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. In 1994, due to the large number of teams already calling Shizuoka home (including Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata), the team was convinced to move to Fukuoka, in Kyushu (western Japan) 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 J.League, 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, Avispa were always viewed as a difficult opponent, and they tended to base their team on seasoned veterans who could occasionally spring a surprise on the league leaders. They also gained a less flattering reputation for their 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 to sixth place in the second stage of the 2000 season. Fukuoka fans were finally hoping that this would mean the end of the team's long battle for respectability.
Unfortunately, the performance in late 2000 proved to be just a breif mirage, which would be banished the following season. 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. For a while, it looked like Avispa might follow the same path as Shonan Bellmare and Consadole Sapporo, who were forced to restructure after falling to the J2, and have yet to recover from the bloodletting. However, after spending a year floundering in the lower reaches of the J2, the team slowly began to climb back onto its feet. 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, and sufficient to provide enough cash flow to pick up players one by one, particularly youngsters from the top high school teams in Kyushu. .
By 2004, Avispa had expanded its gate receipts, as well as its position in the standings, and was ready to make a bid to return to the J1. Midway through the 2004 season, Avispa had enough cash to pick up midfielder Yuki Matsushita on loan from Sanfrecce Hiroshima, as well as land a quality striker, Edilson Jose da Silva. The addition of these two players gave Avispa a boost, and they began charging 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 the latter half of 2004 -- both on the pitch and in the stands -- put Avispa back among the ranks of J2 challengers, and encouraged the team to pick up a few more quality players to improve their chances in 2005. This time, Avispa maintained a strong performance from start to finish, and though they could not match the dominance of Kyoto Purple Sanga, they did take the number two spot in the J2, and with it, a ticket to promotion. Unfortunately, their second visit to the top-flight division was even more short-lived than the first, and in 2007 they were right back where they started after falling to Vissel Kobe in the promotion/relegation series.
In 2007, coach Pierre Littbarsky took over the coaching job, and used his past experience in both the J.League and Australia to begin rebuilding the club in a slightly different image. Though Avispa finished a disappointing seventh, there were signs that Littbarsky's new approach may be starting to take hold. We would not be surprised to see the Yellowjackets back in the promotion race once again, in 2008.
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National Team
Overseas Players
