Kashiwa Reysol

Kashiwa Reysol (柏レイソル, Kashiwa Reisoru) is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba. The team competes in the J. League Division 1 from 2011 season.

Formed in 1940, Reysol were founding members of Japan Soccer League in 1965 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of Japanese football. They have been Japanese league champions twice, in 1972 and 2011, and have won three Emperor's Cups.

Reysol have a rivalry with neighbours JEF United Chiba and the two sides contest the Chiba derby. The club have been based at Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium since 1985.

History

Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Kodaira, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League. It had some success during the mid-1970s, winning several Emperor's Cup and JSL titles and contributing several players to the Japanese national team.

In 1986, the team relocated from Kodaira to Kashiwa, but it took a while to adapt to the new town, as they were relegated to the JSL Division 2 at the season's closing. They made it back to the top flight in 1989, only to drop back in 1990 and return in 1991. As the J. League advent had come too soon for them, Hitachi chose to relegate itself in the last JSL season.