FC Machida Zelvia

Football Club Machida Zelvia (FC町田ゼルビア, Efu Shi Machida Zerubia) is a Japanese football club based in Machida, Tokyo.

Old FC Machida crest, used till 2008

Machida Zelvia
FC町田ゼルビア
Full nameFootball Club Machida Zelvia
Nickname(s)Zelvia
Founded1989 (1989)
GroundMachida Municipal Athletic Stadium
Machida, Tokyo
Capacity10,622
OwnerCyberAgent
ManagerRanko Popović
LeagueJ2 League
201918th
WebsiteClub website

History

Machida is known as "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; it has, in fact, produced the second-largest number of J. League players though its football school. Originally formed in 1977 by Machida's football federation, this school is well known for its development of young talent into professional players. In 1989, in order to retain that talent in Machida, F.C. Machida established its own top team, which, at that time, played in the Tokyo Prefecture League.

In 2003 they became a polideportivo under the name Athletic Club Machida, and in 2005 were promoted to the Kanto League, having won the Tokyo Prefectural League (First Division). They came first in the Kanto league (Second Division) the following year, and were promoted to First Division, where they stayed until promotion to Japan Football League as champions of the Regional Promotion Playoff Series in 2008.

In 2009, they adopted the current nickname Zelvia, a portmanteau of the Portuguese words zelkova (Machida city's official tree) and salvia (a grassy plant commonly used in football pitches).

The same year, the club declared its intent to be promoted to J. League's 2nd division, and its status of semi-affiliatiate was officially approved by the J. League. However, its home stadium capacity and light specifications did not meet the J. League's requirements, average attendance did not reach 3,000, and the team's final result of 6th place did not allow for Zelvia's promotion to the J.League.

In 2010, Machida Zelvia appointed Naoki Soma, a former star player who played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as its new head coach. The stadium's lighting was renewed, and club added several J. League players to its roster. Zelvia also announced its partnership with Major League Soccer's D.C. United, which became the first historic partnership between a Japanese and American football club.[1] The reborn team beat Tokyo Verdy, its archrival from the J. League, in the Emperor's Cup, but was knocked out by Albirex Niigata in the third round. Soma left at the end of the season and was replaced by Ranko Popović, former coach of Oita Trinita.

The stadium's capacity and conditions were still short of fulfilling J. League criteria, so the club completed another renovation between the end of the 2010 and start of the 2011 seasons. Machida Zelvia finished the 2011 season in third place after beating Kamatamare Sanuki in the final match of that season, thereby granting them promotion to J-League (Second Division),[2] but were relegated after a bottom-placed finish. They became one of the original J3 clubs after finishing at 4th place in the 2014 JFL season and returned to J2 as 2015 runners-up by beating Oita Trinita in the promotion/relegation playoff.

Stadium

Machida Zelvia currently plays at Machida Municipal Athletic Stadium (Nozuta Stadium). Capacity until 2011 was 6,200, including grassy areas, and has had lighting for night games since 2009. Between the 2010 and 2011 seasons the stadium was upgraded and is now all-seated. Although the minimum seating requirement for J2 is 10,000, Nozuta still falls short of that number. However, under an agreement made with J-League officials, home games where a large attendance is expected will be played at other stadia leased specifically for the purpose, and future upgrades to Nozuta will be made in order to meet the 10,000 capacity requirement.

Kit history

Home, away, and third kits.

  • Home
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
  • Away
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018

Colour, sponsors and manufacturers

Season(s)Main Shirt SponsorCollarbone SponsorAdditional Sponsor(s)Kit Manufacturer
2019AbemaTV-EAGLE KENSO (Right)odakyuTERADA
株式会社寺田電機製作所
Tamagawa University-svlome
2020AbemaTVAQUA RESORT (Left)25th Anniversary[lower-alpha 1] (Right)odakyuTERADA
株式会社寺田電機製作所
Tamagawa University-svlome

Current squad

As of 28 June 2020.[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  JPN Yota Akimoto
2 DF  JPN Masayuki Okuyama
3 DF  JPN Naoki Otani
4 DF  JPN Hiroki Mizumoto
5 DF  JPN Kota Fukatsu
6 MF  PRK Ri Han-jae
7 FW  SRB Alen Mašović
8 MF  KOR Jeong Chung-geun
9 FW  SRB Stefan Šćepović
10 MF  JPN Taiki Hirato
13 FW  JPN Yuki Okada
14 MF  JPN Kaina Yoshio
15 MF  JPN Yudai Inoue
16 FW  JPN Mizuki Ando
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF  JPN Koki Shimosaka
18 MF  JPN Reo Takae
19 MF  JPN Shuta Doi
20 FW  MKD Dorian Babunski
22 DF  JPN Itsuki Oda
23 DF  JPN Ryusuke Sakai
24 DF  JPN Yoshitaka Aoki
25 MF  JPN Kaishu Sano
27 FW  JPN Misaki Haruyama
28 FW  JPN Ryujoseph Hashimura
29 MF  JPN Kota Morimura
30 FW  JPN Yuki Nakashima
31 GK  JPN Riku Hirosue
42 GK  JPN Koki Fukui

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  JPN Kenta Watanabe (at Fukushima United)
DF  KOR Jung Han-chol (at YSCC Yokohama)

Technical staff

As of June 2020
Position Name
Manager Ranko Popovic
Head Coach Vladica Grujic
Assistant Coach Atsushi Yoneyama
Goalkeeping Coach Jiro Takeda

Managers

Record

Season Div. Tms. Pos. Attendance/G Emperor's Cup
2009 JFL 18 6 1,886
2010 JFL 18 3 3,503 3rd Round
2011 JFL 18 3 3,515 2nd Round
2012 J2 22 22 3,627 4th Round
2013 JFL 18 4 3,174
2014 J3 12 3 3,134
2015 J3 13 2 3,766 4th Round
2016 J2 22 7 5,123 1st Round
2017 J2 22 16 4,056 2nd Round
2018 J2 22 4 4,915 3rd Round
2019 J2 22 18 4,718 2nd Round
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G = Average league attendance
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Notes

  1. EAGLE KENSO

References

  1. "D.C. United to partner with FC Machida Zelvia". Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  2. McKirdy, Andrew, "Ardiles ready to face new challenge", Japan Times, 6 March 2012, p. 18.
  3. "2020シーズン". FC Machida Zelvia. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. Interview Minoru Moriya Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Tokyo Football Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-12-17.
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