Full name Roasso Kumamoto Ground Umakana Yokana Stadium 2016 16th Founded 1969 Manager Hiroyuki Kiyokawa Chairman Tomoyoshi Ikeya | Nickname(s) Roasso Ground Capacity 32,000 Website Club home page Arena/Stadium Umakana Yokana Stadium League J2 League | |
Location Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan Profiles | ||
Roasso Kumamoto (ロアッソ熊本, Roasso Kumamoto) is a Japanese football (soccer) club based in Kumamoto, the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture. Roasso Kumamoto was promoted to J2 League for the first time at the end of the 2007 season, and played their first season in 2008 where they finished 12th. Their team colour is red.
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History
The club was founded as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) Kumamoto Soccer Club in 1969. The club was promoted to the Kyushu Regional League in 1983.
When NTT was privatised in 1985, the club was renamed as NTT Kyushu Soccer Club. The club changed their name again to NTT West Kumamoto Soccer Club in 1999 when NTT was divided into NTT West and NTT East.
The club was promoted to the JFL in 2001 and finished 8th. In 2002, NTT relinquished the ownership of the club and community-oriented Alouette Kumamoto was born. Alouette is a French word meaning skylark, the symbol bird of Kumamoto Prefecture. The club finished 17th that season and was relegated to the Kyushu League.
In 2005, the club name changed again to Rosso Kumamoto. Rosso means red in Italian. After they won the Kyushu League and finished 3rd in the Regional League play-off tournament, the club was promoted to the JFL.
The team was recently featured in J. League programming to introduce the team to followers of the pro league. Rosso's second-place finish in the 2007 JFL season was high enough to earn promotion into the J. League for the 2008 season.
Change of name
Rosso changed its name to Roasso Kumamoto as of January 1, 2008, prior to entering the J. League. Roasso is a portmanteau, rosso meaning 'red', asso meaning "ace" in Italian. The name Rosso is a registered trademark of another company and this team can't use Rosso. Its symbol, a prancing horse and its colour are an evident reference to Ferrari.
Record as Under Grade League
Record after changing name as Rosso Kumamoto.
Record as J. League member
Current squad
As of 9 February 2017. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.