Team Data: Urawa Reds
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The mascot of the Urawa Reds is the only one that clearly predates the creation of the J.League. When the club was still known as Mitsubishi Urawa FC (deliberately employing the initials "MUFC"), their team mascot was a so-called "devil dog" which provided the basis for the slightly less vicious-looking character that is now Redia. Like many other clubs, Urawa added a female version of their mascot ("Frendia") a few years later, though the two still do not have any "offspring".
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The Urawa Red Diamonds, more commonly referred to as the "Reds", have a long and star-studded history as one of the core clubs in Japanese football, yet since the launch of the J.League, the team has struggled. In many ways, the team could be regarded as the Boston Red Sox of the J.League -- a team with fanatical home town support and a decent record over the years, but one that repeatedly breaks the hearts of loyal fans by failing to bring home a title.
The Urawa Reds make their home in Urawa city, a gritty industrial city just north of Tokyo, and they boast the loudest and most boisterous fans in the league. Even when the team's performance began to drop off, Urawa fans have been loyal and vocal in their support (and occasionally in their anger at lost matches). The Reds were formed in 1951, as the club team of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Even back then, they were referred to by their fans as the "Red Diamonds" in reference to the red diamond trademark of Mitsubishi that they wore on their uniforms. The Reds were a dominant team in the JSL during the1970s and early 80s, when the team was coached by Kenzo Yokoyama, who would later serve as national team coach. Under his guidance the team won the Japan Soccer League championship four times, in1969, 1973, 1978 and 1982, and finished second in 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977!
However, this impressive run ended just prior to the formation of the J.League, and by 1993, the Reds were already on a downward slide. Urawa managed to remain competitive for a few more years by bringing in two talented Germans -- Guido Buchwald and Uwe Bein -- but when Buchwald retired the team seemed to lack the necessary spark to win matches. The low point was reached in the1999 season, when Urawa suffered a great many misfortunes and injuries to key players, including the loss of star midfielder Shinji Ono for nearly two-thirds of the season. The team floundered, and went into their final match needing three points to avoid relegation to the second division. The team fought valiantly for a win, but it was only in overtime that they managed to get the victory goal. The team was demoted on mere goal difference, and was forced to spend a year in the second division.
Despite this disappointment, Urawa's fans remained as loyal and as loud as ever. Following the match that sealed their fate for relegation, fans stood for nearly an hour as the cold night closed in, chanting over and over: "We Are REDS! We Are REDS!". Despite being relegated to division 2, Urawa outdrew every other J.League team -- including the first-division clubs -- during the 2000 season, packing Komaba Stadium for nearly every home match. In 2001, the team opened Saitama Soccer Stadium, a new 63,000-seat state-of-the-art facility which served as one of the venues for the World Cup. The combination of a huge fan base and a large stadium ensured that even in Division 2, the Reds always had plenty of cash. Following their recovery to the J1, the team embarked on a program of player acquisitions that would elevate them into the upper ranks of J1 contenders.
Yet despite the team's huge bankroll, the Reds continue to break their fans' hearts on a regular basis. They did win the Nabisco (league) Cup in 2004, but have missed out on a league championship title by the narrowest of margins for each of the past three years. Reds alumnus and fan favourite Guido Buchwald took over as head coach in 2004, and his assistant is Gert Engels, who took both the Yokohama Flugels and Kyoto Purple Sanga top Emperor's Cup titles. Together, the two Germans did manage to take the team to its first title (the 2004 Nabisco Cup), but that success was overshadowed by a loss to Yokohama Marinos in the championship series, later that year. In 2005, the Reds put together a team that looked like a formidable power, but the sudden departure of their scoring ace, Emerson, in midseason, sent the team into a slump at a key point in the season, and the team ended up falling one point short of the league title.
Naturally, Reds fans would never be fully satisfied until their team brought home the league title. And they certainly deserve a title given their tremendous support of the team, over the years. So in 2006, Urawa again pulled out its money clip and signed several more stars such as the Brazilian striker Washington, and Shinji Ono, who had finally returned from Holland after a spate of injuries. The team made it clear that it would spare no expense to put together the most competitive team possible, and this time it finally paid off. Although the title chase went down to the final week of the season, a capacity crowd at Saitama Stadium watched as the Reds finally brought home the league trophy.
The Reds produced such a groundswell of enthusiasm in 2006, and padded their roster sufficiently in the offseason with players like Yuki Abe, that they were almost universally expected to claim another title in 2007. Indeed, they started the season well, not only climing to the top of the league table but also cruising through the qualification round of the Asian Champions League. With Holger Osieck taking Buchwald's place as coach, the team was a bit less adventurous, but it seemed that they had plenty of talent to dominate the J.League for another year. But the ACL campaign proved to be a real drain on the team's energy, partiicularly since Osieck insisted on using his best players in almost every match. In mid-November the Reds stood at the pinnacle of success, lifting the ACL trophy for the first time ever. But over the subsequent month they went into a tailspin of unprecedented proportions, losing a 12-point lead to hand the League title to Kashima on the final day of the season (when all they had to do was beat already relegated Yokohama FC), and then topping it off by losing an Emperor's Cup match to J2 minnows Ehime FC.
Following their humiliating performance at the end of last season, it will be interesting to see how Urawa responds. Of course, the Reds' deep pockets have already made them the biggest "winners" in the off-season acquisition sweepstakes. But despite picking up top-drawer talent like Naohiro Takahara and Tsukasa Umesaki, one wonders how the team will manage to fit all of the egos onto the same pitch. Naturally with their vast reserves of talent, one has to view them as one of the top contenders, but as they showed last season, it is easy for a team like this one to take things for granted. The Reds are sure to be in the running for every one of the titles they will contest in 2007. But they will have to keep their eye on the prize this year if they want to overcome the many hungry rivals that they face, both in Asia and in Japan.
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