Rugby team
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Club · Japan · J1 League
«Sanfrecce»
Sanfrecce moved in for the 2024 season, leaving behind the Hiroshima Big Arch, which had held them since the club turned professional in 1992.
What plays there began as a works team. Toyo Kogyo, the car maker that became Mazda, put out a side in 1938, and the company's name travelled through the club's own for the next fifty years — Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club, then Mazda Sports Club, then Mazda Soccer Club, each change following a reorganisation upstairs rather than anything on the pitch. Mazda still part-owns the club today, alongside EDION. When the professional J.League was founded in 1992 the works name went and Sanfrecce arrived: san for three, frecce the Italian for arrows, after Mōri Motonari and his lesson that three arrows bound together do not break.
The titles came late and then quickly. Three J1 League championships in four seasons — 2012, 2013 and 2015 — and in the middle of them the Emperor's Cup of 2013, the club's first since 1970.
Cerezo Osaka remain the fixture that empties the table of meaning, the San-O Derby.
Latest results
All matches| 6 Sep | J1 League |
Fagiano Okayama
A
|
2:3 | L |
| 2 Sep | J1 League |
Nagoya Grampus
H
|
3:0 | W |
| 29 Aug | J1 League |
Gamba Osaka
A
|
0:0 | D |
| 26 Aug | Emperor’s Cup |
Okinawa SV
H
|
4:1 | W |
| 22 Aug | J1 League |
Kawasaki Frontale
H
|
1:1 | D |
| 15 Aug | J1 League |
Urawa
A
|
4:1 | W |
Standing
J1 League| # | Team | M | W | D | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
 Kashima
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13:11 | 12 |
| 4 |
 Kashiwa Reysol
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10:8 | 12 |
| 5 |
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13:5 | 11 |
| 6 |
 FC Tokyo
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11:8 | 11 |
| 7 |
 Yokohama F. Marinos
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10:8 | 10 |
Team statistics
matches counted: 326| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 326 | 164 | 162 |
| Scored | 537 | 298 | 239 |
| Conceded | 352 | 161 | 191 |
| Scored per game | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.5 |
| Conceded per game | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| Difference | +185 | +137 | +48 |
Key players
by appearances over the last yearSquad of Sanfrecce Hiroshima
by appearances over the last year| Number | Player | Position | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |  Shuto Nakano |
Defender | 29 |
| 10 |  Akito Suzuki |
Midfielder | 29 |
| 99 |  Issei Ouchi |
Goalkeeper | 29 |
| 14 |  Taishi Matsumoto |
Midfielder | 28 |
| 5 |  Arai Naoto |
Midfielder | 27 |
| 6 |  Hayao Kawabe |
Midfielder | 27 |
| 11 |  Kato Mutsuki |
Forward | 26 |
| 3 |  Taichi Yamasaki |
Defender | 26 |
| 1 |  Keisuke Osako |
Goalkeeper | 25 |
| 7 |  Shunki Higashi |
Midfielder | 25 |
| 16 |  Takaaki Shichi |
Defender | 24 |
| 33 |  Tsukasa Shiotani |
Defender | 24 |
| 17 |  Kosuke Kinoshita |
Forward | 24 |
| 19 |  Sasaki Sho |
Defender | 23 |
| 40 |  Motoki Ohara |
Midfielder | 22 |
| 4 |  Hayato Araki |
Defender | 21 |
| 35 |  J. Nakajima |
Midfielder | 21 |
| 9 |  Ryo Germain |
Forward | 21 |
| 39 |  Sota Nakamura |
Forward | 21 |
| 18 |  Daiki Suga |
Midfielder | 20 |
| 41 |  Naoki Maeda |
Forward | 19 |
| 25 |  Yusuke Chajima |
Midfielder | 14 |
| 37 |  Ju-Sung Kim |
Defender | 12 |
| 23 |  Shun Ayukawa |
Forward | 10 |
| 30 |  Tolgay Ali Arslan |
Forward | 10 |
| 45 |  Simon Kobayashi |
Midfielder | 8 |
| 21 |  Yudai Tanaka |
Goalkeeper | 8 |
| 22 |  Sébastien Romain Teddy Haller |
Forward | 5 |
| 8 |  Takumu Kawamura |
Midfielder | 5 |
| 11 |  Mutsuki Kato |
Midfielder | 3 |
| 32 |  S. Koshimichi |
Midfielder | 2 |
| 46 |  R. Noguchi |
Midfielder | 2 |
Fixtures of Sanfrecce Hiroshima
-
6 Sep
Fagiano Okayama
A
2:3
L
-
2 Sep
Nagoya Grampus
H
3:0
W
-
29 Aug
Gamba Osaka
A
0:0
D
-
26 Aug
Okinawa SV
H
4:1
W
-
22 Aug
Kawasaki Frontale
H
1:1
D
-
15 Aug
Urawa
A
4:1
W
-
8 Aug
JEF United Chiba
H
3:0
W
-
28 Jul
Verspah Ōita
H
4:0
W
Honours of Sanfrecce Hiroshima
- Japanese Super Cup 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 4
- Emperor’s Cup 1939, 1970, 2013 3
- J1 League 2012, 2013, 2015 3
- J.League Cup 2022 1