URAWA RED DIAMONDS

Before the J. League

Like most other J. League clubs, Urawa Reds started out as a company-based team run for the benefit of company staff. It all began in 1950 with the formation of a football club at Kobe-based Shin-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The club relocated to Tokyo together with the company in 1958. The company changed its name to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1964. Before long, they had developed to become one of the powerhouses of Japanese company football, a status that was maintained for the next three decades. When Japan's first non-professional national league, the Japan Soccer League (JSL), was launched in 1965, Mitsubishi were one of the eight founding members. Four Mitsubishi players were regular members of the team that won Japan's historic bronze medal at the Mexico Olympics of 1968, including goalkeeper Kenzo Yokoyama and midfielder Takaji Mori. That success gave a great spur to football's popularity in Japan, a change symbolised by a match between Mitsubishi and Yanmar at the National Stadium in Tokyo on November 17, 1968, that featured several Olympic stars and attracted a record JSL crowd of 40,000. Mitsubishi's greatest period was from 1969 to 1982, when they won the league championship 4 times, came second 6 times, and also took the Emperor's Cup on 4 occasions. In 1978, Mitsubishi won Japan's first ever treble (the league, Emperor's Cup and League Cup). For the League Cup, the first of those three trophies, the team colour was changed from blue to red, and it has stayed that way ever since. The 1980's included a difficult patch and the team were even relegated to Division 2 at the end of the 1988/89 season. A young striker named Masahiro Fukuda arrived at the club the following year and they bounced straight back by winning Division 2. The club changed umbrellas from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to Mitsubishi Motors for the 1990/91 season in preparation for joining the J. League -- the nation's first professional football league -- again as founding members.

1992 #Birth of Urawa Reds

The name was changed from Mitsubishi to Urawa Red Diamonds and the first Reds team played in the inaugural J. League Yamazaki Nabisco Cup -- in effect, the pre-J. League tournament -- in 1992. They were guided by former Mitsubishi player Takaji Mori, who had since also managed the Japan national team. The team featured two players from Argentina, Osvaldo Escudero and Marcelo Trivisonno, and a Japanese-Peruvian, Edwin Uehara. Reds finished fifth in the first-round group stage and did not advance to the semi-finals. They did, however, reach the Emperor's Cup semi-finals, and approached the J. League's opening season with high expectations. Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : 5th in the Group Emperor's Cup : Semi-finals

1993 #Hesitant Beginnings

Reds struggled in their first J. League season. Pre-season problems at the preparatory level were compounded by the early departure of two Argentine signings, Victor Ferreyra and Marcelo Morales. The club brought in Germans Michael Rummenigge and Uwe Rahn, and Slovak keeper Miroslav Mentel in mid-season, but with injuries, too, finished last in both the First and Second Stages. On the bright side, Reds drew sell-out crowds at every home game. Takaji Mori stepped down as manager at the end of the season. Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : 5th in the Group Emperor's Cup : Semi-finals

1994 #Buchwald Arrives!

Guido Buchwald and Uwe Bein joined Reds in July to give the team more stability in defence and new attacking options. Reds, now under Kenzo Yokoyama, were looking better and new winger Masayuki Okano was entertaining the fans with extraordinary displays of speed. But the results still were not coming and Reds wound up bottom again in the First Stage for the third stage in a row. Bein was injured for the Second Stage, but this time Reds climbed up one place from the bottom. J. League Suntory Series : 12th/12 J. League Nicos Series : 11th/12　Overall : 12th/1 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Second round Emperor's Cup : Quarter-finals

1995 #Reds Rising

New German manager Holger Osieck discovered superior balance with Buchwald at the back, Bein in midfield and strikers Fukuda and Okano leading the attack. Reds even had a chance to win the First Stage but eventually ended third behind Yokohama Marinos and Verdy Kawasaki. Fukuda, with 32 goals, became the young league's first Japanese top scorer and Reds finished a highly creditable fourth in the overall standings. Komaba Stadium was renovated to hold 21,500. J. League Suntory Series : 3rd/14 J. League Nicos Series : 8th/14　Overall : 4th/14 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : not held Emperor's Cup : Quarter-finals

1996 #Aiming for the Title

France defender Basile Boli teamed up with Buchwald to add further security at the back. Okano and new forward Kenji Oshiba kept opponents on their toes despite the frequent absence of Fukuda through injury. 1996 was the year when the J. League was played without stages as a single, season-long tournament, and Reds' consistency took them close to the title. Only a penalty shoot-out separated Reds and the champions, Kashima Antlers, in the decisive match on November 2. Osieck and Bein left at the end of the season. J. League : 6th/16 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Qualifying league Emperor's Cup : Semi-finals

1997 #Times of Trial and Error

Reds' new passing game under Horst Koppel never quite gelled and the German manager stayed only one season. New Austrian signing Michael Baur had difficulty adjusting to life in Japan and left soon after the start. The new signings for the Second Stage were Spain midfielder Aitor Beguiristain and Dutch defender Alfred Nijhuis. Yugoslavia international Zeljko Petrovic also arrived in time for the Emperor's Cup but the overall consistency had slipped away and Buchwald, too, left after the finish. J. League First Stage : 9th/17 J. League Second Stage : 7th/17　Overall : 10th/17 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Second round Emperor's Cup : Fourth round

1998 #New Star: Shinji Ono

An 18-year-old midfielder, Shinji Ono, became the pride of Reds and then all Japan when called up by manager Takeshi Okada to join the squad for Japan's first ever World Cup at France '98. Reds, under new coach Hiromi Hara, had their nose in front in the second stage but the form fell while Ono was away at the Asian Youth Championship. Reds finished third, but Ono was named the J. League's best new player of the year and voted onto the league's Best XI. He was also the AFC's Asian Player of the year. J.League First Stage : 7th/18 J.League Second Stage : 3rd/18　Overall : 6th/18 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Qualifying league Emperor's Cup : Quarter-finals

1999 #Relegation

The J. League introduced a two-division format in 1999, and Reds were one of the first two clubs to go down. Ono was absent, first on FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship duty and then due to a serious knee injury suffered in June. Hara was dismissed after Reds finished 13th out of 16 in the first stage, but his replacement, Dutchman Aad de Mos, could not turn the tide. Reds eventually went down on goal difference. Even an extra time winner by Fukuda in the final match was not quite enough. J. League First Stage : 13th/16 J. League Second Stage : 14th/16　Overall : 15th/16 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Qualifying league Emperor's Cup : Fourth round

2000 #Straight back

Kazuo Saito took charge with the brief to lift the club back into the top flight in only one season. Beguiristain had left, but Reds signed Polish forward Andrzej Kubica. It was a gruelling 44-game season and the final run in a hard uphill struggle. Saito was assisted from mid-season by former Reds manager Kenzo Yokoyama, now general manager, and Brazilian physical coach Luis Flavio also joined for the finishing stretch. Reds clinched promotion with a golden goal in extra time of the very last match. J. League Division 2 : 2nd/11 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : First round Emperor's Cup : Fourth round

2001 #Farewell to Ono

2001 was Reds' Brazilian year. The new signings included Brazil national team midfielder Donizete, Adriano and Tuto, plus Masami Ihara, the most capped player in Japanese football history with 123 international ﾒAﾓ caps. Ono returned to top condition and performed wonders in the First Stage, but the team slumped again after he left for Feyenoord in the summer. Brazilian manager Tita was replaced by compatriot and assistant, Pita. Reds staved off relegation with the help of two more Brazilians signed in mid-season, forward Emerson and midfielder Harison. J. League First Stage : 7th/16 J. League Second Stage : 12th/16　Overall : 10th/16 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Quarter-finals Emperor's Cup : Semi-finals

2002 #Getting Close

Former Japan manager Hans Ooft re-laid the foundations to turn Reds into title contenders. Fukuda was pulled back into midfield to feed the Brazilian attacking duo of Emerson and Tuto. In October, Reds reached the League Cup final and briefly led the league's Second Stage. But they bowed to Kashima Antlers in the cup, defeated by an unfortunate deflection, and went on to lose their last 6 league matches. Defender Keisuke Tsuboi was named the J. League's best new player. Fukuda and Ihara both retired at the end of the season. J. League First Stage : 11th/16 J. League Second Stage : 8th/16　Overall : 11th/16 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Runners-up Emperor's Cup : Third round

2003 #A Trophy at Last!

Brazil international Edmundo was briefly on the books at the start of the season. His sud- den departure unsettled Reds' early league campaign but the rise of young players such as Koji Yamase and Makoto Hasebe brought new quality to the side. Australia defender Ned Zelic and Russia defender Yuri Nikiforov came in at the back, and Emerson discovered a goal-scoring hotline in partnership with Tatsuya Tanaka. In the League Cup, Reds won their first ever J. League title 4-0 against Antlers in a rematch of the 2002 final. Ooft left at the end of the season. J. League First Stage : 6th/16 J. League Second Stage : 6th/16　Overall : 6th/16 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Winners Emperor's Cup : Third round

2004 #Second Stage Champions

Guido Buchwald took charge and Reds made unprecedented signings for their league championship campaign: national team players Alex, Masayuki Okano and Tomoyuki Sakai, and Olympic defender Tulio. Turkey defender Alpay Ozalan and Nene from Brazil also joined midway. Reds stayed top from game two of the Second Stage, which started in August, and won the Second Stage title in overwhelming form. The Suntory Championship, however, ended 1-1 on aggregate and Yokohama F.Marinos took the penalty shootout 4-2. The overall title slipped from Reds' grasp. J. League First Stage : 3rd/16 J. League Second Stage : 1st/16　Overall : 2nd/16 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Runners Up Emperor's Cup : Semi-finals

2005 #Emperor's Cup Winners

The J. League introduced the 34-match league season with no separation into stages from this year. Alpay and Emerson left during the season and were replaced by Brazilian midfielder Robson Ponte and Croatian striker Tomislav Maric. Despite challenging strongly from May, a poor start to the season cost Reds dearly and they eventually wound up second to Gamba Osaka in the league. Reds finished the season on a high by winning the Emperor's Cup, which ran from December to New Year's Day, 2006, qualifying thereby to play in the 2007 Asian Champions League. The club's young stars made a great contribution to that victory. J. League : 2nd/18 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Semi-finals Emperor's Cup : Winners

2006 #J. League Champions

Learning from the previous year's league disappointment, Reds prepared well and led the table all of the way from September to secure their first J. League championship. New signing Washington scored at a rate of a goal a game and the firmness of Reds' defence, centred on Tulio, was also much admired. Tulio was rewarded with his first call up to the national team. In fact, Reds had as many as 7 players in the national squad at once, giving further evidence that this was the year that they became the top team in Japanese football. Tulio was named MVP at the J. League Awards, Washington shared the top scorer prize, and Keita Suzuki was elected together with them onto the league's Best Eleven. Reds also retained the Emperor's Cup, despite the absence of several first team regulars, to qualify for the 2008 Asian Champions League. The final was Guido Buchwald's last match as manager. He rounded off three years in charge with another famous victory. Alex left on loan to Red Bull Salzburg at the end of the season. J. League : Campions Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Best 8 Emperor's Cup : Winners

2007 #Asian Champions

Osieck returned to the helm and led to team to a historic victory in the AFC Champions League. New signing Yuki Abe soon became indispensable to the team. Reds became the first Japanese club to play at the FIFA Club World Cup and won third place in that competition. Reds narrowly failed to retain the J. League title but the name of Urawa Reds became much better known around Asia and the world. Nagai and Ponte were named MVP at the ACL and J. League Awards, respectively. Washingto. AFC Champions League : Champions FIFA Club World Cup : Third place J. League : Runners-up Yamazaki Nabisco Cup : Quarter-finals Emperor's Cup : Fourth round

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