Mito HollyHock

Mito Hollyhock
水戸ホーリーホック
Full name Football Club Mito HollyHock Ibaraki
Nickname(s) HollyHock, FC Mito
Founded 1990, 1994
Ground K's denki Stadium Mito
Mito, Ibaraki
Capacity 12,000
Chairman Kunio Numata
Manager Takayuki Nishigaya
League J2 League
2017 J2 League, 14th
Website Club website

Mito HollyHock (水戸ホーリーホック, Mito Hōrīhokku) is a Japanese professional football (soccer) club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team's hometown is located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Its nickname "HollyHock" derives from the family crest of the Tokugawa clan who governed from Mito in the Edo period.

History

The club was founded in 1990 as Prima Aseno FC by the factory workers of Prima Ham (a food company) in Tsuchiura. It changed its name to Prima Ham FC Tsuchiura and gained promotion to the Japan Football League after finishing as runner-up in the 1996 Regional League play-off. It merged with FC Mito (founded in 1994) and re-branded itself as Mito HollyHock before the start of the 1997 season when Prima Ham decided to discontinue its financial support to the club.

Mito's application to play in the inaugural 1999 season of J. League Division 2 was initially turned down due to an unstable financial and fan base. However, after finishing 3rd in the Japan Football League in 1999 and gaining support, the club was invited into the J. League in 2000.

As of 2016, Mito HollyHock fields teams in women's football[1] in Kanto league division 2, and ice hockey[2] in the Ibaraki prefecture league.

Strategy

Being a traditionally weak club in the league, Mito has tended to play a defensive game and has proven successful at it. This stinginess at the back is often referred to as "Mito-nachio" after the Catenaccio playing style, which is also a pun on the hometown's local specialty, Mito natto.

Recently, though, the team has been attempting implementation of stronger offensive tactics in an attempt to gain momentum for a promotion bid.

Current squad

As of 30 January 2018.[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Koji Homma
2 Japan DF Taiki Tamukai
3 Japan DF Takuma Hamasaki
4 Japan DF Boniface
5 Japan DF Makito Ito
6 Brazil DF Diego
7 Japan MF Keisuke Funatani (captain)
8 Japan MF Hiroyuki Mae
9 Brazil FW Jefferson Baiano
10 Japan MF Yuji Kimura
13 Japan MF Keita Tanaka
14 Japan MF Sho Sato
15 Japan FW Takuya Miyamoto
17 Japan DF Daisuke Tomita
18 Japan MF Eiji Shirai
19 Japan MF Yuichi Hirano
No. Position Player
21 Japan GK Kei Koizumi
22 Japan MF Yosuke Nakagawa
23 Japan MF Ryo Toyama
24 Japan DF Junya Hosokawa
26 Japan MF Masato Kojima
31 Japan GK Ryo Hasegawa
32 Japan MF Atsushi Kurokawa
33 Japan DF Ryoji Fukui
35 Japan DF Shoki Ohara
39 Japan MF Ryuya Motoda
40 Japan FW Takeru Kishimoto
44 Japan DF Yuto Nagasaka
46 Japan MF Ryotaro Ito
49 Japan FW Keita Saito
50 Japan GK Kenya Matsui

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Japan GK Ryo Ishii (on loan to Japan Fukushima United FC)
Japan DF Junya Imase (on loan to Japan Kataller Toyama)
Japan DF Takaaki Kinoshita (on loan to Japan Fujieda MYFC)

Record as J. League member

Season Div. Tms. Pos. Attendance/G J. League Cup Emperor's Cup
2000 J2 10 9 2,021 1st Round 3rd Round
2001 J2 12 11 1,559 1st Round 3rd Round
2002 J2 12 10 2,739 – 3rd Round
2003 J2 12 7 3,085 – 3rd Round
2004 J2 12 9 3,773 – 4th Round
2005 J2 12 10 3,334 – 4th Round
2006 J2 13 10 3,017 – 3rd Round
2007 J2 13 12 2,415 – 4th Round
2008 J2 15 11 3,044 – 4th Round
2009 J2 18 8 2,673 – 2nd Round
2010 J2 19 16 3,608 – 3rd Round
2011 J2 20 17 3,349 – 4th Round
2012 J2 22 13 3,973 – 3rd Round
2013 J2 22 15 4,630 – 3rd Round
2014 J2 22 15 4,734 – 3rd Round
2015 J2 22 19 4,816 – 4th Round
2016 J2 22 13 5,365 – 2nd Round
2017 J2 22 14 4,931 – 2nd Round
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Images (from the former home stadium)

References

  1. ↑ http://www.eiko-fc.jp/
  2. ↑ http://ameblo.jp/hollyhockice/
  3. ↑ "選手・スタッフ". Mito HollyHock. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
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