Vissel Kobe

Vissel Kobe
ヴィッセル神戸

Full name	Vissel Kobe
Nickname(s)	Ushi (cows)
Founded	1966 (1966) (as Kawasaki Steel SS)
Stadium	Noevir Stadium Kobe Hyōgo-ku, Kōbe, Hyōgo
Capacity	30,134
Owner	Rakuten
Chairman	Yuki Chifu
Manager	Takayuki Yoshida
League	J1 League
2024	J1 League, 1st of 20 (champions)
Website	www.vissel-kobe.co.jp
Home colours Away colours

Noevir Stadium, the home of Vissel Kobe

Vissel Kobe (ヴィッセル神戸, Visseru Kōbe) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. They are currently the J1 League champions. The club's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.

History

Beginnings in Chugoku

The club was founded in 1966 as the semi-professional Kawasaki Steel Soccer Club in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. It was first promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1986, and stayed there until the JSL folded in 1992. As their performance in the old second tier had been in the bottom nine clubs, they were put into the Japan Football League Division 2 (new third tier overall in the Japanese football league system) and stayed there until the tiers were reunited into a single second tier for 1994.

Move to Kansai and professionalism

In 1995, the city of Kobe reached an agreement with Kawasaki Steel, the parent company, to move the club to Kobe and compete for a spot in the professional J.League as Vissel Kobe. Vissel is a combination of the words "victory" and "vessel", in recognition of Kobe's history as a port city. (Owing to its importance to the city of Kobe, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, parent company of former team patron Kawasaki Steel, remains a Vissel Kobe sponsor. Kawasaki Steel was eventually sold off to become part of JFE Holdings.)

Vissel Kobe began play in 1994 in the Japan Football League, a league below J.League, and the supermarket chain Daiei was slated as the club's primary investor. However, the economic downturn following the Great Hanshin earthquake forced Daiei to pull out and the city of Kobe became responsible for operating the club.

Despite finishing 2nd in the JFL in 1996, Vissel was promoted to the J.League (the champions, Honda FC, refused to abandon their corporate ownership and become a professional club) and began play in the top division of Japanese football in 1997. However, due to mismanagement, including the inability to secure investors and sponsors, Vissel was unable to contend for the league title. In December, 2003, mounting financial losses forced the club to file for bankruptcy protection.

Crimson Group years (2004–2014)

In January 2004, Vissel was sold to Crimson Group, parent company of online merchant Rakuten, whose president is Kobe native Hiroshi Mikitani. Vissel's first signing under the Mikitani regime, İlhan Mansız, who was acquired partly to capitalize on his popularity during the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosted in Korea and Japan, but the Turkish forward played just three matches before leaving the team because of a knee injury. At the time of the purchase, Mikitani alienated supporters by changing the team uniform colours from black and white stripes to crimson, after his Crimson Group and the colour of his alma mater, Harvard Business School. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, a baseball team also owned by Rakuten but based in Sendai and Rakuten Monkeys, a baseball team in Taoyuan, Taiwan, wear the same colours.

Vissel finished 11th in the league in 2004, the same position as the previous year, and finished 18th and last place in 2005, resulting in relegation from J.League Division 1, or J1, to J2. During the two-year span, Vissel had five different head coaches. 2006 was Vissel's first season in J2 after nine years in the top division of soccer in Japan. They finished 3rd in the 2006 season and returned to J1 after beating Avispa Fukuoka in the promotion/relegation play-offs.

During the period of 2007 to 2011 Vissel finished in the bottom half of the table each year. In 2012 they finished 16th, third from last, and were again relegated to J2. In 2013, Vissel finished in second place, 4 points behind Gamba Osaka, which secured their return to J1 for the 2014 season.

On 6 December 2014, Rakuten Inc. bought the team from the Crimson Group.

Rakuten years and first successes (2015–present)

Spanish midfielder Andrés Iniesta playing for Vissel Kobe in 2018

German striker Lukas Podolski playing for Vissel Kobe in 2020

In 2017, Vissel signed 2014 FIFA World Cup winner Lukas Podolski. He was the first prominent international player Vissel had been able to sign since Michael Laudrup in 1996. Shortly after, in May 2018, Vissel signed another World Cup winner, Andrés Iniesta, from FC Barcelona. In December 2018 Vissel Kobe managed to sign also David Villa from New York City. The Spanish striker scored 13 goals in 28 games. Alongside Sergi Samper and Andrés Iniesta, Villa was the third Spaniard in the team in that season in which they guided Vissel Kobe to win the 2019 Emperor's Cup.

On 1 January 2020, first time finalist Vissel beat Kashima Antlers in the 2019 Emperor's Cup final at the recently opened New National Stadium to win the first title in the club history. The furthest Kobe had been in the Emperor's Cup was the semi-finals of 2000 and 2017. This was also Spanish striker David Villa's last professional match. Vissel also qualified for the 2020 AFC Champions League for the first time. On 8 February 2020, Vissel beat Yokohama F. Marinos in which the scoreline was 3–3. Vissel Kobe eventually won 3-2 on penalties to win their first Japanese Super Cup title and their second national title ever. On 12 February 2020, Vissel played their first AFC Champions League match against Malaysian league champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim at home winning them 5–1 in which Keijiro Ogawa scored a hat-trick in the match. The club than managed to have a good run in the competition all the way until the semi-finals facing against eventual winners Korean Ulsan Hyundai however, Vissel was knocked out by the Korean club losing 2–1 in extra time after conceding an unfortunate penalty kick.

In 2021, Vissel achieved an historic third place in the table, thus qualifying for the 2022 AFC Champions League yet again in which the club had another good run in the campaign before losing to Korean Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–1 in the quarter-finals.

On 3 September 2023, Vissel signed former Spanish international midfielder, Juan Mata but, while the players and the fans benefited from his presence (players said he was amazing to train with, fans loved seeing him, he again raised the profile of the club) injuries kept him from playing much at all in meaningful games. On 25 November 2023, Vissel Kobe was confirmed as the 2023 J1 League champions for the first time in history, following a 2–1 win over Nagoya Grampus in the second last week of the season. Kobe thus became the first Japanese football champions to be promoted to the top tier after the J.League era started, as well as the first to play third division football (the old Japan Football League Division 2) before winning the title. On 17 February 2024, Vissel played their second Japanese Super Cup appearance against 2023 Emperor's Cup winner, Kawasaki Frontale but lost 1–0. Vissel also qualified directly to the newly revamp 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite tournament. On 23 of November 2024, Vissel won the second Emperor's Cup of the club history, after a victory over they regional rivals Gamba Osaka in the Kansai Derby.

Affiliated clubs

• Aston Villa

On 19 October 2023, English Premier League club, Aston Villa announced a collaborative partnership with Vissel Kobe - so said the press release: "further strengthening the international network and player development pipeline which is part of this exciting step forward for both clubs, Villa and Vissel are working to create a bilateral development framework for players and staff which will enhance youth development, alongside the cooperative sharing of ideas, techniques and best practice. The partnership looks to further open up pathways for talented Japanese players to play in Europe and, ultimately, at Aston Villa. This synergy between the clubs will also extend to first team level, with the exchange of technical knowledge and coaching methodology together with collaboration in the areas of performance, scouting & recruitment, data analysis and overall squad management".

Stadium

Since 2003, the home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe. The stadium has a capacity of 30,132.

Current squad

As of 17 September 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	JPN	Daiya Maekawa
2	MF	JPN	Nanasei Iino
3	DF	BRA	Matheus Thuler
4	DF	JPN	Tetsushi Yamakawa (vice-captain)
6	MF	JPN	Takahiro Ogihara
7	MF	JPN	Yosuke Ideguchi
9	FW	JPN	Taisei Miyashiro
10	FW	JPN	Yuya Osako
11	FW	JPN	Yoshinori Muto
14	MF	JPN	Koya Yuruki
15	DF	JPN	Yuki Honda
16	MF	JPN	Mitsuki Saito
18	MF	JPN	Haruya Ide
19	DF	JPN	Ryo Hatsuse
21	GK	JPN	Shota Arai
22	MF	JPN	Daiju Sasaki
23	DF	JPN	Rikuto Hirose
24	DF	JPN	Gōtoku Sakai (vice-captain)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
25	MF	JPN	Yuya Kuwasaki
26	FW	BRA	Jean Patric
30	MF	JPN	Kakeru Yamauchi
31	MF	JPN	Yuya Nakasaka
35	MF	JPN	Niina Tominaga
37	DF	JPN	Shogo Terasaka
39	GK	JPN	Shioki Takayama
44	MF	JPN	Mitsuki Hidaka
50	GK	JPN	Powell Obinna Obi
55	DF	JPN	Takuya Iwanami
81	DF	JPN	Ryuho Kikuchi
88	MF	JPN	Ryota Morioka
96	MF	JPN	Hotaru Yamaguchi (captain)
—	GK	JPN	Taiga Kameda Type 2
—	DF	JPN	Kaito Yamada Type 2
—	MF	JPN	Kento Hamasaki Type 2
—	MF	JPN	Yuan Iwamoto Type 2
—	MF	JPN	Shoei Oka Type 2

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
17	MF	JPN	Tatsunori Sakurai (on loan to Mito HollyHock)
33	DF	JPN	Justin Homma (on loan to Yokohama F. Marinos)
38	MF	JPN	Juzo Ura (on loan to Ehime FC)
—	GK	JPN	Yuya Tsuboi (on loan to Júbilo Iwata)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	JPN	Yusei Ozaki (on loan to Ehime FC)
—	MF	JPN	Shuto Adachi (on loan to Iwate Grulla Morioka)
—	MF	JPN	Toya Izumi (on loan to Montedio Yamagata)

Vissel Kobe U-18

As of 16 April 2024.

The main U-18 team of Vissel Kobe 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	Taiga Kameda
3	DF	JPN	Riku Ibaraki
4	DF	JPN	Kaito Yamada
5	DF	JPN	Shido Matsuda
6	MF	JPN	Yuan Iwamoto
7	FW	JPN	Ran Yoshioka
8	MF	JPN	Teruya Imatomi
9	FW	JPN	Hayato Watanabe
10	MF	JPN	Kento Hamasaki
11	FW	JPN	Oga Morita
12	GK	JPN	Kosuke Yoshioka
13	FW	JPN	Tokiya Takamura
14	MF	JPN	Taiga Seguchi
15	MF	JPN	Fuga Koizumi
16	DF	JPN	Yuto Kawai

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	FW	JPN	Shoei Oka
18	DF	JPN	Tomohiro Nobe
19	DF	JPN	Sota Hara
20	MF	JPN	Riku Fujimoto
21	GK	JPN	Shunsuke Koike
22	MF	JPN	Aiku Nishikawa
23	FW	JPN	Sota Onishi
24	MF	JPN	Hiroto Taniguchi
25	MF	JPN	Tsubasa Takeishi
26	DF	JPN	Yuma Teraoka
28	MF	JPN	Kota Katayama
30	GK	JPN	Go Young-haon
37	FW	JPN	Hyoei Kawabata
39	FW	JPN	Ritsu Doiguchi
43	DF	JPN	Nagi Nishimura

Club officials

Club officials for 2024.

Position	Name
Manager	Takayuki Yoshida
Assistant manager	Tomo Sugawara Kunie Kitamoto
Young player development coach	Yuji Miyahara
Goalkeeper coach	Sidmar
Analytical coach	Tatsuro Takenaka Daichi Matsumoto
Physical coach	Akira Umeki Hikaru Fujii
Interpreter	Eiji Kumon Daisuke Kawashima
Chief trainer	Yoshio Shibata
Trainer	Masaaki Morita Ryota Matsuda Minoru Onogawa Naoto Nakayama
Dietitian	Rika Kawabata
Chief side manager	Shusuke Sasagawa
Equipment manager	Takuya Arai Tomoki Ishiguro
Side manager	Yuto Kato

Manager history

Manager	Nationality	Tenure
		Start	Finish
Stuart Baxter	Scotland	1 February 1995	31 January 1998
Benito Floro	Spain	1 February 1998	24 September 1998
Harumi Kori	Japan	25 September 1998	31 January 1999
Ryoichi Kawakatsu	Japan	1 February 1999	25 July 2002
Hiroshi Matsuda	Japan	1 July 2002	31 January 2003
Hiroshi Soejima	Japan	1 February 2003	31 January 2004
Ivan Hašek	Czech Republic	1 February 2004	30 September 2004
Hiroshi Kato	Japan	1 October 2004	31 January 2005
Hideki Matsunaga	Japan	1 February 2005	19 April 2005
Émerson Leão	Brazil	19 April 2005	14 June 2005
Pavel Řehák	Czech Republic	15 June 2005	31 January 2006
Stuart Baxter	Scotland	1 February 2006	4 September 2006
Hiroshi Matsuda	Japan	5 September 2006	11 December 2008
Caio Júnior (interim)	Brazil	11 December 2008	30 June 2009
Masahiro Wada (interim)	Japan	1 July 2009	5 August 2009
Toshiya Miura	Japan	5 August 2009	11 September 2010
Masahiro Wada	Japan	11 September 2010	30 April 2012
Ryo Adachi (interim)	Japan	1 May 2012	21 May 2012
Akira Nishino	Japan	22 May 2012	8 November 2012
Ryo Adachi (interim)	Japan	9 November 2012	31 December 2012
Ryo Adachi	Japan	1 January 2013	31 January 2015
Nelsinho Baptista	Brazil	1 February 2015	15 August 2017
Takayuki Yoshida	Japan	16 August 2017	16 September 2018
Kentaro Hayashi (interim)	Japan	17 September 2017	3 October 2018
Juan Manuel Lillo	Spain	4 October 2018	16 April 2019
Takayuki Yoshida	Japan	17 April 2019	8 June 2019
Thorsten Fink	Germany	9 June 2019	21 September 2020
Marcos Vives	Spain	22 September 2020	23 September 2020
Atsuhiro Miura	Japan	24 September 2020	20 March 2022
Lluís Planagumà (interim)	Spain	21 March 2022	7 April 2022
Miguel Ángel Lotina	Spain	8 April 2022	29 June 2022
Takayuki Yoshida	Japan	30 June 2022	current

League history

• Chugoku Soccer League: 1978–85 (as Kawasaki Steel Mizushima)
• Division 2 (Japan Soccer League Div. 2): 1986–91 (Kawasaki Steel Mizushima until 1987; Kawasaki Steel afterwards)
• Division 3 (Old JFL Div. 2): 1992–93 (as Kawasaki Steel)
• Division 2 (Old JFL): 1994–96 (Kawasaki Steel 1994; Vissel Kobe since 1995)
• Division 1 (J.League): 1997–2005
• Division 2 (J.League Division 2): 2006
• Division 1 (J.League Division 1): 2007–12
• Division 2 (J.League Division 2): 2013
• Division 1 (J1 League): 2014–present

Total (as of 2024): 26 seasons in the top tier, 11 seasons in the second tier, 2 seasons in the third tier and 8 seasons in the Regional Leagues.

Record as J.League member

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	J1	17	16th	32	6 (1 / 0)	–	21 (2 / 0)	43	78	-35	24	6,567	Group stage	Round of 16
1998		18	17th	34	8 (0 / 1)	–	23 (2 / 0)	45	89	-44	25	7,686	Group stage	3rd round
1999		16	10th	30	9 (3)	4	12 (2)	38	45	-7	37	7,691	1st round	3rd round
2000		16	13th	30	10 (1)	1	16 (2)	40	49	-9	33	7,512	2nd round	Semi-finals
2001		16	12th	30	8 (1)	7	10 (4)	41	52	-11	33	13,872	2nd round	Round of 16
2002		16	14th	30	8 (2)	3	17	33	44	-11	31	10,467	Group stage	3rd round
2003		16	13th	30	8	6	16	35	63	-28	30	11,195	Group stage	Quarter-finals
2004		16	11th	30	9	9	12	50	55	-5	36	15,735	Group stage	4th round
2005		18	18th	34	4	9	21	30	67	-37	21	14,913	Group stage	4th round
2006	J2	13	3rd	48	25	11	12	78	53	25	86	6,910	–	3rd round
2007	J1	18	10th	34	13	8	13	58	48	10	47	12,460	Group stage	Round of 16
2008		18	10th	34	12	11	11	39	38	1	47	12,981	Group stage	Round of 16
2009		18	14th	34	10	9	15	40	48	-8	39	13,068	Group stage	Round of 16
2010		18	15th	34	9	11	14	37	45	-8	38	12,824	Group stage	3rd round
2011		18	9th	34	13	7	14	44	45	-1	46	13,233	1st round	3rd round
2012		18	16th	34	11	6	17	41	50	-9	39	14,638	Group stage	2nd round
2013	J2	22	2nd	42	25	8	9	78	41	37	83	11,516	–	3rd round
2014	J1	18	11th	34	11	12	11	49	50	-1	45	15,010	Quarter-finals	2nd round
2015		18	12th	34	10	8	16	44	49	-5	38	16,265	Semi-finals	Quarter-finals
2016		18	7th	34	16	7	11	56	43	13	55	17,018	Quarter-finals	Round of 16
2017		18	9th	34	13	5	16	40	45	-5	44	18,272	Quarter-finals	Semi-finals
2018		18	10th	34	12	9	13	45	52	-7	45	21,450	Play-off stage	Round of 16
2019		18	8th	34	14	5	15	61	59	2	47	21,491	Group stage	Winners
2020 †		18	14th	34	9	9	16	50	59	-9	36	6,041	Quarter-finals	Did not qualify
2021 †		20	3rd	38	21	10	7	62	36	26	73	7,120	Play-off stage	Round of 16
2022		18	13th	34	11	7	16	35	41	-6	40	15,572	Quarter-finals	Quarter-finals
2023		18	1st	34	21	8	5	60	29	31	71	22,405	Group stage	Quarter-finals
2024		20	1st	38	21	9	8	61	36	25	72	21,811	3rd round	Winners
2025		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
• OTW / PKW = Overtime wins / penalty kicks wins 1997 and 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
• Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
• † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
• Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

Vissel Kobe honours

Honour	No.	Years
All Japan Senior Football Championship	1	1976
Chūgoku Soccer League (as Kawasaki Steel Mizushima)	5	1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985
Emperor's Cup	2	2019, 2024
Japanese Super Cup	1	2020
J1 League	2	2023, 2024

Continental record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2020	AFC Champions League	Group G	Johor Darul Ta'zim	5–1	Cancelled	1st
			Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–2	1–0
			Guangzhou Evergrande	0–2	3–1
		Round of 16	Shanghai Port	2–0
		Quarter-finals	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–1 (a.e.t.) (7–6 p)
		Semi-finals	Ulsan Hyundai	1–2 (a.e.t.)
2022	AFC Champions League	Play-off round	Melbourne Victory	4–3 (a.e.t.)
		Group J	Shanghai Port	Cancelled
			Kitchee	2–1	2–2	1st
			Chiangrai United	6–0	0–0
		Round of 16	Yokohama F. Marinos	3–2
		Quarter-finals	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–3 (a.e.t.)
2024–25	AFC Champions League Elite	League stage	Buriram United	—	0–0
			Shandong Taishan	2–1	—
			Ulsan HD	—	2–0
			Gwangju	2–0	—
			Central Coast Mariners	3–2	—
			Pohang Steelers	—	1–3
			Shanghai Port		—
			Shanghai Shenhua	—

Kit evolution

Home kit - 1st
1997 - 1998	1999 - 2002	2003 - 2004	2005 - 2006	2007
2008	2009 - 2010	2011	2012	2013
2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
2024 -

Away kit - 2nd
1997 - 1998	1999 - 2001	2002 - 2003	2004	2005 - 2006
2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
2022	2023	2024 -

Alternative Kit - 3rd
2014 10th Anniversary Crimson FC	2015 Club's 20th anniversary	2017 Kobe Port's 150th Anniversary	2018 3rd	2019 3rd
2020 Club's 25th Anniversary	2021 3rd	2022 3rd

External links

• Official website