Urawa Red Diamonds
is a professional football club playing in Japan's football league, J. League. One of Japan's best supported teams, the club has been able to boast the highest average crowds for eight of the J-League's fifteen season history. In 2007 the team attracted an average gate of over 46000, the highest in both Japan and Asia as a whole. The club's move in 2002 to the newly built Saitama Stadium, coupled with an upturn in form, has been responsible for swelling average gates to nearly twice that of their historical average. Its hometown is the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture.
History
Mitsubishi Motors established a football club in 1950 and in 1965 it formed the Japan Soccer League along with today's Sanfrecce Hiroshima, JEF United Ichihara Chiba, Kashiwa Reysol, Cerezo Osaka and three other clubs who have since been relegated to regional leagues. Mitsubishi first won the JSL championship in 1969, as a break in Mazda/Sanfrecce's dominance; their runs up the first division were sporadic but steady until the 1980s when they fell into the Second Division. In 1990 they were promoted as JSL 2 champions, and thus were ready when the J-League implementation began in earnest.The club has enjoyed mixed fortunes since the J-League advent. The club finished bottom of the league for the first two seasons of the J-League with an average crowd of under 15,000. In 1999 they suffered relegation to the second tier of Japanese football yet again. The team has since improved in form in recent years, starting with a 2003 victory in the Nabisco Cup.
In August 2004, Urawa appeared in a pre-season four-team friendly tournament, the Vodafone Cup, at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. The Japanese club, missing key players, lost their first game 5-2 against the Argentinian side Boca Juniors. The second fixture against the hosts, Manchester United, was called off due to a massive electric storm. Some 800 Urawa fans had travelled to the game and were later compensated.
In 2006 Urawa clinched their first league title by defeating runners-up Gamba Osaka 3-2 on December 2 before 63,000 supporters. This came after two close calls in the previous two years. In 2005, they finished 2nd, one point behind champions Gamba Osaka. In 2004, they finished 3rd in the First Stage and won the Second Stage. Having qualified for the two-match J. League Championship decider, they lost on penalty kicks to Yokohama F. Marinos.
Urawa were back to back Emperor's Cup winners in 2005 and 2006. Winning the title for the first title since establishment as a professional team, they defeated Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 on January 1, 2006, and retained the title in 2007 with a 1-0 win over Gamba Osaka. This win also completed a league-cup double. Playing as the team of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the club had won the title on four previous occasions. In the 2007 tournament they were defeated at the first hurdle by J2 outfit Ehime F.C..
In 2007, despite a seemingly unassailable lead of seven points with four games remaining, Urawa picked up only two points from their final four games. This run included losing at home to Kashima Antlers; the team who would leapfrog Urawa on the final day of the season to claim their fifth J. League title. Following their capitulation in the fourth round of the Emperor's Cup to J2 outfit Ehime F.C., Urawa had to be content with their 2007 Asian Champions League title. Urawa recorded their first international title after overcoming Iranian team Sepahan F.C. 3-1 on aggregate. The victory made them the first Japanese side to win the title since the competition was reorganised from the Asian Champions Cup in 2003. In the Club World Cup of the same year, Urawa became the first AFC team to finish in third place, beating Tunisian Étoile Sportive du Sahel side on penalty kicks in the third / fourth place play off.
Urawa has two home stadiums, Urawa Komaba Stadium and Saitama Stadium 2002 (FIFA World Cup 2002 venue). The club is also notable in that former Feyenoord midfielder Shinji Ono began his professional career playing for Urawa. Ono returned for the 2006 season for a second stint with the club. Urawa are affiliated with German club FC Bayern Munich, whose nickname is also "The Reds". 
Competitions Record
Honors
Domestic Competitions
Mitsubishi (Amateur era)- Japan Soccer League Division 1
- Champions (4) : 1969, 1973, 1978, 1982
- Japan Soccer League Division 2
- Champions (1) : 1989/90
- Emperor's Cup
- Winners (4) : 1971, 1973, 1978, 1980
- JSL Cup
- Winners (2) : 1978, 1981
Urawa Red Diamonds (Professional era)
- J. League Division 1
- J. League Division 2
- Runners-up (1) : 2000
- Emperor's Cup
- Winners (2) : 2005, 2006
- J. League Cup
- Winners (1) : 2003
- Runners-up (2) : 2002, 2004
- Super Cup
- Winners (1) : 2006
- Runners-up (1) : 2007
Continental
- AFC Champions League
- Winners (1) : 2007
International
- FIFA Club World Cup
- Third Place (1) : 2007
Individual Awards
See Individual Award Winners (Urawa Red Diamonds)Players
Current Squad
The players in bold have senior international caps.As of September 18, 2008
Notable Players
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Managers
| Manager | Nat. | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Takaji Mori | 1993 | |
| Kenzo Yokoyama | 1994 | |
| Holger Osieck | 1995-1996 | |
| Horst Köppel | 1997 | |
| Hiromi Hara | 1998–1999 | |
| Aad de Mos | 1999 | |
| Yasushi Yoshida | 1999 | |
| Kazuo Saito | 2000 | |
| Kenzo Yokoyama | 2000 | |
| Tita | 2001 | |
| Pita | 2001 | |
| Hans Ooft | 2002-2003 | |
| Guido Buchwald | 2004-2006 | |
| Holger Osieck | 2007-2008 | |
| Gert Engels | 2008- |
League history
Mitsubishi (Amateur era)- Division 1 (JSL and JSL Div.1) : 1965/66 - 1988/89
- Division 2 (JSL Div.2) : 1989/90
- Division 1 (JSL Div.1) : 1990/91 - 1991/92
Urawa Red Diamonds (Professional era)
- Division 1 (J. League) : 1993 - 1999
- Division 2 (J. League Div.2) : 2000
- Division 1 (J. League Div.1) : 2001 - present
Women's and Amateur Teams
The club also has women's and amateur teams.- Women's: Urawa Red Diamonds - Ladies in L. League Division 1
- Amateur: Urawa Red Diamonds - Amateur in Saitama Prefecture League Div. 1
Images
External links
- Urawa Red Diamonds Official Site
- Urawa Red Diamonds Official Site
- Urawa Red Diamonds Supporters Media Site (unofficial)
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Last updated on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 08:02:45 PDT (GMT -0700)
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