INAC Kobe Leonessa

INAC Kobe Leonessa
INAC神戸レオネッサ

Full name	International Athletic Club Kobe Leonessa
Nickname(s)	INAC
Founded	2001
Ground	Noevir Stadium Kobe
Ground Capacity	30,132
Manager	Takashi Norimatsu
League	Nadeshiko Div.1 / Div.1
2016	2rd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

INAC Kobe Leonessa is a Japanese football club from Kobe, founded in 2001.^[1] INAC stands for International Athletic Club while Leonessa means Lioness in Italian.

In 2006 INAC Leonessa was promoted to the Nadeshiko.League, where it has played since. The 2008 season marked a great leap for the team as it was the runner-up both in the Nadeshiko.League and the All Japan Women's Football Championship. 2010 saw INAC lift its first title as they beat Urawa Red Diamonds in the final of the All Japan Women's Football Championship through a penalty shootout, and in 2011, coinciding with the club's 10th anniversary, the team won the double Nadeshiko.League – All Japan Women's Football Championship.^[2]

Leonessa's 2011 squad included seven champions of the 2011 World Cup: Ayumi Kaihori, Yukari Kinga, Nahomi Kawasumi, Shinobu Ohno, Homare Sawa, Megumi Takase and Asuna Tanaka.

Squad

Current squad

As of 14 Feb. 2015^[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 GK Ayumi Kaihori 2 DF Yukari Kinga 3 MF Aya Sameshima 4 MF Asuna Tanaka 5 DF Junko Kai 6 MF Chiaki Minamiyama 7 MF Emi Nakajima 8 MF Homare Sawa 9 FW Nahomi Kawasumi 10 FW Shinobu Ohno (c) 11 FW Megumi Takase 13 MF Ayu Nakada 14 FW Mai Kyōkawa 15 DF Natsumi Saito

No. Position Player 16 FW Jang Selgi 17 DF Shiori Miyake 18 MF Hina Sugita 19 FW Ayaka Michigami 20 MF Kanako Ito 21 DF Miyabi Moriya 22 MF Miki Ito 23 FW Rina Hirano 24 DF Misaki Takemura 25 MF Ayaka Noguchi 26 DF Miki Hirata 27 FW Rika Masuya 28 GK Anna Shibusawa

Honours

Domestic Competitions

• Nadeshiko.League Division 1
  • Champions (3) : 2011, 2012, 2013
  • Runners-up (2) : 2008, 2016
• Empress's Cup All-Japan Women's Football Tournament
  • Champions (5) : 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
  • Runners-up (1) : 2008
• Nadeshiko League Cup
  • Champions (1) : 2013
  • Runners-up (1) : 2012

International Competitions

• Japan/Korea Women's League Championship
  • Champions (1) : 2012
• International Women's Club Championship
  • Champions (1) : 2013
  • Runners-up (1) : 2012

Results

Transition of team name

• INAC Leonessa : 2001 – 2008
• INAC Kobe Leonessa : 2009 – Present

References

External links

• (Japanese) INAC Kobe Leonessa official site
• (English) Japanese Club Teams