Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (北海道コンサドーレ札幌, Hokkaidō Konsadōre Sapporo)[2] is a Japanese professional football club based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. They currently play in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country.

Quick Facts Full name, Nickname(s) ...
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
北海道コンサドーレ札幌
logo
Full nameHokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Nickname(s)Consa
Founded1935; 89 years ago (1935) as Toshiba Horikawa-cho SC
StadiumDaiwa House Premist Dome, Sapporo
Capacity41,484
OwnerIsao Ishimizu (11.4%)
Ishiya (9.5%)[1]
ChairmanYoshikazu Nonomura
Head coachMihailo Petrović
LeagueJ1 League
2023J1 League, 12th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season
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Unlike other teams, their main home ground at Daiwa House Premist Dome is also used by a baseball team. In their case, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Then, some home games are moved to Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium.

Name origin

The club's name "Consadole" is a combination of consado, a reverse of the Japanese word Dōsanko (道産子, meaning "people of Hokkaido") and the Spanish expression Olé.

History

Toshiba S.C. (1935–1995)

Consadole's club tradition dates back to 1935 when Toshiba Horikawa-cho Soccer Club was founded in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. They were promoted to the now-defunct Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1978.[3] They adopted new name Toshiba Soccer Club in 1980 and were promoted to the JSL Division 1 in 1989.[3] Their highest placement, 4th in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. Relegating themselves as they were not ready for J.League implementation, they joined the newly formed Japan Football League in 1992 and played the last season as Toshiba S.C. in 1995.[3]

They sought to be a professional club, but the owner Toshiba did not regard Kawasaki as an ideal hometown. This was because Verdy Kawasaki, one of the most prominent clubs at that time, was also based in the city, which Toshiba apparently believed was not big enough to accommodate two clubs. (Verdy has since crossed the Tama River to be based in Chōfu City in the west of Tokyo and has been renamed as Tokyo Verdy 1969; the only remaining professional club is Kawasaki Frontale, originally part of Fujitsu.)

They decided to move to Sapporo where the local government and community had been keen to provide a base for a professional soccer team as they awaited Daiwa House Premist Dome to be completed in 2001. The ownership was transferred from Toshiba to Hokkaido Football Club plc. before the start of the 1996 season.[3]

Toshiba does not have financial interest in the club any more but Consadole still boasts their forerunner's red and black colours on their uniform.[4] The colours were an idea from then-player Nobuhiro Ishizaki (who played when the team was still based in Kawasaki and later coached them in Sapporo) who was a fan of A.C. Milan. It also became the symbol of Toshiba's sports teams such as Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.

Consadole Sapporo (1996–2015)

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Daiwa House Premist Dome, Consa's home ground

Consadole Sapporo inherited the JFL status from Toshiba S.C.. Their debut season in 1996 was not overly successful as they finished 5th and missed promotion. However, they won the JFL championship in 1997 and were promoted to J.League.[3]

In 1998, their first J.League season saw them finish 14th out of 18 but this did not guarantee them staying up. From the 1999 season, the J.League had 2 divisions and the play-offs involving five teams (four J.League sides and the champions of the JFL) were to be played. In order to decide who were involved in the play-offs, not only the results of the 1998 season but also those of the 1997 were taken account of. Consadole, who did not play in the previous season, was placed 14th in the aggregate standing and despite finishing above Gamba Osaka (who had finished fourth in 1997), was forced to face the play-offs. They lost all four games, two against Vissel Kobe, and another two against Avispa Fukuoka, and became the first-ever J.League side that experienced relegation.[5]

In 1999, Takeshi Okada, the former Japan national team coach, was appointed as head coach in an effort to make an immediate comeback to J1, but this attempt failed as they finished 5th. Their heavy investment on players counted against them and, at this point, the debt owed by the club exceeded three billion yen (US$33 million). The bankruptcy looked a near-certainty.

In 2000, they cut costs dramatically. As a result, the team often included as many as eight on-loan players in the starting line-up. However, this strategy paid off and the club won the J2 championship as well as promotion to J1. The club posted a single-year profit for the first time in their history this year.

In 2001, they finished 11th in J1. However, at the end of the season, the club failed to persuade Okada to renew the contract and several leading players also left the club. In 2002, they finished bottom and were relegated to J2 for a second time.[5]

In 2003, they again tried to return to the top-flight immediately by investing heavily but the team didn't perform well on the pitch. They finished ninth and their debt again crossed the 3-billion-yen mark.

The deficit-ridden club realized they needed a drastic restructuring and released highly paid leading players including mainstay Yasuyuki Konno. The rejuvenated but inexperienced team finished bottom of J2 in 2004. The bright side was their improved financial situation where the debt was sharply reduced to less than 100 million yen.

In 2005 and 2006, they finished sixth. In 2006 they also reached the semi-finals of the Emperor's Cup, 15 years after reaching the semi-finals in Kawasaki–the furthest they've reached in the Cup. In 2007 they finally earned promotion as champions and play in J1 in the 2008 season.[5]

A loss on October 19, 2008, confirmed Sapporo's relegation to J2 for the 2009 season, overtaking Kyoto Sanga as the league's most relegated side. Having won the Japanese second-tier championship a record five times (including two JSL Second Divisions as Toshiba, and one former JFL title), they were promoted to Division One after finishing third in 2011. However, a torrid 2012 season ended with Consadole holding the highest goals conceded per game ratio, the worst points per game ratio and the highest loss percentage in J.League history as they were relegated after just 27 matches played, making the 2012 team one of the worst to have ever featured in the top division.[6] From the 2016 season, the club has adopted the new name as "Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo".[7]

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (2016–present)

In 2016, the club changed its name to Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. After four years spent at the J2, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo returned to the J1 ahead of the 2017 season, having been promoted as 2016 J2 League champions.

On 9 February 2018, the team won the inaugural Pacific Rim Cup tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 1–0.[8] 2018 was the season they reached their highest placing in the J.League era and in Sapporo – 4th, 27 years after achieving the same place in Kawasaki.

In January 2022, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo's Thai player Chanathip Songkrasin who was part of the 2018 J.League Best XI joined Kawasaki Frontale with a transfer fee of around $3.8 million, breaking the J.League record for the highest domestic transfer.[9]

In the year 2024, the club is marking its eighth consecutive season in the J1 League.

In the Captain Tsubasa manga series, two characters were from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, midfielder Hikaru Matsuyama (himself a Hokkaido native) and forward Kazumasa Oda. In 2017, Matsuyama became an Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo player, given a squad number, 36, and is also an official ambassador of the team from Hokkaido.

Mascot

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo's mascot is Dole Kun, an anthropomorphic Shima Fukurou (or Blakiston's fish owl). The owl was chosen as not only was it on Consa's crest, but also because it is the largest owl in Japan, and it also lives in Hokkaido. He also enjoys having hot baths sometimes. He also is friends with Frep the Fox and Polly Polaris, the mascots of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, which can be attributed because the Fighters and Consa share the same stadium.

Current players

As of 27 August 2024.[10]

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

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Out on loan

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

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  • Past (and present) players who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles can be found here

Coaching staff

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PositionStaff
Head coachSerbia Mihailo Petrović
Assistant coachesJapan Masaru Okita
Japan Daisuke Sugiura
Japan Makoto Sunakawa
Japan Hiromu Watahiki
Goalkeeping coachJapan Yasuyuki Akaike
Japan Takahiro Takagi
Physical coachJapan Shunsuke Otsuka
PhysiotherapistBrazil Celso Ricardo de Souza
Athletic trainerJapan Seiichi Iwasa
Public relations officerJapan Takuya Ito
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Record as J.League member

Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
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LeagueJ.League CupEmperor's Cup
SeasonDiv.TeamsPos.Attendance/G
1998 J11814th11,953Group stage4th round
1999 J2105th10,9861st round3rd round
2000 111st12,9101st round4th round
2001 J11611th22,228Group stage3rd round
2002 1616th19,140Group stage3rd round
2003 J2129th10,7663rd round
2004 1212th9,466Quarter-finals
2005 126th11,1333rd round
2006 136th10,478Semi-finals
2007 131st12,1123rd round
2008 J11818th14,547Group stage4th round
2009 J2186th10,2073rd round
2010 1913th10,7383rd round
2011 203rd10,4822nd round
2012 J11818th12,008Group stage2nd round
2013 J2228th10,075Quarter-finals
2014 2210th11,0603rd round
2015 2210th11,9603rd round
2016 221st14,5592nd round
2017 J11811th18,418Play-off stage2nd round
2018 184th17,222Group stage4th round
2019 1810th18,768Runners-up2nd round
2020 1812th4,303Did not qualify
2021 2010th6,816Quarter-finals3rd round
2022 1810th12,215Play-off stage3rd round
2023 1812th14,254Quarter-finalsRound of 16
2024 20TBD
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Key
  • Pos.. = Position in league
  • Attendance/G= Average home league attendance
  • 2020, 2021 seasons attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
  • Source: J. League Data Site

Honours

More information Honour, No. ...
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo honours
HonourNo.Years
All Japan Senior Football Championship 1 1977
Japan Soccer League (Second tier) 1 1979, 1988–89,
JSL Cup 1 1981 (shared with Mitsubishi Motors)
Japan Football League 1 1997
J2 League 3 2000, 2007, 2016
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Managerial history

More information Manager, Nationality ...
ManagerNationalityTenure
StartFinish
Tadao Onishi Japan1 February 198131 January 1986
Takeo Takahashi Japan1 February 19871 February 1997
Hugo Fernández URU1 February 199718 October 1998
Hajime Ishii Japan19 October 199831 January 1999
Takeshi Okada Japan1 February 199931 January 2002
Tetsuji Hashiratani Japan1 February 200231 May 2002
Radmilo Ivančević Serbia1 June 200216 September 2002
Chang Woe-ryong South Korea16 September 200231 January 2003
João Carlos Brazil1 February 20034 August 2003
Chang Woe-ryong South Korea5 August 200331 January 2004
Masaaki Yanagishita Japan1 February 200431 January 2007
Toshiya Miura Japan1 February 200731 January 2009
Nobuhiro Ishizaki Japan1 February 200931 January 2013
Keiichi Zaizen Japan1 February 201327 August 2014
Yoshihiro Natsuka Japan28 August 20146 September 2014
Ivica Barbarić Bosnia and Herzegovina7 September 201424 July 2015
Shuhei Yomoda Japan24 July 201531 January 2018
Mihailo Petrović Serbia1 February 2018Current
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Kit evolution

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Affiliated clubs

References

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