Azul_Claro_Numazu
Azul Claro Numazu
Japanese professional football team
Azul Claro Numazu (アスルクラロ沼津, Asuru Kuraro Numazu) is a Japanese professional football team based in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. They currently play in J3 League, the Japanese third tier of professional football.
| Full name | Football Club Azul Claro Numazu | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | AZN | ||
| Founded | 1990; 34 years ago (1990) as Numazu Arsenal SC | ||
| Ground | Shizuoka Ashitaka Athletic Stadium Numazu, Shizuoka | ||
| Capacity | 10,000 | ||
| Managing Organisation | Azul Claro Suruga Corporation (NPO) | ||
| Chairman | Takehiro Takashima | ||
| Manager | Masashi Nakayama | ||
| League | J3 League | ||
| 2023 | J3 League, 13th of 20 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Azul Claro Numazu was established in 1977 as Numazu Arsenal and slowly progressed through the tiers of Shizuoka prefectural leagues. In 2006 the club began the process of transformation into a professional organisation with the ultimate goal of joining the J.League. The same year the club adopted its current name, Azul Claro (Meaning "light blue" in Portuguese and Spanish).
In 2012 Azul Claro won promotion to Tōkai Adult Soccer League and quickly progressed through its ranks, spending only a season in each of its divisions. Though they have finished only fourth in 2013 Tōkai League, they were considered as serious contenders for admission to the newly created J3 League. On September 17, 2013, the club has been granted the J. League Associate Membership and passed all stages of licensing and inspection by the league. However, they were only the 3rd choice club for the only Regional League spot in J3 so eventually, they had to give way to Grulla Morioka. The club has won the promotion anyway though—they were selected by the Japan Football League board as one of the teams to play in the 2014 season.
After a 3rd-place finish in the 2016 season, they've been welcomed to play professional football from 2017 and onward, as they'll be the 14th original club in the J3 League.[1]
On 24 October 2023, Azul Claro Numazu announcement officially granted J2 License after approval decision of Club Licensing Board.[2]
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J. League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Tier | Pos. | GP | W | L | D | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | ||
| Numazu Arsenal | ||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Shizuoka Prefectural League (Div. 2) | 8 | 4th | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 24 | 9 | 18 | - | Not eligible | Did not qualify |
| 2005 | 1st | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 26 | 28 | 29 | |||||
| Azul Claro Numazu | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Shizuoka Prefectural League (Div. 1) | 7 | 9th | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 11 | Not eligible | Did not qualify | |
| 2007 | 11th | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 27 | -16 | 10 | |||||
| 2008[3] | 8th | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 27 | -7 | 10 | |||||
| 2009[4] | 2nd | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 20 | |||||
| 2010[5] | 3rd | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 21 | |||||
| 2011[6] | 2nd | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 27 | |||||
| 2012 | Tokai Football League (Div. 2) | 6 | 2nd | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 26 | |||
| 2013 | Tokai Football League (Div. 1) | 5 | 4th | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 21 | –1 | 25 | |||
| 2014 | JFL | 4 | 8th | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 | 35 | –9 | 32 | 1,777 | ||
| 2015 | 5th | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 54 | 2,198 | ||||
| 2016 | 3rd | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 47 | 24 | 23 | 59 | 2,332 | ||||
| 2017 | J3 | 3 | 3rd | 32 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 60 | 27 | 33 | 59 | 3,029 | 3rd round | |
| 2018 | 4th | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 52 | 2,857 | Did not qualify | |||
| 2019 | 12th | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 35 | 43 | –8 | 39 | 2,470 | ||||
| 2020 † | 12th | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 36 | 40 | –4 | 41 | 925 | ||||
| 2021 † | 14th | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 32 | 44 | –12 | 27 | 1,482 | ||||
| 2022 | 15th | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 46 | -19 | 31 | 1,684 | ||||
| 2023 | 13th | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 51 | 1,961 | 1st round | |||
| 2024 | TBA | 38 | 2nd round | TBD | ||||||||||
- Key
- Pos. = Position in league; GP = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
- Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
- Source: J.League Data Site
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Shizuoka Prefectural League (Div. 2) | 1 | 2005 |
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Masashi Nakayama |
| Assistant manager | Hideto Suzuki |
| First-team coach | Daiki Tajiri |
| Transition coach | Keita Goto |
| Coach and interpreter |  Landow Takai |
| Goalkeeper coach | Yukio Takeda |
| Physical coach | Yoshiki Hirano |
| Doctor | Shunsuke Mukoyama |
| Trainer | Takuya Kawasaki Kentaro Taki Takashi Tanaka |
| Manager | Daiki Ito |
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Kazuhito Mochizuki | Japan | 1 February 2014 | 31 January 2015 |
| Ken Yoshida | Japan | 1 February 2015 | 31 January 2020 |
| Masataka Imai | Japan | 1 February 2020 | 23 August 2022 |
| Kazuhito Mochizuki | Japan | 24 August 2022 | 31 January 2023 |
| Masashi Nakayama | Japan | 1 February 2023 | current |
| Home kit - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
      2014 |
   2015 |
   2016 |
   2017 |
   2018 |
   2019 |
   2020 |
   2021 |
   2022 |
   2023 - |
| Away kit - 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
   2014 |
   2015 |
   2016 |
   2017 |
   2018 |
   2019 |
   2020 |
   2021 |
 2022 |
   2023 - |
| Other kit - 3rd | |
|---|---|
   2021 30th Anniversary Memorial |
 2022 Love Live! Sunshine!! edition |
| Season(s) | Main Shirt Sponsor | Collarbone Sponsor | Additional Sponsor(s) | Kit Manufacturer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | SURUGA bank | – | – | – | – | NNH | – |  Puma |
| 2014 | USUi | MEIDEN | 雄大 | |||||
| 2015 | USUi | SURUGA Bank | – | MEIDEN | ||||
| 2016 | MEIDEN | – | ||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||
| 2018 | Kawata Construction (Left) | Kawata Construction (Right) | ||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||
| 2020 | MEIDEN (Left) | MEIDEN (Right) | Kawata Construction | |||||
- "Azul Claro Numazu join J3：en". J. LEAGUE.JP JAPAN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- "２０２４シーズン・Ｊ２クラブライセンス取得のお知らせ". azul-claro.jp. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- "2010 data source". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- "2011 data source". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- "２０２４シーズン新体制発表". www.azulclaro.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- Official website (in Japanese)