Kashiwa Reysol

is a J. League Division 1 team. Its home town is Kashiwa, Chiba, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.

History

Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Koganei, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League. It had some success during the mid-1970s, winning several Emperor's Cup and JSL titles and contributing several players to the Japanese national team.

In 1986, the team relocated from Koganei to Kashiwa, but it took a while to adapt to the new town, as they were relegated to the JSL Division 2 at the season's closing. They made it back to the top flight in 1989, only to drop back in 1990 and return in 1991. As the J. League advent had come too soon for them, Hitachi chose to relegate itself in the last JSL season.

The team joined the Japan Football League in 1992 and added Careca of the Brazil national football team with the aim of winning the JFL champion for promotion to the J1 league in 1993. Kashiwa reysol were struggling, however with the help of Hisao Ariga, Careca and Ze Sergio Kashiwa Reysol were a great force. The quest was unsuccessful and the team barely managed to come in at the fifth spot. In 1994 the team secured the second spot in the JFL and earned the promotion to the top league. From 1995, it was in the J1 and in 1998, the team welcomed the former manager for Japan's Olympic team, Akira Nishino as its manager. In 1999, it won its first title, the Nabisco Cup championship. The 1999 and 2000 seasons marked the highpoint in the...
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