Ventforet Kofu

The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French root words: "vent" (wind) and "forêt" (forest). The name alludes to the famous phrase Fū-rin-ka-zan (風林火山) that Takeda Shingen, a prominent Kōfu-based daimyō in the Sengoku period, emblazoned on his war banners. The phrase contains four similies: as swift as the wind; as silent as a forest; as fierce as fire; as immovable as a mountain.

The club was founded in 1965 when the old boys' club of Kofu Dai-ichi High School, the Kakujo Club, started to recruit graduates of other high schools with the intention of promotion to the Japan Soccer League and was formed as Kofu Club. Kofu Club was formed by volunteers, unlike other mainstream football clubs at that time in Japan, whose players were mostly the employees of their sponsoring companies.

Kofu Club joined the newly formed JSL Division 2 in 1972. They stayed there until the conclusion of the league in 1992 when it became a founding member of the former Japan Football League.

The club was renamed Ventforet Kofu in 1995 and joined J.League Division 2 in 1999 when it was formed. The club survived a difficult period between 1999 and 2001, when it suffered from financial troubles as well as miserable results on the pitch, including a streak of twenty-five consecutive losses. Ventforet finished bottom for three seasons in succession and was dubbed as "Excess baggage of J2".

Ventforet improved in 2002, and in 2005 finished third, gaining promotion to the Japanese first division by winning the promotion/relegation play-offs against Kashiwa Reysol. However, the team was relegated with a week remaining in the 2007 season.

At the end of 2010 season, the team was promoted a second time. Despite having striker Mike Havenaar contend for the Top Scorer award in division one the following year, the club was relegated again at the end of 2011. However, it returned after only one year's absence as champions of division two, Ventforet's first championship in its thirty-six-year history. Ventforet remained in J.League 1 until 2017, consistently staying as a top tier J.League 2 team after relegation

Ventforet participated in the 2022 Emperor's Cup, earning a direct second round entry alongside all J1 and J2 League teams. Following a 5–1 win over Okayama-based International Pacific University, they then only faced J1 League opponents the rest of the tournament. They would beat Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Sagan Tosu away from home by 2–1 and 3–1 respectively to advance to the quarter finals, in a stage which they had been on 4 times without ever getting past it. In another match away from home, now against Avispa Fukuoka, the game would be tied up 1–1 and head into extra time, with Yoshiki Torikai scoring in the 97th minute to bring Kofu to their first Emperor's Cup Semi-final, where they would beat Kashima Antlers thanks to Jumma Miyazaki's goal in the 37th minute to reach their first Emperor's Cup Final.

In the final, Kofu were up against Sanfrecce Hiroshima, a J1 team who hadn't won an Emperor's Cup since 1969 (including amateur era). Kazushi Mitsuhira scored in the 26th minute to give Kofu the lead, before Sanfrecce midfielder Takumu Kawamura tied the match in the 84th minute. After a scoreless extra time, the final was decided in a penalty shootout. After Sanfrecce missed their fourth penalty, 42-year-old Hideomi Yamamoto scored Kofu's fifth and final penalty to win the Emperor's Cup champions for the first time. Their win marked the first time that a J2 League team had won the Emperor's Cup since FC Tokyo in 2011, the fourth J2 champion overall, and the first occasion in which the winner was not the second division champions. Thus, they will play the AFC Champions League while playing in their domestic second-tier league.

On 20 September 2023, Ventforet played their first AFC Champions League official match against Australian side Melbourne City for the competition's group stage. Playing away at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium with few of their usual starting players, the match ended in a 0–0 draw, earning them their first point and clean sheet in this competition.^[1] On 4 October 2023, Ventforet picked up their first Champions League win against Thai champions Buriram United. Motoki Hasegawa scored in stoppage time as Ventforet won 1–0 at home, On 12 December 2023, Ventforet clinched their spots in the Round of 16 after a 2–3 away win against Buriram United. This marks the first time a team qualified for the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League though not playing in their nation's top division. Ventforet than faced against Korean giants, Ulsan Hyundai in the Round of 16, however, they were knocked out from the tournament after suffering a 5–1 on aggregate defeat.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		VEN	MCY	ZHP	BUR
1	Ventforet Kofu	6	3	2	1	11	8	+3	11	Advance to round of 16		—	3–3	4–1	1–0
2	Melbourne City	6	2	3	1	8	6	+2	9			0–0	—	1–1	0–1
3	Zhejiang	6	2	1	3	9	13	−4	7			2–0	1–2	—	3–2
4	Buriram United	6	2	0	4	9	10	−1	6			2–3	0–2	4–1	—

Key

• Kanto League: 1967–71 (as Kofu Club)
• Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1972–91 (as Kofu Club)
• Division 3 (former JFL Div. 2): 1992–93 (as Kofu Club)
• Division 2 (former JFL): 1994–98 (Kofu Club until 1994, Ventforet Kofu since 1995)
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 1999–05
• Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2006–07
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2008–10
• Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2011
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2012
• Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2013–2017
• Division 2 (J.League Div. 2): 2018–

As of 21 August 2024.^[2]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   JPN Kohei Kawata 3 DF   KOR Taiga Son 4 DF   JPN Hideomi Yamamoto 6 MF   JPN Iwana Kobayashi (vice-captain) 7 MF   JPN Sho Araki (vice-captain) 8 MF   JPN Kosuke Taketomi 9 FW   JPN Kazushi Mitsuhira 10 MF   JPN Yoshiki Torikai 11 FW   BRA Macula 13 FW   JPN Yukito Murakami 14 MF   JPN Riku Nakayama 15 FW   JPN Riku Iijima 16 MF   JPN Koya Hayashida 18 MF   JPN Naoto Misawa 19 FW   JPN Jumma Miyazaki 21 MF   BRA Renato Augusto 23 DF   JPN Masahiro Sekiguchi (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 DF   JPN Takahiro Iida (on loan from Kyoto Sanga) 26 MF   JPN Kazuhiro Sato 29 DF   JPN Kaito Kamiya 30 FW   JPN Kotatsu Kumakura DSP 31 GK   JPN Kakeru Miyashita Type 2 32 GK   KOR Koh Bong-jo (on loan from Sagan Tosu) 33 GK   JPN Kodai Yamauchi 34 MF   JPN Takuto Kimura (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos) 35 DF   JPN Taiju Ichinose DSP 40 DF   BRA Eduardo Mancha 41 MF   JPN Miki Inoue 44 FW   JPN Yamato Naito 51 MF   BRA Adaílton 88 GK   JPN Tsubasa Shibuya 99 FW   NGA Peter Utaka

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF   JPN Hikaru Endo (at Tegevajaro Miyazaki) 22 DF   JPN Riku Nozawa (at FC Gifu)

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 FW   JPN Hayata Mizuno (at Iwate Grulla Morioka)

• Official website (in Japanese)