V-Varen Nagasaki
| Full name | V-Varen Nagasaki | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | VVN | ||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Stadium | Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank, Nagasaki, Nagasaki | ||
| Capacity | 20,000 | ||
| Owner | Japanet Holdings | ||
| Chairman | Hideki Iwashita | ||
| Manager | Takuya Takagi | ||
| League | J2 League | ||
| 2024 | J2 League, 3rd of 20 | ||
| Website | v-varen | ||
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V-Varen Nagasaki (V・ファーレン長崎, Bi Fāren Nagasaki) is a Japanese football club based in Nagasaki, Capital of Nagasaki Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier professional in football league.
History
The club was established in 1985 as Ariake SC until the club decided to merge with Kunimi FC in 2004. The merger led the club to adopt the new name V-Varen Nagasaki in 2005, which has been used ever since.
V-Varen Nagasaki, since 2006, had been contending for the Kyūshū Soccer League championship and thus a place in the Japan Football League, but they only won it in November 2008, as second place in the Regional League promotion series.
In January 2009, they applied for J. League Associate Membership and their application was accepted at the J. League board meeting in February. In 2012, they won the Japan Football League title and thus promotion to the J. League Division 2.[1] Five years later they won promotion to the J1 League for the first time after finishing runners-up in the 2017 season.
J. League: 2013 –
In preparation for the club's first season in the J. League Division 2 the club hired local-born Takuya Takagi as their coach for the season.[1] On 3 March 2013 V-Varen Nagasaki played in their first ever J. League Division 2 match against Fagiano Okayama at the Kanko Stadium in Okayama in which the club drew the match 1–1 with Kōichi Satō scoring the first J. League Division 2 goal for V-Varen Nagasaki in the 25th minute. The club then played their first home match in the J. League Division 2 on 10 March 2013 at the Nagasaki Athletic Stadium against former J. League champions Gamba Osaka in which V-Varen Nagasaki lost 3–1 in front of a huge crowd of 18,153.
The club gained promotion into the J. League Division 2 in 2012 for the first time in their history after finishing as the champions in the 2012 Japan Football League and hired Nagasaki native Takuya Takagi to coach the club for the 2013 season.[1]
On 11 November 2017, the club clinched promotion to the J1 League for the first time in their history after a 3–1 home win over Kamatamare Sanuki.[2]
Financial troubles
After facing dire financial difficulties, on 8 March 2017 the club was purchased by Japanet Holdings, the parent company of Japanese television shopping giant Japanet Takata Co., Ltd., becoming a fully owned subsidiary. Japanet have invested significant sums into the club, securing promotion to the top tier of Japanese football and publishing plans to build a new football-specific stadium on the former site of Mitsubishi's Nagasaki shipbuilding operations, opening in 2023.[3]
Club name
The "V" in the club's name comes from the Portuguese word vitória (meaning 'victory') as well as the Dutch word vrede (meaning 'peace'), while varen is the Dutch verb meaning 'to sail', relating to Nagasaki's heritage as port of call of Portuguese and Dutch traders during the Sakoku period in the Tokugawa shogunate (see Dejima).[4]
V-Varen Nagasaki unveiled a new club logo ahead of the 2025 season.
Stadium
Their stadium, the Peace Stadium Connected by SoftBank, started construction in downtown Nagasaki in June of 2022, and was completed in September 2024. The club played the first competitive match in the new stadium on October 6th, 2024. beating Oita Trinita 4-1. SoftBank signed a partnership[5] with V-Varen for 4 years.
V-Varen Nagasaki previously used the Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki as its home stadium until the end of September 2024.
League and cup record
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J League Cup |
Emperor's Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | ||
| 2008 | Kyushu | 18 | 2nd | 18 | 14 | 1 (1) | 2 | 76 | 10 | 66 | 46 | Not eligible | Did not qualify | |
| 2009 | JFL | 18 | 11th | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 38 | 43 | -5 | 44 | 2,763 | 2nd round | |
| 2010 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 38 | 12 | 53 | 2,525 | 2nd round | ||
| 2011 | 18 | 5th | 33 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 61 | 44 | 17 | 56 | 1,513 | 2nd round | ||
| 2012 | 17 | 1st | 34 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 57 | 24 | 33 | 67 | 3,656 | 2nd round | ||
| 2013 | J2 | 22 | 6th | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 66 | 6,167 | 2nd round | |
| 2014 | 22 | 14th | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 45 | 42 | 3 | 52 | 4,839 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2015 | 22 | 6th | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 42 | 33 | 9 | 60 | 4,931 | 2nd round | ||
| 2016 | 22 | 15th | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 47 | 5,225 | 2nd round | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 2nd | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 59 | 41 | 18 | 80 | 5,941 | 2nd round | ||
| 2018 | J1 | 18 | 18th | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 39 | 59 | -20 | 30 | 11,225 | Group stage | 3rd round |
| 2019 | J2 | 22 | 12th | 42 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 57 | 61 | -4 | 56 | 7,737 | Not eligible | Semi-final |
| 2020 † | 22 | 3rd | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 66 | 39 | 27 | 80 | 3,714 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021 † | 22 | 4th | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 69 | 44 | 25 | 78 | 4,956 | 4th round | ||
| 2022 | 22 | 11th | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 50 | 54 | -4 | 56 | 5,061 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2023 | 22 | 7th | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 70 | 56 | 14 | 65 | 7,300 | 2nd round | ||
| 2024 | 20 | 3rd | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 74 | 39 | 36 | 75 | 9,814 | Playoff round | Round of 16 | |
| 2025 | 20 | TBA | 38 | 2nd round | TBD | |||||||||
- Key
- Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
- Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
- Source: J.League Data Site
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2012 |
| Kyushu Soccer League | 1 | 2006 |
| Nagasaki Prefectural Football Championship Emperor's Cup Nagasaki Prefectural Qualifiers |
6 | 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
Current squad
- As of 7 July 2025.[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. 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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching staff
2025 Official club staff.[7]
Notice of Coach Yusuke Murakami's retirement.[8]
| Position | Staff name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Takuya Takagi |
| Head coach | Ryotaro Tanaka |
| Coaches | Akira Ito Naoyuki Saito |
| Goalkeeper coach | Takanori Miyoshi |
| Analytic coach | Yukimura Yoshizawa |
| Chief physical coach | Daiki Makino |
| Physical coach | Keita Kikuchi |
| Interpreter | Jefferson Youei Tonaki Tetsuya Ozawa |
| Chief trainer | Takeshi Mochizuki |
| Trainers | Akira Migitaka Yujiro Sakae Hiroaki Shibata |
| Chief manager | Takashi Yonetani |
| General manager | Toshiya Wada |
| Kit man | Keita Kusunoki |
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Fumiaki Iwamoto | Japan | 1 February 2005 | 31 January 2008 |
| Yoshinori Higashikawa | Japan | 1 February 2008 | 13 June 2009 |
| Takeshi Okubo | Japan | 4 June 2009 | 30 June 2009 |
| Fumiaki Iwamoto | Japan | 1 July 2009 | 31 January 2010 |
| Tōru Sano | Japan | 1 February 2010 | 31 January 2013 |
| Takuya Takagi | Japan | 1 February 2013 | 31 January 2019 |
| Makoto Teguramori | Japan | 1 February 2019 | 31 January 2021 |
| Takayuki Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2021 | 3 May 2021 |
| Kazuki Satō | Japan | 4 May 2021 | 6 May 2021 |
| Hiroshi Matsuda | Japan | 4 May 2021 | 12 June 2022 |
| Takeo Harada (caretaker) | Japan | 13 June 2022 | 30 June 2022 |
| Fábio Carille | Brazil | 1 July 2022 | 31 December 2023 |
| Takahiro Shimotaira | Japan | 1 February 2024 | 17 June 2025 [9] |
| Takuya Takagi | Japan | 22 June 2025 | present |
Kit evolution
| Home kits - 1st | ||||
2005 - 2006 |
2007 - 2008 |
2009 - 2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 - | ||
| Away kits - 2nd | ||||
2005 - 2006 |
2007 - 2008 |
2009 - 2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 - 2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 - | |||
| Alternative kits - 3rd | ||||
2015 Peace Memorial |
2016 Peace Memorial |
2017 Peace Memorial |
2018 Peace Memorial |
2019 Peace Memorial |
2021 Peace Memorial |
2022 Peace Memorial |
2023 Peace Memorial |
2024 Peace Prayer |
2024 Peace Stadium Opening Celebration |
References
- ^ a b c "Takagi named V-Varen Nagasaki coach". Japan Times. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "V-Varen Nagasaki promoted to J1 for first time". The Japan Times Online. 11 November 2017. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "New V-Varen Nagasaki Stadium to Open in 2023" (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "V・ファーレン マークについて". V-Varen Nagasaki (in Japanese). Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ "Japanet and SoftBank Collaborate on Nagasaki Stadium City Project". www.softbank.jp/. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "選手プロフィール". v-varen.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "Staff Profiles 2025". www.v-varen.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
- ^ "Notice of Coach Yusuke Murakami's retirement". www.v-varen.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
- ^ "Notice of Contract Cancellation of Coach Takahiro Shimodaira". www.v-varen.com/. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)