Team Data: Shonan Bellmare
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Home Uniform Away Uniform
 
Home StadiumHiratsuka Stadium
Seats 18,500
Team Data:
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Management Corporation: | Shonan Bellmare Co., Ltd. | |
Established: | 2 October 1992
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President: | Kikuo Konagaya
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Investors: | Hiratsuka City and 324 local companies | |
Address: | 3489-1 Okami, Hiratsuka City,
Kanagawa 254-0012 | |
Hometown Area: | Atsugi City, Isehara City, Odawara City, Chigasaki City, Hadano City, Hiratsuka City, Fujisawa City, Oiso Town, Samukawa Town and Ninomiya Town | |
Home Stadium: | Hiratsuka Stadium (capacity: 18,500) | |
Joined J. League: | 1992 | |
Major Titles: | Emperor's Cup: 1994
Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1995/96
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 | King Bell
For a seaside resort-based team that has already selected an ocean-oriented motif for its team name and color scheme, you cant go wrong by selecting a cartoon version of the Greek god of the sea as your mascot. Only the name -- "King Bell" -- comes off sounding a bit incongruous, but I suppose they wanted to follow the example of other J.League teams and select something that matched the name "Bellmare". Oddly enough, despite the trend at so many other clubs, there has never been any indication that the team might create a "Queen Belle", or even a royal consort for that matter. I guess thats what happens if you dont win enough matches to impress the ladies.
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Shonan Bellmare has a long and dignified history. The precursor team, Fujita Industries, was one of the powerhouses in the Japan Soccer League during the late 1960s and 1970s. However, you will find not a hint of information on this relationship if you visit the current Shonan Bellmare site. It seems that the team wants to forget its past. Perhaps that is not entirely surprising, since Fujita, in the midst of a financial crisis, cut off all financial support in 1999. It is a bit unfortunate, though, considering the historical importance and long record of success enjoyed by the team.
Fujita Industries FC was based on the Pacific coast of Japan just a short distance from Yokohama, and as such, it was a fierce rival of the other JSL clubs in the area during the 1970s, such as Nissan FC (later Yokohama Marinos) and Yomiuri Club (later Verdy Kawasaki). When footballing organisations in Japan were preparing to launch the J.League, Fujita was one of the country's stronger clubs. Yet despite the fact that the team could have qualified for admission to the J.League at its founding, management decided to remain in the JFL for the initial season. After winning the JFL title in 1993, though, the team saw the huge crowds and piles of money that J.League clubs were making and decided to join the J.League under the name Bellmare Hiratsuka. The name "Bellmare" is taken from Italian, and refers to the beautiful seacoast in the Shonan area, southwest of Yokohama. Their mascot seems to be modeled on a cross between a Disney character and the Greek God Poseidon, in keeping with the team's "ocean-related" theme.
While Bellmare was a fairly successful club during the first few years of the J.League, management was extraordinarily bad. Every player who demonstrated any real talent was immediately sold to the highest bidder, in return for cash (much of which was used to reduce the financial burden on Fujita, rather than to build the team). Having sold off star players such as Akira Narahashi, Wagner Lopes, Kazuaki Tasaka and, of course, Hidetoshi Nakata, Bellmare began to descend through the rankings until it was relegated in 1999. At this point, Fujita and the club parted company, and much of the financial support for the team was taken over by Nakata.net, an internet firm associated with the famed Japanese midfielder. The club changed its name to Shonan Bellmare, thus expanding its "home town" area to cover the entire area between the southern fringe of Yokohama and the border with Shizuoka. Though the change enhanced the team's association with the ocean (for Tokyoites of a certain age, "Shonan" is virtually synonymous with "beach"), it did not really do much to improve attendances.
Bellmare can be viewed as a case study in how to achieve successful mediocrity. The team has associations with many successful players, but has always traded them away just before they reach star status (they did this again with defender Teruaki Moniwa, in 2002). They have a fairly solid fan base, but are constantly in the shadow of nearby teams like the Yokohama Marinos. Management is steady and profitable, but not particularly insighful in terms of plotting a return to the top division.
Shonan Bellmare has shown signs of reviving in recent years, though the team has finished squarely in the middle of the J2 ranks ever since being relegated. In 2005, former Japan women's national team coacy, Eiji Ueda, took over the management reins and brought in some veteran players including former Kashiwa Reysol midfielder Nozomu Kato, which added to the team's experience and talent. In the early part of the season it looked like Bellmare might challenge for a promotion spot, but the Sea Kings eventually faded, and slipped back to their accustomed place in the middle of the J2 pack. A similar search for veteran skill added Toshihide Saito and Jean Carlo Witte to the squad in 2007, but again, the team simply could not maintain their early momentum, and ended up finishing mid-table.
It is far from clear that the team is ready to escape from mediocrity, though it would not take much for Bellmare to move into contention for one of the promotion spots. The team has a number of experienced veterans and just enough youth to provide energy and emotion. The team is playing smarter football than they did in the past, and at least performing up to their potential. The key, however, is money and management acumen. The team needs to sign or develop at least 2 or 3 top-level players if they want to make a real bid for promotion. Up to now, every indication suggests that Shonan is content to remain in comfortable mediocrity, as an also-ran in the second division.
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