Tokyo Verdy

Tokyo Verdy
東京ヴェルディ

Full name	Tokyo Verdy 1969 Football Club
Nickname	Verdy
Founded	1 October 1969 (1969-10-01) as Yomiuri FC [1]
Ground	Ajinomoto Stadium Chōfu, Tokyo
Capacity	49,970
Owner	Tokyo Verdy Holdings
Chairman	Yasuo Shimada
Manager	Hiroshi Jofuku
League	J1 League
2025	J1 League, 17th of 20
Website	www.verdy.co.jp
Home colours Away colours

Tokyo Verdy 1969 (東京ヴェルディ1969, Tōkyō Berudi) is a professional football club based in Tokyo, Japan. They compete in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese football. They were the inaugural champions of the J1 League in 1993.

Tokyo Verdy are one of the most successful clubs in the country winning 2 J1 League, 5 Emperor's Cup, 3 J.League Cup and 4 Japanese Super Cup. Continentally, the club also won the Asian Club Championship in the 1987 edition.

Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with honours including 2 league titles, 5 Emperor's Cups, 6 JSL Cup/J.League Cups and an Asian Club Championship title, and the most successful team in Japanese football history with 25 titles. The club was an original member^[a] of the J.League in 1993.

In October 1968, following Japan's bronze medal triumph at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the interest in football that ensued,^[1] Japan Football Association president Yuzuru Nozu visited Yomiuri Giants chairman Matsutaro Shoriki to ask him if Yomiuri was willing to ride on the wave of the game by establishing their own football club. Shoriki died a year later, in 1969, but not before signing his name to the plans to establish Yomiuri Football Club.^[2] Backed by the Yomiuri Group and NTV, Yomiuri Football Club firstly launched at Tokyo Local League B (5th tier) in 1969. They began gaining promotions from the Tokyo Local League to the Kanto Football League (3rd tier) in 1971. In 1971, Yomiuri marked 3rd place and promoted Japan Soccer League Second Division.^[3]

They were promoted to First Division in 1978, starting a long career of success in the top flight. Their first major title was the Japan Soccer League Cup in 1979.

From its days as Yomiuri , the ownership had visions of a football equivalent of the baseball team Yomiuri Giants, a star-studded powerhouse with fans across Japan. As Japanese football began its transition from the JSL to the J.League in the early 1990s, it invested heavily in stars and featured Japan internationals Kazuyoshi Miura, Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa.^[1]

The last two JSL championships as Yomiuri in 1990–91 and 1991–92, and then winning the first two championships as Verdy Kawasaki in 1993 and 1994, effectively winning four straight Japanese league titles making a total of seven overall; the highest in the Japanese system. Verdy also won the 1996 Emperor's Cup and three consecutive J.League Cups from 1992 to 1994.^[4][5]

The JSL disbanded and reformed as the professional J.League in 1993. At this time the team professionalized and renamed itself Verdy Kawasaki, "Coined from the Portuguese "VERDE" meaning "green" probably named after their green jersey colour "Tokyo Greens/Tokyo Verdi", although the color was picked in homage to Brazilian club Palmeiras, a team admired by one of Yomiuri's first idols, São Paulo-born George Yonashiro.^[6] Although Yomiuri was dropped from the name as the club spun off from the company, the team remained under Yomiuri's ownership until 1997, when it was acquired by Nippon Television Network, the broadcast arm of the Yomiuri Group.^[7]

This early success did not last, however, and as the stars aged, the team's performance suffered. Verdy's 1st-place finish in the 2nd stage of the 1995 season would be its last stage victory and the 1996 Emperor's Cup would be its last major title of the decade. A downturn in the national economy and the cooling of the J.League fad meant all teams had to cut expenses. This meant Verdy could no longer buy expensive replacements for its aging stars.

The 1996 J.League season saw Verdy Kawasaki finish in 7th place overall, the lowest standing in the league's existence at that point, and would fall further in the 1997 season, finishing 16th and 12th, in the 1st stage and 2nd stage, respectively, and 15th overall out of 17 teams. Although Verdy looked to return to prominence in 1999, finishing 2nd in the 1st Stage, the resurgence was short-lived as it fell to 10th in the 2nd stage.

Meanwhile, the team's efforts to become "Japan's Team" alienated local fans in Kawasaki. The expensive salaries and struggling attendance caused the club's debts to mount. Struggling to compete with the newly professionalized crosstown rival Kawasaki Frontale and the nearby Yokohama Marinos and Yokohama Flügels, Verdy made the decision to leave Kawasaki.

In 2001, the club returned from Kawasaki to Chōfu, Tokyo and was renamed as Tokyo Verdy 1969 to reflect the new hometown and the club's origins as Yomiuri. Although Verdy made the move to increase its fan base and distance itself from its rivals, by this time Tokyo was already home to a J1 club in FC Tokyo. Despite a sharp increase in crowd numbers for Verdy, this was still well below those of FC Tokyo. Their new local rivals had been promoted to J1 in 2000 and had already captured a vast number of the supporters Verdy had been hoping to attract.

In its first year in Tokyo, Tokyo Verdy 1969 found itself trailing FC Tokyo in the standings as well, and finished last in the division at 16th in the first stage of the 2001 season. Only the play of midseason acquisition Edmundo and a win in the final match of the second stage saved the club from relegation to J2. Tokyo Verdy was back at the bottom of the table in the first stage of the 2002 season, but again finished the season strong, placing 4th in the second stage.

Two mid-table finishes followed in 2003 and 2004, before Tokyo Verdy, under Osvaldo Ardiles, won the Emperor's Cup on 1 January 2005, its first major title in 9 years and the first in Tokyo. Winning the cup earned Verdy a spot in the 2006 AFC Champions League.^[8]

However, the 2005 season saw Tokyo Verdy 1969 fall to its worst finish of its history, finishing 17th out of 18. This was the first season after the scrapping of the two-stage season format, and Tokyo Verdy were relegated to J2, after 28 years of top flight football. The season was marked by three huge losses in July: 1–7 to Gamba Osaka on 2 July, 0–7 to Urawa Red Diamonds on 6 July and a 6–0 loss to Júbilo Iwata on 17 July. Tokyo Verdy then sacked Ardiles two days later.^[9] At the time of his sacking, Ardiles' team had conceded 23 goals in their last 5 matches and had a 9 match winless streak.^[9] However, the struggling Verdy upset European giant Real Madrid (who were in Asia on a preseason tour), 3–0 on 25 July.^[10]

For the 2006 season, the club appointed former Verdy Kawasaki legend, Ruy Ramos, as manager on 22 December 2005.^[11] Tokyo Verdy 1969 found itself in the odd position of competing in the AFC Champions League while playing in the second tier of the national league system. After Tokyo Verdy 1969 was relegated, the club released many of the veteran players, leaving a core of young players, most notably Takayuki Morimoto, who became the youngest player to score in the J.League at age 15 in 2004.^[12]

In the 2007 season, Tokyo Verdy managed to beat Thespa Kusatsu 5–0 on the first day. After a brief scuffle with Consadole Sapporo over the J2 title, Tokyo Verdy 1969 had to settle for runners-up position, enough to earn promotion back into the top flight for 2008. At this time the club renamed itself for the second time, dropping 1969 from its team name, but the management corporation name remained as Tokyo Verdy 1969.

Verdy would eventually be relegated once again after finishing in 17th place (second to last) in their 2008 J1 League return.

On 17 September 2009, NTV announced it would divest itself of shares in the club and transfer it to a new holding company, Tokyo Verdy Holdings, ending 40 years of Yomiuri/NTV direct financial support.^[13] The J.League approved the transfer, but made it a condition that Verdy find a new sponsor by 16 November or risk not being able to play J2 football for the 2010 season.^[14]

In October 2010, Tokyo Verdy signed a five-year sponsorship deal with sports retail store and apparel company Xebio.^[15] The sponsorship deal saw the Xebio logo placed on Tokyo Verdy's kit and included naming rights for two regular season home games.^[15] Xebio also produced the clubs football kit, although under their sports brand "Ennerre". After talks with Xebio, several companies decided to invest in the company and the new Xebio led administration was announced in November.

The club suffered a mere respite from heartbreak during the 2018 season, when they finished 6th, qualifying then for the promotion/relegation playoffs. They beat Omiya Ardija 1–0 in the 1st round, and repeated the script against Yokohama FC in the semi-final. They ended just one game short of a J1 League comeback, having lost in the final by 2–0 against Júbilo Iwata, which saw the promotion hopes fade away for another time. Ever since being relegated to the J2 at the end of 2008 season, the club were unable to return to the J1 and continue to compete in J2 League until 2023 season.

On 2 December 2023, Tokyo Verdy gained promotion to the J1 League for the 2024 season after a 1–1 draw against Shimizu S-Pulse in the promotion play-off final, when Itsuki Someno scored the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 96th minute. As a result, Verdy, who were the top-ranked side entering the J2 League playoffs, returned to the national top tier for the first time since 2008.^[16][17]

The identity of Tokyo Verdy is strongly associated with its distinctive green colour, which has been the club’s primary colour since its foundation as Yomiuri in 1969. Because of this, the club is often simply referred to as "Verdy," derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word verde, meaning green.

The club’s crest has undergone several changes throughout its history, reflecting shifts in identity and ownership. The emblem typically incorporates elements symbolising strength and tradition, including a stylised bird and shield design. The name "Verdy" itself was adopted when the club became Verdy Kawasaki during the early years of the J.League.

Tokyo Verdy has historically been known for its emphasis on youth development, producing many notable Japanese footballers who have gone on to represent the Japan national football team. The club’s academy system has long been regarded as one of the most influential in Japanese football.

The principal rivalry of Tokyo Verdy is with fellow Tokyo-based club FC Tokyo. Matches between the two teams are known as the Tokyo Derby. The rivalry developed after FC Tokyo joined the professional leagues in the late 1990s and became the other major club representing Tokyo in the J.League. The derby reflects competition for football prominence within the Japanese capital. These encounters are often played at Ajinomoto Stadium, which both clubs have used as their home venue. Matches between the two sides regularly attract large crowds and strong interest from supporters.

Tokyo Verdy also shares a historical rivalry with Kawasaki Frontale, known as the Tama River Derby. The rivalry originates from the period when Verdy was based in Kawasaki and competed with other clubs in the region for local dominance.

Although the clubs are now based in different cities, matches between Tokyo Verdy and Kawasaki Frontale continue to carry historical significance due to their shared past and geographic proximity along the Tama River region.

Verdy is a polideportivo and also fields teams in women's football, volleyball, and triathlon. Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza, which is the women team of Tokyo Verdy, is the 12 time Nadeshiko League champions, 14 time Empress's Cup winners and 1 time AFC Women's Club Championship winners.

Verdy plays its home games at the Ajinomoto Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium located in the western part of Tokyo with a capacity of 49,970 and serves as one of the major football venues in the Japanese capital. Tokyo Verdy shares the stadium with city rivals FC Tokyo, although occasional home matches are played in other stadiums in Tokyo, such as the Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka.

In addition to league matches, the stadium has hosted numerous domestic cup competitions within the J.League system, including fixtures in the Emperor's Cup and the J.League Cup. The stadium’s large capacity and modern facilities have made it an important venue for major football events in Tokyo.

Before relocating to Tokyo, the club played its home matches in Kawasaki, including at Uvance Todoroki Stadium by Fujitsu during its early years as Verdy Kawasaki.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tokyo Verdy kits.

Tokyo Verdy's main colors are green.

The club's name was coined from the Portuguese, or Spanish, or Italian, or Esperanto "verde" meaning "green", probably named after their green jersey colour, so the meaning is "Tokyo Greens/Tokyo Verdi".^[6] In Italian, the form "verdi" indicates the plural form "the greens".

Year	Kit manufacturer	Main sponsor
1992	Puma	Coca-Cola
1993–1995	Mizuno
1996		MALT'S
1997–1998	Nike
1999–2001		KONAMI
2002–2003		Rakuten ICHIBA
2004		LEOC
2005–2006		CyberAgent (J2) Nippon Television (ACL)
2007–2008	Kappa	Ameba
2009		No main sponsor
2010		XEBIO
2011	ennerre	Īdasangyō
2012	Athleta
2013		GAGA MILANO
2014–2015		Midori no shinzō
2016		Create
2017–2018		ISPS HANDA
2019–2020		Akatsuki
2021–		NICIGAS

1st – Home
1992	1993–1994	1995–1996	1997	1998
1999–2000	2001–2002	2003–2004	2005–2006	2007
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
2023	2024	2025	2026 -

2nd – Away
1992	1993–1994	1995–1996	1997	1998
1999–2000	2001–2002	2003–2004	2005–2006	2007
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
2023	2024 –	2025	2026 -

3rd – Special
1995 - 1996 CUP 1st	1995 - 1996 CUP 2nd	2012 3rd	2019 Anniversary	2020 3rd
2021 3rd	2021 Athleta Contract 10th Anniversary	2022 3rd	2023 3rd	2024 3rd
2024 Nichigas DAY	2025 3rd	2025 Nichigas DAY

As of 25 February 2026^[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BRA Matheus Vidotto (vice-captain) 4 DF  JPN Naoki Hayashi (vice-captain) 5 DF  JPN Ryota Inoue 6 DF  JPN Kazuya Miyahara 7 MF  JPN Yuan Matsuhashi 8 MF  JPN Kosuke Saito 9 FW  JPN Itsuki Someno 10 MF  JPN Koki Morita (captain) 11 FW  JPN Hiroto Yamami 13 FW  JPN Gōki Yamada 14 MF  JPN Yuya Fukuda 15 DF  JPN Kaito Suzuki 16 MF  JPN Rei Hirakawa 17 MF  JPN Tetsuyuki Inami 21 GK  JPN Yuya Nagasawa 22 DF  JPN Yosuke Uchida 23 DF  JPN Daiki Fukazawa

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 MF  JPN Shion Nakayama Type 2 25 FW  JPN Issei Kumatoriya 27 FW  JPN Ryosuke Shirai 28 MF  JPN Joi Yamamoto 29 DF  JPN Maaya Sako 30 MF  JPN Gakuto Kawamura 31 GK  JPN Hiroki Mawatari 35 DF  JPN Shuto Tanabe 36 DF  JPN Riku Matsuda 40 MF  JPN Yuta Arai 41 GK  JPN Keisuke Nakamura 42 MF  JPN Kento Imai Type 2 45 FW  JPN Shimon Teranuma 51 FW  JPN Sota Ofuji Type 2 55 DF  JPN Taiju Yoshida 71 FW  JPN Hayato Hirao

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  JPN Masahiro Iida (at Renofa Yamaguchi FC) — MF  JPN Soma Meshino (at Tochigi SC)

Position	Staff
Manager	Hiroshi Jofuku
Assistant managers	Ichiro Wada Hitoshi Morishita Yuta Narawa
Goalkeeper coach	Atsushi Shirai
Conditioning coach	Yuya Noshiro
Analytical coach	Daiki Yamamoto
Interpreter	Genta Iwauchi
Doctor	Kenta Uemura
Trainer	Naoki Matsuda Shuji Ogawa Yusuke Kaneuchi Hiroyoshi Mutaguchi
Side manager	Hideki Sato
Equipment manager	Ryo Ito Jun Yamato
Training coach	Noh Alam Shah Isa Halim

With seven tier one league titles, five Emperor's Cups and six League Cups, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated football clubs in Japan, although nearly all of its titles, came during their stay at Tokyo in the semi-professional era as Yomiuri FC, before the inception of the professional J.League.

Bold is for those competition that are currently active.

As of 27 March 2026.

Top 10 all-time appearances

Rank	Player	Years	Club appearance
1	Kazuki Hiramoto	1999–2017	383
2	Tsuyoshi Kitazawa	1991–2002	332
3	Kazunori Iio	1999–2013	306
4	Kentaro Hayashi	1995–2005	302
5	Takuya Yamada	1997–2005	287
6	Shinkichi Kikuchi	1986–2001	258
7	Koki Morita	2018–present	242
8	Ryota Kajikawa	2011–2012, 2017–2019, 2021–2023	241
9	Akira Ibayashi	2013–2018	239
10	Atsushi Yoneyama	1998–2005	238

Top 10 all-time goalscorer

Rank	Player	Club appearance	Total goals
1	Kazuyoshi Miura	199	113
2	Nobuhiro Takeda	191	75
3	Kazuki Hiramoto	383	70
4	Bismarck	171	54
5	Tsuyoshi Kitazawa	332	53
6	Junki Koike	218	51
7	Hulk	56	45
8	Takuma Abe	97	39
	Douglas Vieira	116
10	Kazunori Iio	306	33

• Biggest wins: 9–1 vs Crescent Textiles Mill (3 March 1995)
• Heaviest defeats:
  • 0–7 vs Urawa Red Diamonds (6 July 2005)
  • 0–7 vs Albirex Niigata (27 March 221)
• Youngest ever debutant: Takayuki Morimoto ~ 15 years 10 months 6 days old (On 13 March 2004 vs Júbilo Iwata)
• Oldest ever player: Hideki Nagai ~ 45 years 9 months 17 days old (On 12 November 2019 vs Cerezo Osaka)
• Youngest goal scorers: Takayuki Morimoto ~ 15 years 11 months 28 days old (On 5 May 2004 vs JEF United Chiba)
• Oldest goal scorers: Ruy Ramos ~ 38 years 8 months 26 days old (On 4 November 1995 vs Shimizu S-Pulse)

As of the end of the 2025 season.

• J.League Player of the Year:

• Kazuyoshi Miura (1993)
• Pereira (1994)

• J.League Top Scorer:

• Kazuyoshi Miura (1996)

• J.League Best XI:
• J1 League
  • Kazuyoshi Miura (1993, 1995, 1996)
  • Tetsuji Hashiratani (1993, 1994, 1995)
  • Ruy Ramos (1993, 1994)
  • Pereira (1993, 1994)
  • Tsuyoshi Kitazawa (1994)
  • Nobuhiro Takeda (1994)
  • Shinkichi Kikuchi (1994, 1995)
  • Bismarck (1994, 1995)
  • Yuji Nakazawa (1999)
• J2 League
  • Kazuya Miyahara (2023)
  • Koki Morita (2023)

• J.League Best Young Player:
  • Yuji Nakazawa (1999)
  • Takayuki Morimoto (2004)

• Individual Fair Play Award
  • Atsushi Yoneyama (2000)

• J.League Manager of the Year:
  • Yasutaro Matsuki (1993, 1994)
• J2 League Top Scorer:
  • Hulk (2007)

Manager	Period	Honours
Jujiro Narita	1 February 1970 – 30 June 1973
Frans van Balkom	1 February 1973 – 31 January 1976	– 1974 Japan Soccer League Division 2
Shoichi Nishimura	1 February 1976 – 31 January 1981	– 1977 Japan Soccer League Division 2 – 1979 JSL Cup
Ryoichi Aikawa	1 February 1981 – 30 June 1983
Susumu Chiba	1 July 1983 – 31 January 1984	– 1983 Japan Soccer League Division 1
Rudi Gutendorf	1 January 1984 – 30 June 1986	– 1984 Japan Soccer League Division 1 – 1984 Emperor's Cup – 1985 JSL Cup
George Yonashiro	1 July 1986 – 30 June 1989	– 1986 Emperor's Cup – 1986–87 Japan Soccer League Division 1 – 1987 Emperor's Cup – 1987 Asian Club Championship
Carlos Alberto Silva	1 July 1990 – 30 June 1991	– 1990–91 Japan Soccer League Division 1
Pepe	1 January 1991 – 31 December 1992	– 1991 JSL Cup – 1991–92 Japan Soccer League Division 1 – 1992 J.League Cup
Yasutarō Matsuki	1 February 1993 – 31 January 1995	– 1993 J.League – 1993 J.League Cup – 1994 J.League – 1994 J.League Cup – 1994 Japanese Super Cup – 1994 Sanwa Bank Cup
Nelsinho Baptista	1 February 1995 – 25 April 1996	– 1995 Japanese Super Cup
Yasuyuki Kishino	26 April 1996 – 9 May 1996	– 1996 Emperor's Cup
Émerson Leão	10 May 1996 – 31 January 1997
Hisashi Katō	1 February 1997 – 1 June 1997
Valdir Espinosa	2 June 1997 – 30 October 1997
Ryōichi Kawakatsu	1 November 1997 – 31 January 1998
Nicanor	1 February 1998 – 7 September 1998
Ryōichi Kawakatsu (2)	8 September 1998 – 31 January 1999
Hideki Matsunaga	1 February 1999 – 31 January 2000
Chang Woe-ryong	1 February 2000 – 1 January 2001
Yasutarō Matsuki (2)	1 February 2001 – 16 July 2001
Yukitaka Omi	17 July 2001 – 9 April 2002
Lori Paulo Sandri	1 January 2002 – 30 June 2003
Osvaldo Ardiles	16 May 2003 – 18 July 2005	– 2004 Emperor's Cup – 2005 Japanese Super Cup
Nobuhiro Ishizaki	19 July 2005 – 31 July 2005
Vadão	1 August 2005 – 14 December 2005
Ruy Ramos	1 February 2006 – 31 January 2008
Tetsuji Hashiratani	1 February 2008 – 31 January 2009
Takuya Takagi	1 February 2009 – 14 October 2009
Takeo Matsuda	14 October 2009 – 31 January 2010
Ryōichi Kawakatsu (3)	1 February 2010 – 6 September 2012
Shinichiro Takahashi	6 September 2012 – 31 January 2013
Yasutoshi Miura	1 February 2013 – 15 September 2014
Kōichi Togashi	1 September 2014 – 31 December 2016
Miguel Ángel Lotina	1 February 2017 – 31 January 2019
Gary White	1 February 2019 – 17 July 2019
Hideki Nagai	17 July 2019 – 1 September 2021
Takafumi Hori	2 September 2021 – 13 June 2022
Hiroshi Jofuku	14 June 2022–present

Key

• Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza (Women's club team)
• Japan Soccer League (Defunct)
• J.League
• J1 League
• J2 League
• J3 League

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Tokyo Verdy 1969 – Classic Club Guide at FIFA.com
• The club players