Urawa Red Diamonds
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| Full name | Urawa Red Diamonds | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Urawa Reds. The Nearly Men | ||
| Founded | 1950 | ||
| Ground | Urawa Komaba Stadium and Saitama Stadium 2002 (Capacity: 21,500 and 63,700) |
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| Chairman |  Mitsuo Hashimoto |
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| Manager |  Volker Finke |
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| League | J. League Div.1 | ||
| 2008 | 7th Place | ||
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Urawa Red Diamonds (浦和レッドダイヤモンズ Urawa Reddo Daiyamonzu) is a professional football club playing in Japan's football league, J. League. One of Japan's best supported teams, the club has been able to boast the highest average crowds for eight of the J-League's fifteen season history. In 2007 the team attracted an average gate of over 46000, the highest in both Japan and Asia as a whole. The club's move in 2002 to the newly built Saitama Stadium, coupled with an upturn in form, has been responsible for swelling average gates to nearly twice that of their historical average. Its hometown is the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture.
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[edit] History
Mitsubishi Motors established a football club in 1950[1] and in 1965 it formed the Japan Soccer League along with today's Sanfrecce Hiroshima, JEF United Ichihara Chiba, Kashiwa Reysol, Cerezo Osaka and three other clubs who have since been relegated to regional leagues. Mitsubishi first won the JSL championship in 1969, as a break in Mazda/Sanfrecce's dominance; their runs up the first division were sporadic but steady until the 1980s when they fell into the Second Division. In 1990 they were promoted as JSL 2 champions, and thus were ready when the J-League implementation began in earnest.
The club has enjoyed mixed fortunes since the J-League advent. The club finished bottom of the league for the first two seasons of the J-League with an average crowd of under 15,000. In 1999 they suffered relegation to the second tier of Japanese football yet again. The team has since improved in form in recent years, starting with a 2003 victory in the Nabisco Cup.
In 2006 Urawa clinched their first professional league title by defeating runners-up Gamba Osaka 3-2 on December 2 before 63,000 supporters. This came after two close calls in the previous two years. In 2005, they finished 2nd, one point behind champions Gamba Osaka. In 2004, they finished 3rd in the First Stage and won the Second Stage. Having qualified for the two-match J. League Championship decider, they lost on penalty kicks to Yokohama F. Marinos.
Urawa were back to back Emperor's Cup winners in 2005 and 2006. Winning the title for the first time since establishment as a professional team, they defeated Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 on January 1, 2006, and retained the title in 2007 with a 1-0 win over Gamba Osaka. This win also completed a league-cup double. In the 2007 tournament they were defeated at the first hurdle by J2 outfit Ehime F.C..
In 2007, despite a seemingly unassailable lead of seven points with four games remaining, Urawa picked up only two points from their final four games. This run included losing at home to Kashima Antlers; the team who would leapfrog Urawa on the final day of the season to claim their fifth J. League title. Following their capitulation in the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup to J2 outfit Ehime F.C., Urawa had to be content with their 2007 Asian Champions League title. Urawa recorded their first international title after overcoming Iranian team Sepahan F.C. 3-1 on aggregate. The victory made them the first Japanese side to win the title since the competition was reorganised from the Asian Champions Cup in 2003. In the Club World Cup of the same year, Urawa became the first AFC team to finish in third place, beating Tunisian Étoile Sportive du Sahel side on penalty kicks in the third / fourth place play off.
In 2008, Urawa attempted to win their second consecutive Asian Champions League Title and progressed to the semi finals where they were defeated by fellow Japanese and J-League rivals Gamba Osaka 3-1 on aggregate.
[edit] International affiliation
The club is also notable in that former Feyenoord midfielder Shinji Ono began his professional career playing for Urawa. Ono returned for the 2006 season for a second stint with the club. Urawa is affiliated with German club FC Bayern Munich, whose nickname is also "The Reds". [2] Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chairman of the FC Bayern Munich, announced that "We have been looking for clubs which have potential ability, management stability and cordial confidence. We could fulfill the desire to affiliate with this great club, Urawa Reds."[3] Some other foreign clubs, such as Club Atlético Independiente, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo,VfB Stuttgart, Manchester United F.C., Feyenoord and Hamburger SV, visited Japan and played friendly games at the Saitama Stadium.
In August 2004, Urawa appeared in a pre-season four-team friendly tournament, the Vodafone Cup, at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. The Japanese club, missing key players, lost their first game 5-2 against the Argentinian side Boca Juniors. The second fixture against the hosts, Manchester United, was called off due to a massive electric storm. Some 800 Urawa fans had travelled to the game and were later compensated.
[edit] Stadium
Since the establishment of J. League in 1992, the team had used tracked Urawa Komaba Stadium as its home stadium. Due to the increasing popularity of the matches, Saitama City, owner of the stadium, expanded the seat capacity some times. The team used Ōmiya Park Soccer Stadium until the works were complete. In spite of the poor performance of the team, the stadium was filled with faithful supporters, drew an average audience of twenty thousand people.
In October 2001, Saitama Prefecture built new soccer-specific Saitama Stadium in Saitama city. This stadium was used as a venue for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After the World Cup the club has gradually increased holding its home games in Saitama Stadium and in 2003 the stadium was formally designated as the home stadium. In 2008, only two games were held at Komaba Stadium.
[edit] Facilities
Urawa Reds has used Ohara City Field for its training. In addition to this facility, the club opened the Redsland in 2005, which have three grass fields, one artificial turf field, one baseball field, futsal fields and tennis courts.[4] The Redsland is opened to the public and club members can use the facilities at relatively cheap fees.
[edit] Supporters
[edit] Women's and Amateur Teams
The club also has women's and amateur teams.
- Women's: Urawa Red Diamonds[5] - Ladies in L. League Division 1
- Amateur: Urawa Red Diamonds - Amateur in Saitama Prefecture League Div. 1
[edit] Competitions Record
[edit] Honors
[edit] Domestic Competitions
Mitsubishi (Amateur era)
- Japan Soccer League Division 1
- Champions (4) : 1969, 1973, 1978, 1982
- Japan Soccer League Division 2
- Champions (1) : 1989/90
- Emperor's Cup
- Winners (4) : 1971, 1973, 1978, 1980
- JSL Cup
- Winners (2) : 1978, 1981
Urawa Red Diamonds (Professional era)
- J. League Division 1
- J. League Division 2
- Runners-up (1) : 2000
- Emperor's Cup
- Winners (2) : 2005, 2006
- J. League Cup
- Winners (1) : 2003
- Runners-up (2) : 2002, 2004
- Super Cup
- Winners (1) : 2006
- Runners-up (1) : 2007
[edit] Continental
- AFC Champions League
- Winners (1) : 2007
[edit] International
- FIFA Club World Cup
- Third Place (1) : 2007
[edit] Individual Awards
See Individual Award Winners (Urawa Red Diamonds)
[edit] Players
[edit] Current Squad
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[edit] Out on loan
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[edit] Notable Players
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[edit] Managers
| Manager | Nat. | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Takaji Mori |  Japan |
1993 |
| Kenzo Yokoyama | Japan |
1994 |
| Holger Osieck |  Germany |
1995-1996 |
| Horst Köppel | Germany |
1997 |
| Hiromi Hara | Japan |
1998–1999 |
| Aad de Mos |  Netherlands |
1999 |
| Yasushi Yoshida | Japan |
1999 |
| Kazuo Saito | Japan |
2000 |
| Kenzo Yokoyama | Japan |
2000 |
| Tita |  Brazil |
2001 |
| Pita | Brazil |
2001 |
| Hans Ooft | Netherlands |
2002-2003 |
| Guido Buchwald | Germany |
2004-2006 |
| Holger Osieck | Germany |
2007-2008 |
| Gert Engels | Germany |
2008 |
| Volker Finke | Germany |
2009- |
[edit] League history
Mitsubishi (Amateur era)
- Division 1 (JSL and JSL Div.1) : 1965/66 - 1988/89
- Division 2 (JSL Div.2) : 1989/90
- Division 1 (JSL Div.1) : 1990/91 - 1991/92
Urawa Red Diamonds (Professional era)
- Division 1 (J. League) : 1993 - 1999
- Division 2 (J. League Div.2) : 2000
- Division 1 (J. League Div.1) : 2001 - present
[edit] References
- ^ 浦和レッズ年表, Urawa Red Diamonds
- ^ partner Urawa seal domestic double, FC Bayern
- ^ 06.01.18 FCバイエルン・ミュンヘン(ドイツ)とのパートナーシップ締結について, Urawa Red Diamonds
- ^ レッズランド | 浦和レッズ, Urawa Red Diamonds
- ^ URAWA REDS LADIES, Urawa Red Diamonds
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Urawa Red Diamonds |
- (English) Urawa Red Diamonds Official Site
- (Japanese) Urawa Red Diamonds Official Site
- (Japanese) Urawa Red Diamonds Supporters Media Site (unofficial)
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Japan national baseball team |
Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize Winner 2007 |
Succeeded by Ryo Ishikawa |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors  |
Champions of Asia 2007 |
Succeeded by Gamba Osaka |
