History
Founded in 1988 as Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club, Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after playing a few years in the JFL, with the nickname Brummell Sendai, to which they had been promoted in 1995 from the Tohoku Regional League. When joining the J-League, the name Vegalta was chosen as a homage to the famous Tanabata festival in Sendai. The names of the two celestial stars of the Tanabata legend, Vega and Altair were combined to form Vegalta.
They were first promoted to the top flight in 2002, but went back down the following season. They were promoted again for the 2010 season.
In 2011, despite the earthquake and tsunami, they achieved their highest position up to that time, 4th place in the top division. In 2012, despite leading the table for most of the season, Sanfrecce Hiroshima's challenge proved too strong, and losing the penultimate week game to relegation battler Albirex Niigata cost them the title, rendering them second-place winners, their highest position in history.
Current players
As of 14 October 2018.[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managers
Manager | Nat. | Tenure |
Takekazu Suzuki | Japan | 1995 |
Choei Sato | Japan | 1996 |
Branko Elsner | Slovenia | Feb 1, 1997 – Dec 31, 1997 |
Miloš Rus | Slovenia | 1997 |
Toshiya Miura | Japan | Feb 1, 1997 – Dec 31, 1997 |
Takekazu Suzuki | Japan | 1998–99 |
Hidehiko Shimizu | Japan | 1999–03 |
Hajime Ishii | Japan | 2003 |
Zdenko Verdenik | Slovenia | Sept 21, 2003 – Dec 31, 2004 |
Satoshi Tsunami | Japan | Jan 1, 2005 – Dec 31, 2005 |
Joel Santana | Brazil | Dec 1, 2005 – Dec 31, 2006 |
Tatsuya Mochizuki | Japan | Jan 1, 2007 – Dec 31, 2007 |
Makoto Teguramori | Japan | Feb 1, 2008 – Nov 14, 2013 |
Graham Arnold | Australia | Nov 14, 2013 – April 9, 2014 |
Susumu Watanabe | Japan | April 10, 2014– |
Record
Season |
League |
Standing |
Points |
Wins |
Losses |
Ties |
Attendance |
1995 |
JFL |
15/16 |
27 |
9 |
21 |
0 |
1996 |
JFL |
6/16 |
56 |
18 |
12 |
0 |
1997 |
JFL |
8/16 |
40 |
15 |
15 |
0 |
1998 |
JFL |
7(16) |
43 |
18 |
12 |
0 |
1999 |
J2 |
9(10) |
31 |
10 |
22 |
4 |
134,462 |
2000 |
J2 |
5(11) |
55 |
19 |
19 |
2 |
177,967 |
2001 |
J2 |
2(12) |
83 |
27 |
12 |
5 |
308,243 |
2002 |
J1 (1° stage) |
9(16) |
20 |
7 |
8 |
0 |
J1 (2° stage) |
15(16) |
12 |
4 |
10 |
1 |
J1 (season) |
13(16) |
32 |
11 |
18 |
1 |
327,925 |
2003 |
J1 (1° stage) |
15(16) |
12 |
3 |
9 |
3 |
J1 (2° stage) |
15(16) |
12 |
2 |
6 |
7 |
J1 (season) |
15(16) |
24 |
5 |
15 |
10 |
325,621 |
2004 |
J2 |
6(12) |
59 |
15 |
15 |
14 |
356,359 |
2005 |
J2 |
4(12) |
68 |
19 |
14 |
11 |
350,544 |
2006 |
J2 |
5(13) |
77 |
21 |
13 |
14 |
346,868 |
2007 |
J2 |
4(13) |
83 |
24 |
11 |
13 |
352,432 |
2008 |
J2 |
3(15) |
70 |
18 |
16 |
8 |
295,679 |
2009 |
J2 |
1(18) |
106 |
32 |
9 |
10 |
336,719 |
2010 |
J1 |
14(18) |
39 |
10 |
9 |
15 |
294,644 |
2011 |
J1 |
4/18 |
56 |
14 |
6 |
14 |
266,144 |
2012 |
J1 |
2/18 |
57 |
15 |
7 |
12 |
282,200 |
2013 |
J1 |
13/18 |
45 |
11 |
12 |
11 |
252,725 |
2014 |
J1 |
14/18 |
38 |
9 |
11 |
14 |
257,949 |
2015 |
J1 |
14/18 |
35 |
9 |
8 |
17 |
234,442 |
2016 |
J1 |
12/18 |
43 |
13 |
4 |
17 |
262,937 |
2017 |
J1 |
12/18 |
41 |
11 |
8 |
15 |
250,677 |
Finances
Despite leading J2 in attendance for the past three years, the club has struggled financially since being relegated from J1. In 2005, the team ran a deficit of 163 million yen, the only year since joining the J. League that they failed to turn a profit.[2] Up until the closing date of the 2006 season (January 31, 2007), the team was projecting a 150 million yen deficit.[3] However, the transfer fee for Borges was enough to drive them into the black for the season. The total profit in 2006 was 27 million yen.[4]
Season |
Income |
Expenses |
1999 |
599 |
578 |
2000 |
763 |
751 |
2001 |
1021 |
998 |
2002 |
2152 |
1950 |
2003 |
2348 |
2211 |
2004 |
2110 |
2103 |
2005 |
1787 |
1950 |
2006 |
TBD |
TBD |
in million yen |
Asian clubs ranking
- As of 14 October 2018.[5]