 | |||
| Full name | Sanfrecce Hiroshima Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sanfrecce,Sanfre,Viola | ||
| Founded | 1938; 87 years ago (1938) as Toyo Kogyo SC | ||
| Ground | Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima | ||
| Capacity | 28,520 | ||
| Owner | EDION Mazda | ||
| Chairman | Shingo Senda | ||
| Manager | Michael Skibbe | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2024 | J1 League, 2nd of 20 | ||
| Website | sanfrecce | ||
 Current season | |||
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japanese:サンフレッチェ広島,romanized: Sanfuretche Hiroshima) is a Japanese professionalfootball club based inHiroshima. The club competes in theJ1 League, top flight of theJapanese football league system. Sanfrecce is one of the most successful clubs in Japan. The club is the joint fourth in mostJ1 League titles with three, the joint first in most top-flight titles (which includes the defunctJapan Soccer League), with eight, and the club with the most participations inEmperor's Cup finals, with 15.
Sanfrecce have won threeJ1 League, threeEmperor's Cup, oneJ.League Cup and fourJapanese Super Cup titles. Internationally, the club has made two appearances in theFIFA Club World Cup, with their most recent appearance being in the2015 edition.
The club was a formercompany team ofToyo Kogyo Soccer Club (東洋工業サッカー部) in 1938 and played in the semi-professionalJapan Soccer League.
The club was an original founder ("Original Eight"[a]) of the now-disbandedJapan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. They dominated the JSL's early years, winning the title 4 times in a row – a feat that was later equaled byYomiuri SC/Verdy Kawasaki. The name change was made atMazda SC (マツダSC) in 1981.
During the1969 season, they participated in theAsian Club Cup, forerunner to today'sAFC Champions League; at the time, the tournament was done in a single locale (in that year it wasBangkok,Thailand), and they ended up in third place, the first participation of a Japanese club in the continental tournament. This also cost them the league title to Mitsubishi/Urawa, and although they won another title in 1970, since then the club has been out of the running for the title, with exceptional seasons such as1994 when they won runner-up.
The Toyo Industries that became the firstJSL champions also completed the firstdouble by taking theEmperor's Cup. They were also the first of three "Invincibles", undefeated champion clubs in Japan (the others wereMitsubishi in1969 andYamaha in1987–88), although only Toyo completed a double.
Ogi Matsumoto andYasuyuki Kuwahara went on to win the1968 Olympic bronze medal for theJapan national team.
When JSL disbanded and became theJ.League in 1992, it dropped the company name and becameSanfrecce Hiroshima. AlongsideJEF United Ichihara Chiba andUrawa Red Diamonds they co-founded both leagues ("Original Ten"[b]).
In 2002, Sanfrecce became the first former stage winner (first stage, 1994) to be relegated to the lower division,J2 League. But it only spent a year there, finishing second the very next season to regain promotion back toJ1. The club finished 16th in the 2007 season and were relegated to J2 League after they were beaten byKyoto Sanga in thepromotion/relegation play-off. In the following season in 2008, Sanfrecce nevertheless won theJ2 League title at the first attempt, having 84 points (a difference of 25 points with the runner-up clubs) with six matches left.
By virtue of earning fourth place in the 2009 season andGamba Osaka retaining theEmperor's Cup, Sanfrecce qualified for the2010 AFC Champions League where they were knocked out in the group stage.
On 24 November 2012, Sanfrecce defeatedCerezo Osaka 4–1 to seal their first everJ1 league title with 64 points thus qualifying to the2012 FIFA Club World Cup as host and also qualifying to the2013 AFC Champions League.[1][2] Three individual awards was given individually withHajime Moriyasu winning the 'Manager of the Year' award andHisato Satō winning both the 'Most Valuable Player' award and the 'Top Scorer' award with 22 goals. Sanfreece playersShusaku Nishikawa,Hiroki Mizumoto,Toshihiro Aoyama,Yojiro Takahagi and Hisato Satō was included in the 2012 'Best Eleven' of the season. Sanfreece then played in the FIFA Club World Cup play-off in December where Toshihiro Aoyama scored the only goal againstOFC Champions League winnersAuckland City to send the team to the quarter-finals. However, Sanfreece suffered a 2–1 defeat toCAF Champions League winnersAl Ahly thus failing to qualified to the semi-finals and having the need to play for a 5th place where Sanfreece faceAFC Champions League winners Ulsan Hyundai where the team won 3–2.
Sanfrecce then started off the2013 season in theJapanese Super Cup on 23 February 2013 against2012 Emperor's Cup winnersKashiwa Reysol. where Hisato Satō scored the only goal in the match to lift the cup. However in the 2013 AFC Champions League, Sanfrecce suffered a rock bottom group stage finished with only 3 points thus being knock out. On 7 December 2013, Sanfrecce defeatedKashima Antlers 2–0, securing their second J1 League title with 63 points following a thrilling finish to the season which saw first-placeYokohama F. Marinos losing their final league game ending with 62 points, handing Sanfrecce the title. With their second consecutive title win, Sanfrecce became the second club to successfully defend their crown since Kashima Antlers in 2009. Sanfreecce then qualified to the2014 AFC Champions League.
Sanfrecce started off the2014 season on 22 February 2014 during theJapanese Super Cup against2013 Emperor's Cup winnersYokohama F. Marinos whereGakuto Notsuda andTakuma Asano went on to score the goal to secure a 2–0 win. In the 2014 AFC Champions League, Sanfrecce finished as runners-up in the group stage thus seeing the club advance to the round of 16 for the first time in the club history. Sanfreecce was drawn against Australian clubWestern Sydney Wanderers where the match ended up in a 3–3 aggerate however, due to away goal rules, the club was knocked out to the eventual cup winners.
During the2015 season proved to be a great year for Sanfrecce, finishing 1st in the 2nd half of the season, then finishing 1st overall, just 2 points aboveUrawa Red Diamonds, to win their third J1 League title thus qualifying and representing Japan inthat year's FIFA Club World Cup. The club started off playing in the play-off round where they won againstOFC Champions League winners Auckland City 2–0 thus qualifying to the quarter-finals facing off againstCAF Champions League winnersTP Mazembe where Sanfrecce won them 3–0 advancing to the semi-finals to play against theCopa Libertadores winnersRiver Plate. The club ended up losing the match 1–0 where they would ended up playing for a 3rd placing match against Chinese sideGuanzhou Evergrande where Sanfrecce won 2–1 to finished in third place.
In the 2018 season, after Sanfrecce progressively trailing towards a J1 League title, as it led the standings after Round 5, the club fell down to 2nd-place at the end of the season. The club sawKawasaki Frontale win the league as Sanfrecce lost four of their last five league matches.
In 2022, the club was relieved to experience another good season, under the management of newly appointed German coachMichael Skibbe. Underrated by many because of the previous season, the club fought for the title at every competition it played until the very end. The Violas finished 3rd place at the J1 League, as runners-up to J2 clubVentforet Kofu in theEmperor's Cup final, and as J.League Cup champions. The J.League Cup was won in dramatic fashion againstCerezo Osaka, as the club managed to comeback from a 1–0 loss with two goals scored by mid-season Cypriot signingPieros Sotiriou. Both goals came very late in the match, being scored at the 96th and 101st minute of the match, during the added time of the second half. For his efforts to make the team competitive at every competition Sanfrecce partook in, Skibbe wonJ.League Manager of the Year, the club's 4th 'Manager of the Year' award.
On 20 June 2024, AFC confirmed Sanfrecce would participate in the inaugural2024–25 AFC Champions League Two group stage, marking their first appearance in a second-tier continental competition. Sanfrecce was drawn in Group E alongside AustralianSydney FC, PhilippinesKaya–Iloilo and Hong KongEastern. On 19 September Sanfreece made their debut in the tournament by playing Kaya–Iloilo at home, winning 3–0. Sanfrecce went on to top the group stage with five wins and a draw. In the round of 16, Sanfrecce faced VietnameseNam Định, defeating them by 7–0 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals, they were paired with anotherSoutheast Asia side, SingaporeanLion City Sailors. Playing at home, Sanfrecce won the first leg by 6–1. However, the AFC decided to declare a 3–0 win to Lion City Sailors and a USD$1,000 fine to Sanfrecce. The punishment came as Sanfrecce fielded their newly-signed playerValère Germain, who was supposed to be serving a three-match suspension while playing for his previous club. Away in Singapore, Sanfrecce drew 1–1, being consequently knocked out of the competition by a 4–1 loss on aggregate.[3][4] In the2024 season, Sanfrecce finished the league as runners-up with 4 points short away from league winners but the club sees themselves qualifying to the2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite.
On 15 August 2021, Sanfrecce Hiroshima signed partnership with GermanBundesliga side,1.FC Köln where both club are building up their international relations and have entered a co-operation with J.League club Sanfrecce for the coming two-and-a-half years. The partnership will centre on Sport and Management. The co-operation sees the Germany side continue its internationalisation strategy, which is an important part of the Matchplan.
In the sporting sector, the co-operation includes coaching courses, training camp and intensive discussions surrounding the youth academy and scouting at both clubs have set themselves the goal that they should be amongst the best clubs in the league at academy level. As for the management side of the partnership, seminars are planned in Hiroshima and Köln, where those in charge of departments from both clubs will come together to work on a strategy going forward.
The club name is aportmanteau of the Japanese word forthree,San and the Italian wordfrecce, which means 'arrows'. This is based on the story of the feudal lordMōri Motonari who told his three sons that while a single arrow might be easily snapped, three arrows held together would not be broken and urged them to work for the good of the clan and its retainers.[6]
The club's home town isHiroshima and the side plays atEdion Peace Wing Hiroshima. Previously, the side played atEDION Stadium Hiroshima andHiroshima Prefectural Stadium. It holds training sessions at Yoshida Soccer Park inAkitakata, Hiroshima and Hiroshima 1st Ball Park until 2023. It has a capacity of 36,894.
Sanfrecce moved to a new stadium in 2024, which has been named Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima. Construction started in 2021 and opened in 2024. Sanfrecce's first competitive match at the new stadium was against Urawa Red Diamonds on 23 February 2024, which attracted an attendance of 27,545[7]
The main colour of Sanfrecce Hiroshima ispurple.
| Home Kits – 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
          1992–1995 |      1996–1999 |      2000–2002 |      2003–2004 |      2005–2006 |
     2007–2009 |      2010 |      2011 |     2012 |      2013 |
     2014 |   2015 |      2016 |      2017 |     2018 |
     2019 |     2020 |      2021 |      2022 |      2023 |
     2024 |      2025 | |||
| Away Kits – 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
     1992–1995 |      1996–1999 |      2000–2002 |      2003–2004 |      2005–2006 |
     2007–2009 |      2010 |     2011 |   2012 |      2013 |
     2014 |    2015 |     2016 |      2017 |     2018 |
   2019 |  2020 |    2021 |      2022 |      2023 |
     2024 |      2025 | |||
| Special Kits – 3rd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
    2011 3rd |   2012 3rd |    2018 8.11 Peace Memorial |  2019 3rd |  2019 8.3 Peace Memorial |
     2021 LIMITED Carp Collaboration | ||||
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.
|
|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Michael Skibbe |
| Assistant manager |  Serhat Umar Kenji Arima |
| First-team coach | Shinya Sakoi Masaru Misuno Yoshifumi Matsuo |
| Goalkeeping coach | Shinkichi KikuchiTakuto Hayashi |
| Physical coach | Minekazu Isobe |
AsToyo Kogyo SC andMazda SC (amateur era) as well asSanfrecce Hiroshima (professional era)
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All Japan Works Football Championship | 1 | 1956, 1962 |
| Japan Soccer League Division 1 | 5 | 1965,1966,1967,1968,1970 |
| Emperor's Cup | 3 | 1965,1967,1969 |
| NHK Super Cup | 1 | 1967 |
| J2 League | 1 | 2008 |
| Japanese Super Cup | 5 | 2008,2013,2014,2016,2025 |
| J1 League | 3 | 2012,2013,2015 |
| J.League Cup | 1 | 2022 |
Hisato Satō (2012)Toshihiro Aoyama (2015)Hisato Satō (2012)Takuya Takagi (1994)Hisato Satō (2005, 2012)Tomoaki Makino (2010)Hiroki Mizumoto (2012)Shusaku Nishikawa (2012, 2013)Toshihiro Aoyama (2012, 2013, 2015)Yojiro Takahagi (2012)Tsukasa Shiotani (2014, 2015)
Douglas (2015)Keisuke Osako (2024)Sho Sasaki (2024)Kazuyuki Morisaki (2000)Takuma Asano (2015)Hajime Moriyasu (2012, 2013, 2015)Michael Skibbe (2022, 2024)Yojiro Takahagi (2010)Hisato Satō (2012)Hisato Satō (2014)| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | AFC Champions League | Group H |  Shandong Luneng | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3rd out of 4 |
 Pohang Steelers | 4–3 | 1–2 | ||||
 Adelaide United | 1–0 | 2–3 | ||||
| 2013 | AFC Champions League | Group G |  Bunyodkor | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4th out of 4 |
| Beijing Guoan | 0–0 | 1–2 | ||||
| Pohang Steelers | 0–1 | 1–1 | ||||
| 2014 | AFC Champions League | Group F | Beijing Guoan | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2nd out of 4 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 1–0 | 1–2 | ||||
| FC Seoul | 2–1 | 2–2 | ||||
| Round of 16 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 (a) | ||
| 2016 | AFC Champions League | Group F | Shandong Luneng | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3rd out of 4 |
| FC Seoul | 2–1 | 1–4 | ||||
 Buriram United | 3–0 | 2–0 | ||||
| 2019 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Chiangrai United | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3p) | ||
| Group F | Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1st out of 4 | ||
| Melbourne Victory | 2–1 | 3–1 | ||||
| Daegu FC | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||||
| Round of 16 | Kashima Antlers | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 (a) | ||
| 2024–25 | AFC Champions League Two | Group E |  Kaya–Iloilo | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1st out of 4 |
 Eastern | 4–1 | 3–2 | ||||
| Sydney FC | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||||
| Round of 16 |  Nam Định | 4–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 | ||
| Quarter-finals |  Lion City Sailors | 0–3FF[ff 1] | 1–1 | 1–4 | ||
| 2025–26 | AFC Champions League Elite | League stage |  | |||
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| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | Club | Assistant coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshiki Yamazaki | Japan | 1938–42, 1947–50 | Toyo Kogyo | — |
| Minoru Obata | Japan | 1951–63 | ||
| Yukio Shimomura | Japan | 1964–71 | ||
| Kenzo Ohashi | Japan | 1972–75 | ||
| Ikuo Matsumoto | Japan | 1976 | ||
| Aritatsu Ogi | Japan | 1977–80 | ||
| Teruo Nimura | Japan | 1981–83 | MAZDA Sports | Eckhard Krautzun (August – September 1983) |
| Kazuo Imanishi | Japan | 1984–87 |  Hans Ooft (1984–87)Dido Havenaar (1986–87) | |
| Hans Ooft | Netherlands | 1987–88 | Dido Havenaar (1987–88) | |
| Kazuo Imanishi | Japan | 1988–92 |  Bill Foulkes (1988–91) | |
| Stuart Baxter |  Scotland | 1 July 1992 – 31 January 1995 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |  Jan Jönsson (1993–94) |
| Wim Jansen | Netherlands | 1 February 1996 – 31 January 1997 | — | |
| Eddie Thomson | Scotland | 1 February 1997 – 31 January 2001 | Tom Sermanni (1997–98) | |
| Valeri Nepomniachi |  Russia | 1 February 2001 – 17 December 2001 | — | |
| Gadzhi Gadzhiev | Russia | 1 February 2002 – 15 July 2002 | ||
| Takahiro Kimura | Japan | 16 July 2002 – 30 November 2002 | ||
| Takeshi Ono | Japan | 1 December 2002 – 1 April 2006 | ||
| Kazuyori Mochizuki(interim) | Japan | 2 April 2006 – 9 June 2006 | ||
| Mihailo Petrović |  Serbia | 10 June 2006 – 31 December 2011 | Ranko Popović (2006–07) | |
| Hajime Moriyasu | Japan | 1 January 2012 – 4 July 2017 | — | |
| Jan Jönsson | Sweden | 10 July 2017 – 7 December 2017 | ||
| Hiroshi Jofuku | Japan | 7 December 2017 – 25 October 2021 | ||
| Kentaro Sawada | Japan | 26 October 2021 – 31 January 2022 | ||
| Michael Skibbe | Germany | 1 Feb 2022 – present | Shinya Sakoi (2022–present) |
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | Div. | Clubs | Pos. | Attendance/G | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | AFC CLE | AFC CL2 | FIFA CWC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | – | – | – | – | Group stage | 2nd round | Did not qualify | – | Did not qualify |
| 1993 | J1 | 10 | 5th | 16,644 | Group stage | Semi-finals | |||
| 1994 | 12 | 2nd | 17,191 | 1st round | Quarter-finals | ||||
| 1995 | 14 | 10th | 11,689 | – | Runners up | ||||
| 1996 | 16 | 14th | 8,469 | Group stage | Runners up | ||||
| 1997 | 17 | 12th | 6,533 | Group stage | Round of 16 | ||||
| 1998 | 18 | 10th | 8,339 | Group stage | Quarter-finals | ||||
| 1999 | 16 | 8th | 9,377 | 2nd round | Runners up | ||||
| 2000 | 16 | 11th | 8,865 | 2nd round | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2001 | 16 | 9th | 9,916 | Quarter-finals | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2002 | 16 | 15th | 10,941 | Group stage | Semi-finals | ||||
| 2003 | J2 | 12 | 2nd | 9,000 | – | Round of 16 | |||
| 2004 | J1 | 16 | 12th | 14,800 | Group stage | 4th round | |||
| 2005 | 18 | 7th | 12,527 | Group stage | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2006 | 18 | 10th | 11,180 | Group stage | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2007 | 18 | 16th | 11,423 | Quarter-finals | Runners up | ||||
| 2008 | J2 | 15 | 1st | 10,840 | – | Quarter-finals | |||
| 2009 | J1 | 18 | 4th | 15,723 | Group stage | 3rd round | |||
| 2010 | 18 | 7th | 14,562 | Runners up | 3rd round | Group stage | |||
| 2011 | 18 | 7th | 13,203 | 1st round | 3rd round | – | |||
| 2012 | 18 | 1st | 17,721 | Group stage | 2nd round | 5th place | |||
| 2013 | 18 | 1st | 16,209 | Quarter-finals | Runners up | Group stage | Not eligible | ||
| 2014 | 18 | 8th | 14,997 | Runners up | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | |||
| 2015 | 18 | 1st | 16,382 | Group stage | Quarter-finals | – | 3rd Place | ||
| 2016 | 18 | 6th | 15,464 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Group stage | Not eligible | ||
| 2017 | 18 | 15th | 14,042 | Play-off stage | Round of 16 | – | |||
| 2018 | 18 | 2nd | 14,346 | Group stage | Round of 16 | ||||
| 2019 | 18 | 6th | 13,886 | Quarter-finals | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | |||
| 2020† | 18 | 8th | 4,545 | Group stage | Did not qualify | – | |||
| 2021† | 20 | 11th | 5,920 | Group stage | 2nd round | ||||
| 2022 | 18 | 3rd | 10,493 | Winners | Runners-up | ||||
| 2023 | 18 | 3rd | 16,128 | Group stage | 3rd round | ||||
| 2024 | 20 | 2nd | 25,609 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | TBD | |||
| 2025 | 20 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Total (as of 2022[update]): 51 seasons in the top tier and 7 seasons in the second tier.
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