Shimizu S-Pulse

Founded In
Shizuoka, Japan

Shimizu S-Pulse

About Shimizu S-Pulse

Shimizu S-Pulse was founded in 1991 and, as a result, is one of Japan's youngest professional football teams. Initially, the team was called Shimizu FC, but two months later, the current name was adopted. The side was founded with backing from local businesses and they are one of the few clubs to have never suffered relegation from the J-League. They represent the Shizuoka prefecture and have achieved success in both domestic and international competitions.

In 1992, S-Pulse almost made a dream start to life when they reached the final of the J-League Cup. Unfortunately, they were beaten by Verdy Kawasaki. In 1993, they became a founding member of the J-League and they finished the season in 3rd place. Once again, they reached the J-League Cup final, but lost to the same opponents.

The club earned its first major honour in 1996, as S-Pulse lifted the J-League Cup in their third cup final. In total, the team have made ten domestic cup final appearances, which is more than any club other than Kashima Antlers. Despite this, they have only won two of those finals, with their other victory coming in the 2001 edition of the Emporer's Cup. To date, their best performance in the league was a 2nd place finish in 1999. In addition to their success at domestic level, Shimizu S-Pulse claimed their first international honour in 2000, when they won the Asian Cup Winners' Cup.

A number of Japanese international footballers have played for the club, with some of the most notable examples including Shinji Ono, Alex, Kazuyuki Toda, Kenta Hasegawa, Daisuke Ichikawa and Naohiro Takahara. Amongst the best-known foreign talents to play for S-Pulse are Swedish international Fredrik Ljungberg and Brazilian international Djalminha.

Outsourcing Stadium Nihondaira has served as the club's home since 1993. The stadium is known for having one of the best playing surfaces in the J-League. It is able to hold a total of 20,339 supporters.