Full name Zweigen Kanazawa Ground Capacity 20,261 2016 21st Manager Hitoshi Morishita | Nickname(s) Zweigen Chairman Hiroshi Yonezawa League J2 League Founded 2006 | |
Ground Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium
(Seibu Ryokuchi Kōen)
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Arena/Stadium Ishikawa Athletics Stadium Profiles | ||
Zweigen Kanazawa (ツエーゲン金沢 Tsuēgen Kanazawa) is a Japanese football club based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. They play in J. League Division 2.
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History
The club was formed in 1956 under the simple name Kanazawa Soccer Club and adopted its current identity in 2006. The Hokushinetsu region, long sleepy in football terms and whose potential only arose with Albirex Niigata leading the way, provided few opportunities for Kanazawa to rise in Japan's football ranks until the late 2000s. On 19 December 2009 they were promoted to the JFL after beating FC Kariya at the promotion/relegation playoff with 2–1 aggregate score, following a third-place finish in the 2009 All Japan Regional Football Promotion League Series.
On December 15, 2010, a new management company called Zweigen, Inc. was established in order to apply to the J-League associate membership.
On January 7, 2011 the team applied for J-League associate membership.
On 16 November 2014, Zweigen became the inaugural J3 League champions, and having gained a licence to compete in J. League Division 2 will participate in Japanese club football's second tier for the 2015 season.
Name and symbolism
The name "Zweigen" is a portmanteau of the German zwei, for the number 2, and gen, to advance. In Kanazawa dialect, the phrase tsuyoi noda! (We're strong!) became tsuee gen! by double entendre. In German, the word Zweigen means branches (dative—nominative: Zweige), and owing to this, a fleur-de-lis is a key part of the club's crest.
Current squad
As of 11 February 2017. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.