Team Data: FC Tokyo
Team Name:
Team Logo & Mascot:  
Team Flag:
Home Uniform Away Uniform
 
Home StadiumAjinomoto Stadium
Seats 50,100 Tokyo National Stadium
Seats 56,000
Team Data:
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Management Corporation: | Tokyo Football Club Co., Ltd. | |
Established: | 1 October 1998
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President: | Masahiro Tsubahara
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Investors: | Consortium of 223 companies and 11 groups, including Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Tokyo Electric Power Co., Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp., Shimizu Corp.,Mitsubishi Corp., Television Tokyo Ltd., am/pm Japan, The Fuji Bank Ltd., Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. and Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co., Ltd. | |
Address: | 2-15-10 Sarue, Koto-ku,
Tokyo 135-0003 | |
Hometown Area: | Tokyo | |
Home Stadium: | Tokyo (Ajinomoto) Soccer Stadium (capacity: 50,100) | |
Joined J. League: | 1999 | |
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FC Tokyo is a relatively young team, having been promoted from the J2 in its inaugural season. Its J.League history dates back only to the creation of the J2 from the former JFL, in 1999 Nevertheless, the team from which FC Tokyo was born has been around for quite a while. The team originated as the club team of Tokyo Gas, and was located in the western suburbs of Tokyo. When the J.League was formed, Tokyo Gas opted to remain in the JFL, where it was one of the most successful club teams. When the league was reconstituted for a second time, in 1998, Tokyo Gas decided it was time to make the jump to professional status. The team assumed the name FC Tokyo, and joined the J.League second division (J2).
The team finished second in the J2 in 1999, and advanced to the first division in grand style, with a victory over Yokohama Marinos in its first-ever J1 match. Although FC Tokyo faded later in the season, it nevertheless managed to aachieve one of the highest rankings ever for a newly-promoted club. Traditionally, the team relied on veteran, lunchpail players picked up from other clubs, such as former Antlers Naruyuki Naito and Tadatoshi Masuda, former S-Pulse defender Yukihiko Sato and journeyman midfielder Fumitake Miura. Although these players demonstrated a good work ethic, they were obviously released from their former clubs for a reason. Thus, FC Tokyo acquired the nickname "the island of lost boys", to reflect the tremendous number of players that were picked up as castoffs from other teams.
But this moniker did not last long, once the team moved into the top division. FC Tokyo quickly refuted the myth that "big-city teams cannot draw faithful fans", rising to second place in terms of total attendance in 2001. The magnificent "Ajinomoto Stadium" in Western Tokyo, which both FC Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy call home, helps to ensure large crowds, but FC Tokyo has also worked hard to build its fan base. Though Verdy had a decade-long head start as a J.League team, and a record of past glory, it is FC Tokyo which claims first place in the hearts of most Tokyo fans.. Moreover, the team is certainly not lacking in financial support. Its lineup of corporate sponsors reads like the Gold Card guest list at the Tokyo Business Convention. The trend towards corporate sponsorship has been so strong, in fact, that the team's home stadium has even followed the unfortunate trend that has become ubiquitous overseas, of selling its name to a corpoarate sponsor. Thus, Tokyo Soccer Stadium is now known as "Ajinomoto Stadium", or for those with their tongue in cheek, "The Soup Bowl"
The main element that FC Tokyo lacked, prior to 2002, was a group of young players who "grew up" with the team and gave it a character of its own. But the "lost boys" image that dogged FC Tokyo at the start has been relegated to the history books, and the team now boasts one of the best youth programmes in the League. Apart from foreigners, and two or three veterans, most of the FC Tokyo starting lineup now have come from direct acquisitions from high shool or university, or from the FC Tokyo Youth ranks.
As the character of the team has changed, its competitiveness has steadily increased. After a few years in the lower half of the table, the team began to climb the ladder under the tutelage of coach Hiromi Hara, moved into the top tier in both 2002 and 2003, and finally claiming their first piece of silverware in the 2004 Nabisco (league) Cup. But Tokyo stumbled in early 2005, plunging to the bottom of the league table. Though they recovered in the latter half of the season, to finish tenth, the following year brought a similar slump. Tokyo seems to have tons of energy and flair, but lacks the ability to channel all that energy into an effective game of football.
The team seemed to have good prospects at the beginning of 2007. They had just signed Paulo Wanchope -- an aging star it is true, but one who had played in the English Premier League less than a year earlier -- and many people expected young players like Sota Hirayama, Yohei Kajiyama and Yuta Baba to mature into core contributors. But Wanchope turned out to be a major bomb (playing just five matches before being dropped unceremoniously at midseason), and the Tokyo youth contingent were just slightly less disappointing. Hiromi Hara seemed determined to prove every criticism ever leveled against him, and the result was a depressing 12th place finish. The team has made some major changes in the off-season, and it is anyone's guess how well they will perform in 2008. Arguably, they now have less proven talent on the roster than in any season since they brtoke into the top-flight, in 2000. However, that is deceptive, as the team's "Top Players" have always underperformed. Perhaps by clearing out some of these disappointing players, FC Tokyo can finally start living up to its position as the main club team in Japan's capital city. However, those familiar with the Capitol City Blues are well aware of the old saying -- "in order to play the blues, you have to live the blues".
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