is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese professional football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2

J. League Division 2

The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...

. The team is located in Tosu

Tosu, Saga

is a city located in the east part of Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, Japan.-Overview:Tosu is one of the major transportation hubs of Kyūshū. Its main train station is Tosu Station which connects the Nagasaki Main Line and the Kagoshima Main Line. There is also a junction connecting the...

, Saga Prefecture

Saga Prefecture

is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...

.

Sagan is a coined word with a couple of meanings behind it. One of its homophone

Homophone

A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...

s is in Japanese. This symbolises many small elements uniting to form one formidable object. Also, Sagan Tosu can be interpreted as in the area's dialect. In addition, it is widely believed that the word is meant to be a pun with Italian giants Juventus although the club hasn't confirmed it.

History

In February 1997, Sagan was established as a new club which virtually takes over Tosu Futures

Tosu Futures

was a Japanese football club that played in the former Japan Football League between 1993 and 1997.-History:PJM Futures was originally founded in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in 1987 and moved to Tosu, Saga in 1995, changing its name to Tosu Futures. This happened one year after joining the former Japan...

, which became insolvent in the previous month, and admitted to participate Japan Football League

Japan Football League (former)

The former was an association football league that existed from 1992 to 1998. Also known as the JFL, it was the 2nd tier of the Japanese football hierarchy following J...

 from 1997 to 1998, as well as J. League Cup

J. League Cup

J. League Cup is a Japanese football competition organized by J. League. It is also known as Yamazaki Nabisco Cup or Nabisco Cup because confectionery/bakery company Yamazaki Nabisco have sponsored the competition since its inception in 1992.It is generally regarded as the Japanese equivalent to...

 in 1997 as a preferential measure, although J. League Associate Membership

J. League Associate Membership

J. League Associate Membership　 is a status given to Japanese non-league football clubs. The applicant must have an intention to become a professional club and to join the professional league, J. League, governed in the top two levels of the Japanese football pyramid...

 status is not awarded to Sagan. In 1999 they were admitted to the new J. League Division 2 (J2), where they remain. Due to Montedio Yamagata

Montedio Yamagata

Montedio Yamagata is a professional association football club based in Yamagata Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in J. League Division 1.Montedio is a coined word combining two Italian words Monte and Dio .-History:...

's promotion to Division 1 (J1) in 2009 season, Sagan became the only club which plays in J2 for entire period since its establishment in 1999.

Record as J. League member

Season	Div.	Tms.	Pos.	Attendance/G	J. League Cup J. League Cup J. League Cup is a Japanese football competition organized by J. League. It is also known as Yamazaki Nabisco Cup or Nabisco Cup because confectionery/bakery company Yamazaki Nabisco have sponsored the competition since its inception in 1992.It is generally regarded as the Japanese equivalent to...	Emperor's Cup Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or , is a Japanese association football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J. League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, Japan Soccer League...
1999	J2	10	8	3,385	1st Round	3rd Round
2000	J2	11	6	3,714	1st Round	3rd Round
2001	J2	12	10	3,479	1st Round	4th Round
2002	J2	12	9	3,890	-	3rd Round
2003	J2	12	12	3,172	-	1st Round
2004	J2	12	11	3,610	-	4th Round
2005	J2	12	8	7,855	-	4th Round
2006	J2	13	4	7,465	-	4th Round
2007	J2	13	8	6,114	-	5th Round
2008	J2	15	6	7,261	-	Quarter-final
2009	J2	18	5	5,939	-	4th Round
2010	J2	19	9	6,633	-	3rd Round

Key

• Tms. = Number of teams
• Pos. = Position in league
• Attendance/G = Average league attendance

Current squad

As of August 1, 2010

Notable players

David Bisconti

David Bisconti

David Bisconti is a retired Argentine football player who played 12 times for the Argentina national team.Bisconti played the majority of his football for Rosario Central and Yokohama Marinos in Japan...

 Pericles Mike Havenaar

Mike Havenaar

is a Japanese professional footballer of Dutch descent. He currently plays as a striker for J. League Division 1 club Ventforet Kofu. Havenaar speaks Japanese, Dutch and English.- Early life :...

 Yugo Ichiyanagi Hirotsugu Nakabayashi Naoki Naruo Erikson Noguchipinto

Erikson Noguchipinto

Erikson Noguchipinto formerly name ; Erikson Frank Noguchi Pinto is a Brazilian-Japanese footballer. He moved to Japan at age 10 and obtained his Japanese citizenship in 2003....

 Junnosuke Schneider Park Jung-Hye

External links

Official Site