Team Data: Kashima Antlers
Team Name:
Team Logo & Mascot:  
Team Flag:
Home Uniform Away Uniform
 
Home StadiumHakata-no-Mori Stadium
Seats 22,563
Team Data:
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Management Corporation: | Fukuoka Blux Co., Ltd. | |
Established: | 29 September 1994
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President: | Kazuhiro Tomoike
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Investors: | Consortium of 91 organisations and companies, including Fukuoka City, Coca Cola West Japan, and Sanyo Shimpan | |
Address: | 1-1-1 Watanabedori, Chuo-ku,
Fukuoka City, Fukuoka 810-0004 | |
Hometown Area: | Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture | |
Home Stadium: | Higashihirao Park Hakatanomori Stadium (capacity: 22,563) | |
Joined J. League: | 1996 |
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| Avis-kun
The Japanese yellowjacket is found throughout the country, but it is particularly common in Kyushu, where the really big ones make the local name -- "suzumebachi" (sparrow-bee") --seem accurate in terms of size. Avis-kun has been a popular character in Fukuoka since the team joined the league in 1996, and a few years ago he found a girlfriend named Bibi (or rather, "bee-bee") to share duties on the Fukuoka sidelines.
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Avispa Fukuoka traces its roots back to 1982, with the formation of the Chuo Bouhan Soccer Club in Shizuoka prefecture -- a long way from the team's current home. The team took part in local competitions in the Shizuoka area until 1985, when it obtained corporate support and suddenly began a charge up the rankings of the JSL. Though still a member of the second division, the team was allowed to be one of the founding members of the (old) JFL, in 1992.
Between 1992 and 1995, the team made good progress through the JFL ranks, and its ambitions expanded far afield. In 1994, since there were already a large number of teams in the Shizuoka area (including Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata), Chuo Bouhan was convinced to move its entire football club to Fukuoka, in Kyushu, where it took the official name Fukuoka Blux, later romanized as "Fukuoka Brooks". The move had a positive impact on the team, since it immediately improved from a ninth place finish in 1993 to third place in 1994. In 1995, the team won the JFL championship, thereby gaining admission to the J.League. With its entry to the professional ranks, the team changed its name and its mascot, adopting the Spanish word "Avispa" to refer to the aggressive yellowjackets that are so common in the Kyushu area. However, Fukuoka struggled constantly at the bottom of the table, and though it enjoyed decent home-town support, it consistently failed to produce good results on the pitch.
Avispa Fukuoka remained one of the cellar dwellers in the J.League continuously from the team's admission in 1995 through 2001. Until the 2000 season, the team never finished higher than 11th place. However, during their sojourn in the J1, Avispa were generally viewed as a difficult opponent. The team tended to be physically imposing on defence, and relied on seasoned veterans whose experience and focus could occasionally allow the team to spring a surprise on the league leaders. They also gained a less-than-flattering reputation for physical play, leading the league in yellow and red cards. The addition of some talented foreigners, most notably Argentine forward David Bisconti, helped the team climb as high as sixth place in the second stage of the 2000 season. Fukuoka fans were finally hoping that this would finally bring an end to the team's long battle for respectability.
Unfortunately, the performance in late 2000 proved to be just a breif mirage, and the following season the Yelllowjackets were right back in the cellar. After flirting with relegation every year since the two-league format was introduced, Avispa finally succumbed at the end of 2001, and was relegated to the J2 for the 2002 season.
Following their fall to the J2, Avispa cut loose most of their top players and began retrenching. This strategy seems to have been a mistake, as it simply cemented their position as a mid-level division two club. In that sense, Avispa has followed the same path as Shonan Bellmare and Consadole Sapporo, who restructured their entire organizations after falling to the J2, and never really recovered from the bloodletting. However, after floundering in the lower reaches of the J2 for a while, the team slowly began to climb back onto its feet during the mid-00s. Avispa was fortunate enough to have a solid base of core supporters, and though its crowds were rather small in 2002 and 2003, the support was steady enough to provide a reasonable cash flow and help the team acquire a core of reasonably competitive players -- mainly veterans who had fallen out of their starting positions at J1 clubs, or youngsters from the top high school teams in Kyushu. .
By 2004, Avispa was ready to make a bid to return to the J1. Midway through the 2004 season, the team landed midfielder Yuki Matsushita on loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima, as well a quality striker in Edilson Jose da Silva. The addition of these two players gave Avispa enough of a boost to carry the team towards the top ranks of the J2 in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, both Kawasaki Frontale and Omiya Ardija had already built too large a lead, and despite their late run, Avispa had to settle for third place and a spot in the promotion/ relegation playoff with Kashiwa Reysol. The team was not quite strong enough to win promotion at the first attempt, losing both legs of the playoff by the same 2-0 score line.
Nevertheless, the results in 2004, both on the pitch and in the stands, put Avispa back among the ranks of J2 challengers. Encouraged by the success, the team added a few more veteran players in 2005 and made a concerted bid to regain a spot in the top-flight division. This time, the Yellowjackets managed to maintain their form for a full season, and though they could not match the dominance of Kyoto Purple Sanga, they did claim the number two spot and with it, a ticket to promotion.
Unfortunately, Avispa's second visit to the top-flight division was even more short-lived than the first. The veteran players who had provided the experience and poise needed to produce results in the J2 lacked the physical energy, speed and sharpness to handle J1 opposition, and with each month that passed their advancing age seemed to drag the team down. Despite a fierce struggle in the final stretch, Avispa finished in 16th place, and then fell to Vissel Kobe in the promotion/relegation series. The sting of relegation caused significant damage to the roster, since it meant that most of the team's veterans -- with nothing left to look forward to -- either retired or moved on to JFL and regional teams that were trying to build a future J.League club, and needed the guidance and experience that aging veteraens can provide.
In 2007, coach Pierre Littbarsky took over the coaching job, and made an effort to leverage his past experience in Australia to rebuild the club in a slightly different image. However, it soon became apparent that the physical athleticism which defines most top players in Australia's A-League was poorly suited to the style of play that most J.League teams adopt. Big physical speciments like Mark Rudan, Ufuk Talay and Joel Griffiths were unable to make the transition to a more technical and "tightly officiated" league and Avispa finished in seventh place in 2007. All three players were more notable for the number of disciplinary cards earned than for their contributions to team success.
There were a few signs to suggest that the Australian contingent were beginning to adapt to the "J.League standard" as the 2008 season began, but eventually time ran out on players and coach alike. Littbarsky was fired at midseason in 2008, and his hand-picked foreigners followed him out of the clubhouse door. It looks like the Yellowjackets will need to to go back to the drawing board and start rebulding once more. Although they retain a core of young players who should be able to keep the team in the upper half of the table in 2009, hopes of taking part in the promotion race this season are probably unrealistic. The steady inflow of players from Kyushu-area high schools may allow the team to rebound from disappointment more quickly than some other teams. However, Avispa needs to establish some continuity first, allow the core players to get used to playing together, and then start worrying about which pieces must be added to make another run at promotion. An effective coach might be able to boost them into the lower fringes of the promotion battle in 2009, but it is probably best for the team to take a longer term perspective, and try to build a team that can make another bid for glory in two or three years time.
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National Team
Overseas Players
