Results

Japan J2-League 11/10 05:00 38 [5] Montedio Yamagata v JEF Utd Chiba [6] L 4-0
Japan J2-League 11/03 05:00 37 [4] JEF Utd Chiba v V-Varen Nagasaki [3] L 1-2
Japan J2-League 10/26 05:00 36 [12] Fujieda MYFC v JEF Utd Chiba [4] W 2-3
Japan J2-League 10/19 05:00 35 [4] JEF Utd Chiba v Ventforet Kofu [13] W 2-1
Japan J2-League 10/05 05:00 34 [6] JEF Utd Chiba v Thespa Gunma [20] W 1-0
Japan J2-League 09/29 09:00 33 [16] Ehime FC v JEF Utd Chiba [8] W 1-2
Japan J2-League 09/21 10:00 32 [7] JEF Utd Chiba v Renofa Yamaguchi [6] W 4-1
Japan FA Cup 09/18 10:00 3 JEF Utd Chiba v Kyoto Sanga FC L 0-3
Japan J2-League 09/14 10:00 31 [11] Blaublitz Akita v JEF Utd Chiba [7] L 1-0
Japan J2-League 09/07 10:00 30 [7] JEF Utd Chiba v Mito Hollyhock [15] W 4-0
Japan J2-League 09/01 10:00 29 [16] Oita v JEF Utd Chiba [8] W 0-2
Japan J2-League 08/25 10:00 28 [9] JEF Utd Chiba v Vegalta Sendai [5] W 4-2

Stats

 TotalHomeAway
Matches played 44 23 21
Wins 22 14 8
Draws 5 2 3
Losses 17 7 10
Goals for 73 50 23
Goals against 55 28 27
Clean sheets 12 7 5
Failed to score 12 3 9

Wikipedia - JEF United Chiba

JEF United Chiba (ジェフユナイテッド千葉, Jefu Yunaiteddo Chiba), full name JEF United Ichihara Chiba (ジェフユナイテッド市原・千葉, Jefu Yunaiteddo Ichihara Chiba) and also known as JEF Chiba (ジェフ千葉, Jefu Chiba), is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football.

History

Furukawa Electric SC (1946–1991)

The club began as the company team, Furukawa Electric Soccer Club (古河電気工業サッカー部) in 1946. As the company team, it won the Japan Soccer League twice, the Emperor's Cup four times and the JSL League Cup three times. Furukawa also won the 1986–87 Asian Club Championship, the top club honor in Asia; they were the first Japanese club to do so.

The club was a founding member ("Original Eight") of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Since the league's inception, the club had always played in the top flight in Japan and was the only Japanese club to never be relegated from the JSL Division 1, a record they kept into the J1 years. They did finish the 1978 season in a relegation position (last of 10) but stayed up after beating Honda FC 1–0 on aggregate in a two-legged playoff. The last place was not automatically relegated until the 1980 season.

JEF United Ichihara (1992–2004)

In 1991, it merged with the JR East's company team to become East Japan JR Furukawa Football Club (東日本ジェイアール古河サッカークラブ) and rebranded itself as JEF United Ichihara upon the J.League's founding in 1993. JEF United Ichihara was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. The club initially built itself around the former Germany national football team player Pierre Littbarski.

From 1998 to 2000, the club struggled to stay in the J.League and it began a series of efforts to be a competitive team. Since the hiring of Ivica Osim in 2003, JEF United has contended for the league title each year despite limited resources and struggling attendance.

JEF United Chiba (2005–)

On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. Of its club name, JEF is taken from the JR East and Furukawa Electric companies and United is meant to represent the unity of the club and its home city. Also, JEF United is the only team in J.League which corporate name survived the transition from the JSL in 1992, as J.League mandated that "corporate teams are not allowed in the J.League", and that any corporate teams need to adapt a hometown and name themselves after it, rather than their owner companies.

On 16 July 2006, Osim left the club to take over the coach of the Japan national team and was succeeded by Amar Osim, his son and assistant coach. On December 5, 2007, it was announced that Amar Osim had been sacked after the club's lowly 13th-place finish in the 2007 season.

After 13 games in the 2008 season Josip Kuže was sacked as team manager. On 8 May 2008 it was announced that the new manager was Alex Miller. Miller was First Team Coach at Liverpool F.C. alongside Rafael Benítez prior to joining JEF United.

The Furukawa Electric is no longer the main sponsor of the club, a job these days taken over by Fuji Electric.

On November 8, 2009, JEF United Chiba was relegated to J2 after 44 seasons in the Japanese top division; since 2010, JEF United Chiba is playing in J.League Division 2.

JEF United Chiba was close to being promoted to J.League Division 1 during the 2012 season. The club was considered one of the favorites to be directly promoted to J1. However, after defeats to clubs considered lesser than them such as FC Gifu and F.C. Machida Zelvia, JEF played the playoffs, making their road to the final. They defeated Yokohama FC by 4–0, but lost the final match to Oita Trinita by 1–0, at Tokyo National Stadium.

In the 2013 season they played in the promotion to J1 playoffs. They lost the semi-final match to Tokushima Vortis by 1–1(Chiba was 6th place and Tokushima was 3rd place in the league, regulation decides up high club can go final even draw.)

In the 2014 season they played in the promotion playoffs to J1 again. The club did not have to play in the semi-final (Chiba was 4th place but the 3rd place club named Giravanz Kitakyushu had a J League original stadium problem so Kitakyushu could not go to the promotion play off). In the final against Montedio Yamagata, they lost by 0–1, at Ajinomoto Stadium.

The club will play their 14th consecutive season at the J2 on 2023.


JEF United Chiba is a professional soccer team based in Chiba, Japan. The team was founded in 1946 and currently competes in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese soccer.

Known for their passionate fan base and strong team spirit, JEF United Chiba has a rich history of success in Japanese soccer. The team's colors are yellow and black, and their home matches are played at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba.

JEF United Chiba has produced many talented players over the years, some of whom have gone on to represent the Japanese national team. The team is known for their attacking style of play and their ability to compete with some of the top teams in Japan.

Overall, JEF United Chiba is a respected and competitive team in Japanese soccer, with a loyal fan base and a strong tradition of success.