Ventforet Kofu

Football club infobox
clubname = Ventforet Kofu
ヴァンフォーレ甲府


fullname = Ventforet Kofu
nickname = Ventforet
founded = 1965
ground = Kose Sports Stadium Kofu
capacity = 17,000
chairman = Kazuyuki Umino
manager = Takayoshi Anma (2008 - )
league = J. League Div.2
season = 2007
position = 17th (Relegated to J2)
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pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
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nihongo|Ventforet Kofu |ヴァンフォーレ甲府|Vanfōre Kōfu are a Japanese football (soccer) club from Kofu. They compete in the J. League division 2, and their home ground is the Kose Sports Stadium.

The word "Ventforet" is coined combining two French words Vent ("Wind") and Forêt ("Forest"). This derives from the famous phrase Fuu-Rin-Ka-Zan (風林火山）that Shingen Takeda, a Kofu-based prominent daimyo in the Sengoku period, liked to see on his war banners. This phrase refers to the idea of "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain".

History

Kofu Club (1965 - 1994)

The club were founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School called Kakujo Club started to recruit graduates of other highs with the intention of promotion to the Japan Soccer League.

The club joined the newly formed JSL Division 2 in 1972. They stayed there until the conclusion of the league in 1992 when they became a founding member of the former Japan Football league.

Kofu Club were a club, in the real sense of the word, formed by voluntary members, unlike other mainstream football clubs at that time in Japan whose players were mostly the employees of their sponsoring companies.

Ventforet Kofu (1995 - present)

The club were given new name Ventforet Kofu in 1995 and joined J. League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. They survived the difficult times between 1999 and 2001, during which they suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch including a series of 25 losses. They finished bottom for 3 consecutive seasons and were dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2."

The club turned the corner in 2002 as a result of operation restructuring and enthusiastic efforts from their supporters. Kofu finished third in 2005 and were promoted to J1 by winning the promotion/relegation play-offs against Kashiwa Reysol. This spell in the top flight proved short lived after the team were relegated back to the J2 with a week remaining of the 2007 season.

Current Squad

"As of August 3, 2008"

Season by season results and managers

Former players

* Takafumi Ogura
* Ovidiu Burcă
* Bare

Trivia

For 34 years without interruption, the club played in the 2nd-tier leagues of the Japanese football hierarchy since 1972. Kofu belonged to the JSL Division 2 (1972-92), the former JFL (1992-1998; in 1992 and 1993 it was in the JFL's second division, which later was unified with the first division) and J2 (1999-2005). To their supporters' delight, the record finally ended when they were promoted to J1 in 2006.

External links

*ja icon [http://www.ventforet.co.jp/ Official website]

J. League