Tokushima Vortis
Template:Short description Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Script error: No such module "Nihongo". is a Japanese professional football club located in Tokushima, capital of Tokushima Prefecture. The club currently playing in the J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football league.
Name origin
The name, "Vortis" was named in 1997 (see below), and it was explained as a coinage of Italian "Vortice" (meaning whirlpool, after the famous Naruto whirlpool in Naruto Strait). The name was chosen to exhibit the dynamics of a whirlpool in the hope of swallowing up the whole audience in excitement by its power, speed and unity.[1]
History
Founded in 1955 as Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Soccer Club, VORTIS joined the J-League in 2005. They are still sponsored by Otsuka's best-known brand, Pocari Sweat sports drink.[1]
They were first promoted to the old Japan Soccer League Division 2 in 1989, but the company's reluctance to professionalize the team forced it to compete in the former JFL and current JFL. In the 1997 old JFL season, they first sported a Vortis Tokushima name, but the lack of fan interest at the time forced them to go back to the corporate identity. They finally adopted the Tokushima Vortis name for good after winning the new JFL championship in 2004 and being promoted.[2]
The first season in J2 was naturally a difficult one for Vortis, but they surprised many sceptics with their determination and quality of play. The team rose as high as fourth place, at one point, before slipping down the table later in the season to finish ninth. In 2006, the team was forced to rebuild, as the players who took the team into the J.League began to hit the ceiling of their abilities and made way for younger replacements. As a result, despite the encouragement of a local rivalry with Ehime FC, Tokushima drifted down-table, and they followed it up with a last-place finish in 2007 and 2008.[2]
In 2013, they earned fourth place in J2, matching the same placement they had two years before in the division and twenty years before in the old JFL Division 1; this time they won the playoff, defeating Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the final round at the National Stadium in Tokyo, thus becoming the first professional Shikoku football club to compete in the top division of their national league.[3]
Until their promotion, they were the only former JSL member currently a member of the J.League which has never competed in the top tier of Japanese football. With promotion and the creation of the J3 League in 2014, the distinction was taken over by Blaublitz Akita.
In the 2019 season, they finished 4th again and were one win away from a return to J1 in the playoffs, but ultimately failed to beat Shonan Bellmare away in the final game. In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, they did one better and were promoted as J2 champions.
Team name transition
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical (1955–1996, 1998–2004)
- Vortis Tokushima (1997)
- Tokushima Vortis FC (2005–present)
Stadium
Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima.
League & 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 | ||
| Otsuka Pharmaceuticals | ||||||||||||||
| 2003 | JFL | 16 | 1st | 30 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 65 | 21 | 44 | 72 | 781 | Not eligible | 3rd round |
| 2004 | 16 | 1st | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 74 | 20 | 54 | 78 | 3,046 | 2nd round | ||
| Tokushima Vortis | ||||||||||||||
| 2005 | J2 | 12 | 9th | 44 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 60 | 76 | -16 | 52 | 4,366 | Not eligible | 4th round |
| 2006 | 13 | 13th | 48 | 8 | 11 | 29 | 43 | 92 | -49 | 35 | 3,477 | 4th round | ||
| 2007 | 13 | 13th | 48 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 31 | 67 | -36 | 33 | 3,289 | 4th round | ||
| 2008 | 15 | 15th | 42 | 7 | 8 | 27 | 40 | 72 | -32 | 29 | 3,862 | 3rd round | ||
| 2009 | 18 | 9th | 51 | 19 | 15 | 17 | 67 | 52 | 15 | 72 | 4,073 | 2nd round | ||
| 2010 | 19 | 8th | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 51 | 47 | 4 | 51 | 4,614 | 3rd round | ||
| 2011 | 20 | 4th | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 51 | 38 | 13 | 65 | 5,207 | 2nd round | ||
| 2012 | 22 | 15th | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 49 | -4 | 51 | 3,991 | 3rd round | ||
| 2013 | 22 | 4th | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 56 | 51 | 5 | 67 | 4,348 | 2nd round | ||
| 2014 | J1 | 18 | 18th | 34 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 16 | 74 | -58 | 14 | 8,884 | Group stage | 3rd round |
| 2015 | J2 | 22 | 14th | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 53 | 5,019 | Not eligible | 4th round |
| 2016 | 22 | 9th | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 46 | 42 | 4 | 57 | 4,565 | 3rd round | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 7th | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 71 | 45 | 26 | 67 | 4,979 | 2nd round | ||
| 2018 | 22 | 11th | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 42 | 6 | 56 | 4,997 | 3rd round | ||
| 2019 | 22 | 4th | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 67 | 45 | 22 | 73 | 5,736 | 3rd round | ||
| 2020 † | 22 | 1st | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 67 | 33 | 34 | 84 | 3,100 | Semi-finalist | ||
| 2021 | J1 | 20 | 17th | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 34 | 55 | -21 | 36 | 5,664 | Group stage | 3rd round |
| 2022 | J2 | 22 | 8th | 42 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 48 | 35 | 13 | 62 | 4,224 | Group stage | 3rd round |
| 2023 | 22 | 15th | 42 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 43 | 53 | -10 | 49 | 5,976 | Not eligible | 3rd round | |
| 2024 | 20 | 8th | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 42 | 44 | -2 | 55 | 6,054 | 1st round | 3rd round | |
| 2025 | 20 | 4th | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 45 | 24 | 21 | 65 | 9,703 | 1st round | 3rd round | |
| 2026-27 | 20 | TBD | 38 | TBD | TBD | |||||||||
- Key
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shikoku Football League | 4 | 1978, 1979, 1981, 1989 | as Otsuka Pharmaceutical |
| Japan Football League | 2 | 2003, 2004 | as Otsuka Pharmaceutical |
| J2 League | 1 | 2020 |
Players
Current squad
- As of 15 August 2025.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[4]
<templatestyles src="Template:Football squad player/styles.css" /> Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
<templatestyles src="Template:Football squad player/styles.css" /> Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Club staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Template:Flagicon Kosaku Masuda |
| First-team coach | Template:Flagicon Masaya Yamaguchi Template:Flagicon Tsuyoshi Furukawa |
| Goalkeeper coach | Template:Flagicon Masahiko Nakagawa |
| Analyst | Template:Flagicon Akira Nakajima |
| Physical coach | Template:Flagicon Wellington |
| Rehabilitation fitness coach | Template:Flagicon Atsushi Nagatani |
| Chief trainer | Template:Flagicon Shoji Suzuki |
| Trainer | Template:Flagicon Hisaaki Maehara Template:Flagicon Masaya Furukawa Template:Flagicon Kenta Saito |
| Interpreter | Template:Flagicon Masahiro Fukasawa Template:Flagicon Masayuki Hatamoto Ferreira Template:Flagicon Hiroki Nunome |
| General manager | Template:Flagicon Yusuke Abe |
| Assistant general manager | Template:Flagicon Yuya Ishii Template:Flagicon Daiki Sugawara |
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Kunio Yamade | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1988 | 31 January 1993 |
| Hajime Ishii | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 1993 | 31 January 1996 |
| Edinho | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 1996 | 31 December 1998 |
| Shinji Tanaka | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 January 1999 | 28 September 2006 |
| Yutaka Azuma | Script error: No such module "flag". | 28 September 2006 | 31 January 2007 |
| Masataka Imai | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 January 2007 | 31 January 2008 |
| Naohiko Minobe | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 2008 | 31 January 2012 |
| Shinji Kobayashi | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 2012 | 31 January 2016 |
| Hiroaki Nagashima | Script error: No such module "flag". | 25 November 2015 | 31 January 2017 |
| Ricardo Rodríguez | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 2017 | 31 January 2021 |
| Takeshi Komoto (Interim) | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 2021 | 16 April 2021 |
| Dani Poyatos | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 2021 Actual start date 16 April 2021[5] |
31 January 2023 |
| Beñat Labaien | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 February 2023 | 22 August 2023 |
| Tatsuma Yoshida | Script error: No such module "flag". | 23 August 2023 | 31 March 2024[6] |
| Kosaku Masuda | Script error: No such module "flag". | 1 April 2024 (Interim) 7 May 2024 (Official)[7] |
Current |
Kit evolution
| Home kits - 1st | ||||
2005-2006 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2007-2008 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2009-2010 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2011-2012 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2013 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2014 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2015 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2016 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2017 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2018 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2019 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2020 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2021 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2022 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2023 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2024 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2025 - Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
|||
| Away kits - 2nd | ||||
2005-2006 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2007-2008 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2009-2010 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2011-2012 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2013 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2014 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2015 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2016 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2017 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2018 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2019 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2020 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2021 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2022 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2023 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2024 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
2025 - Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
|||
| Other kits - 3rd | ||||
2017 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Summer 3rd |
2019 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".15th Anniversary Summer Only |
2021 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Summer |
2024 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".20th Anniversary | |
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Script error: No such module "Official website".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:In lang
Template:Tokushima Vortis Template:J.League Script error: No such module "Navbox with collapsible groups". Template:Authority control
- Pages with script errors
- Pages using football kit with incorrect pattern parameters
- Pages with broken file links
- Tokushima Vortis
- J.League clubs
- Japan Soccer League clubs
- Football clubs in Japan
- Association football clubs established in 1955
- Sports clubs and teams in Tokushima Prefecture
- 1955 establishments in Japan
- Japan Football League (1992–1998) clubs
- Japan Football League clubs
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical
- Works football clubs in Japan
- Pages with too many expensive parser function calls