Team Data: JEF United Ichihara Chiba
Team Name:
Team Logo & Mascot:  
Team Flag:
Home Uniform Away Uniform
 
Home StadiumChiba Fukuda Arena
Seats 18,500
Team Data:
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Management Corporation: | JR East Furukawa Football Club Corp. | |
Established: | 11 June 1991
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President: | Kentaro Oka
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Investors: | The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. and East Japan Railway Company | |
Address: | Anesaki Park, 23-2, Anesakikaigan,
Ichihara City, Chiba 299-0107 | |
Hometown Area: | Chiba City and Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture | |
Home Stadium: | Chiba Fukuda Arena (capacity:18,500) | |
Joined J. League: | 1992 | |
Major Titles: |
Nabisco Cup: 2005, 2006
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 | Jeffy & Unity
JEF United were the first team to stumble onto the licensing magic of the "family motif". When the J.League was founded they already had two mascots -- the brothers "Jeffy" and "Unity". Unfortunately this left their prospects of expanding the family with offspring a bit limited. Nevertheless, the two Akita-breed dogs have done their part, selling a huge volume of uniforms with the numbers 2 (worn by Jeffy) and 9 (worn by Unity).
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JEF United can trace its history to the Furukawa Electric football club which was one of the dominant teams of the old Japan Soccer League. Furukawa can boast five Emperor's Cup titles and three second-place finishes, ranking it with Mitsubishi, Nissan and Yomiuri as the predominant teams in the old league. However, Furukawa Electric was not a particularly large company, and even prior to the launch of the J.League, the team was beginning to show signs of weakening for lack of financial support. Indeed, JEF United owes its name to the fact that Furukawa was unable to support a team on its own. At the inception of the J.League, Furukawa was forced to seek additional financial backing, and received it from railway operator JR East. The initials of the companies -- JR, East and Furukawa were merged to create "JEF" and since the team had been formed with the united support of two corporate sponsors, "JEF United" was deemed a suitable name.
JEF United got off to a decent start in its very first season, finishing in the middle of the table, but since the first stage of 1993, the team has never finished higher than sixth. Indeed, JEF could be viewed as the consummate "basement dweller", having finished in the final slot above relegation for three years in a row. In the early years, the team had several players who captured national attention and raised the JEF name to a level higher than its actual performance on the pitch. These included former French international Pierre Littbarsky, who remained in Japan as a coach even after his playing career ended. Yugoslav international Nenad Maslovar also gained a very positive reputation in Japan, and also has coached in the JFL ranks after his playing days were over. These two internationals, and the young Shoji Jo, who shot to stardom as a rookie only to see his star burn out before he was 25, made JEF a popular club, at least on TV. But unfortunately, JEF never managed to develop a strong fan following. Its tiny home stadium, seating only a bit over 15,000, did not help matters. Perpetually strapped for cash, the team languished in the lower ranks of the league.
In 2001, though, the team broke out of this mold, thanks mainly to the contributions of coach Zdenko Veredenik. Building on JEF's central European roots, Veredenik brought in three key foreign players -- "Edo" Mujcin and Zeljko Milinovic, both from the former Yugoslavia, and striker Choi Yong-Soo, a young Korean with a keen nose for goal. Perhaps more importantly, Verdenik did a good job in developing the talented youngsters emerging from JEF's youth program. As a result, the team began to blossom, and followed up its second-place finish in the first stage with a respectable fifth-place in the second stage.
After Verdenik's departure in 2001, another wily strategist took over the reins -- former Graz and Austrian national team coach Josef Venglos. Under his tutelage, the team continued to develop, and although they still did not reach the top ranks, they definitely were becoming a tough opponent, who other teams in the league treated with utmost caution. In 2002, they were the only team with a winning record against Jubilo Iwata, defeating them twice and getting one draw over two league matches and one cup match. The following year, it looked briefly like the team was on the road to a title. Ivica Osim took over the coaching duties, and in a bit of brilliant player management, was able to turn JEF's blend of energetic youngsters and key veterans into one of the top contenders in 2003. Though they failed to to take home a title, the little team from Chiba gave the league's giants a good run for their money.
At the end of the day, it was always clear that JEF would struggle to overcome the deficits of a weak fan base and poor finances. Therefore, in 2005 the team bowed to the inevitable and "moved" to the much larger city of Chiba. Though Ichihara was still included as part of the team's hometown area, the official club name was changed and a new, larger stadium was built in a more convenient location, in Chiba city. With good coaching and a young, energetic team, this move seemed to be the key that unlocked the door to success for JEF United. Though their bid for a league title fell short once again, in 2005 the team was able to capture its first piece of silverware, by winning the Nabisco Cup.
JEF remain a very young team, with boundless energy and a fine strategic mind at the helm. The one problem that they faced in 2006 was the midseasob departure of coach Ivica Osim, who took over as the Japan national team coach. His son Amar, who has been closely involved in the day-to-day coaching activities for two years, took over the reins from Osim Senior, but he never showed the skill or rapport with his players that his father demonstrated, and at the end of 2007 the team broke its final ties to the Osim legacy by firing Amar and allowing many of Osim's former favourites to leave the team.
The move to new home town and a new stadium had a full-year impact on the club in 2006, and based on attendances after the team moved to Chiba's Fukuda Electric Arena (or "FUKUARI" Stadium), the team was able to improve both its attendances and its overall team finances. So far, however, this money has not made much difference in allowing the team to hang onto their players. The continued exodus in 2007 leaves JEF more depleted than at any time since the early 2000s. After barely avoiding relegation last year, it will be a challenging task for incoming coach Josip Kuze to build a competitive team from what is left. We think the team may have enough quality left to stave off relegation for another year. However, unless JEF starts doing a better job of holding on to talented players, they may need to consider changing their name to JEF Divided.
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