | 7,439 | Runners-up | 3rd round | ||
| 2001 | J2 | 12 | 7th | 3,784 | Quarter finals | Semi-finals | ||
| 2002 | 4th | 5,247 | Did not qualify | Quarter finals | ||||
| 2003 | 3rd | 7,258 | 4th round | |||||
| 2004 | 1st | 9,148 | 5th round | |||||
| 2005 | J1 | 18 | 8th | 13,658 | Group stage | Quarter finals | ||
| 2006 | 2nd | 14,340 | Semi-finals | 5th round | ||||
| 2007 | 5th | 17,338 | Runners-up | Semi-finals | Quarter finals | |||
| 2008 | 2nd | 17,565 | Group stage | 5th round | – | |||
| 2009 | 18,847 | Runners-up | Quarter finals | Quarter finals | ||||
| 2010 | 5th | 18,562 | Semi-finals | 4th round | Group stage | |||
| 2011 | 11th | 17,340 | 2nd round | – | ||||
| 2012 | 8th | 17,807 | Group stage | |||||
| 2013 | 3rd | 16,644 | Semi-finals | Quarter finals | ||||
| 2014 | 6th | 16,661 | 3rd round | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2015 | 5th | 20,999 | Group stage | 4th round | – | |||
| 2016 | 3rd | 22,136 | Runners-up | |||||
| 2017 | 1st | 22,112 | Runners-up | Quarter finals | Quarter finals | |||
| 2018 | 23,218 | Quarter finals | Runners-up | Group stage | ||||
| 2019 | 4th | 23,272 | Winners | 4th round | Winners | |||
| 2020† | 1st | 7,862 | Semi-final | Winners | – | – | ||
| 2021† | 20 | 7,342 | Quarter finals | Semi-finals | Winners | Round of 16 | ||
| 2022 | 18 | 2nd | 17,939 | Quarter finals | 3rd round | Runners-up | Group stage | |
| 2023 | 8th | 19,840 | Group Stage | Winners | – | Round of 16 | ||
| 2024 | 20 | 21,067 | Semi-final | 3rd round | Winners | Runners-up | ||
| 2025 | TBD | TBD | TBD | – |
Total (as of 2021): 20 seasons in the top tier, 30 seasons in the second tier and 5 seasons in the Regional Leagues.
AsFujitsu SC (1955–1996) andKawasaki Frontale (1997–present) :
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kanto Soccer League | 1 | 1968 |
| Japan Soccer League Division 2/J2 League | 3 | 1976,1999,2004 |
| J1 League | 4 | 2017,2018,2020,2021 |
| J.League Cup | 1 | 2019 |
| Japanese Super Cup | 3 | 2019,2021,2024 |
| Emperor's Cup | 2 | 2020,2023 |
Kengo Nakamura (2016)Yu Kobayashi (2017)Akihiro Ienaga (2018)Leandro Damião (2021)Juninho (2008)Yoshito Ōkubo (2013, 2014, 2015)Yu Kobayashi (2017)Leandro Damião (2021)Kengo Nakamura (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018)Hiroyuki Taniguchi (2006)Juninho (2007)Eiji Kawashima (2009)Yoshito Ōkubo (2013, 2014, 2015)Yu Kobayashi (2016, 2017)Shintaro Kurumaya (2017, 2018)Elsinho (2017, 2018)Shogo Taniguchi (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022)Akihiro Ienaga (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022)Jung Sung-ryong (2018, 2020)Ryota Oshima (2018)Miki Yamane (2020, 2021, 2022)Jesiel (2020, 2021)Hidemasa Morita (2020)Kaoru Mitoma (2020)Kyohei Noborizato (2020)Ao Tanaka (2020)Leandro Damião (2021)Reo Hatate (2021)Yasuto Wakizaka (2021, 2022, 2023)Marcinho (2022)Ao Tanaka (2019)Kota Takai (2024)The following players have been selected by their country in theWorld Cup, while playing for Kawasaki Frontale:
The following players have represented their country at theSummer Olympic Games whilst playing for Kawasaki Frontale:
| Manager | Nat. | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Kazuo Saito | Japan | 1997(resigned in halfway) |
| Everaldo Pierrotti | Brazil | 1997(till the season end) |
| Beto | 1998–99(resigned in halfway) | |
| Ikuo Matsumoto | Japan | 1999(till the season end) |
| Zeca | Brazil | 2000(resigned in halfway) |
| Toshiaki Imai | Japan | 2000(after Zeca, resigned) |
| Hiroshi Kobayashi | 2000(till the season end) | |
| Yoshiharu Horii | January 2001 – June 2001(resigned in halfway) | |
| Nobuhiro Ishizaki | July 2001& – December 2003(after Horii) | |
| Takashi Sekizuka | January 2004 – April 2008(resigned in halfway due to illness) | |
| Tsutomu Takahata | May 2008 – December 2008(till the season end) | |
| Takashi Sekizuka | January 2009 – December 2009(returned) | |
| Tsutomu Takahata | January 2010 – December 2010(returned) | |
| Naoki Soma | January 2011 – 11 April 2012(sacked in halfway) | |
| Tatsuya Mochizuki | 12 April 2012 – 22 April 2012(interim) | |
| Yahiro Kazama | 23 April 2012 – 31 December 2016 | |
| Toru Oniki | 1 February 2017 – 11 December 2024 | |
| Shigetoshi Hasebe | 12 December 2024 –present |
(in Japanese)Links to related articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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