Kashiwa Reysol

Hitachi SC (1939–1992)

The club started in 1939 and was officially formed as the company team, Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in 1940 in Kodaira, Tokyo. The club formed the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965, along with today's Urawa Reds, JEF United Chiba, Cerezo Osaka, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and three other clubs ("Original Eight"). They had some successes during the mid-1970s, winning Emperor's Cups and JSL titles and contributing several players to the Japanese national team.

The club relocated from Kodaira to Kashiwa in 1986, but it took a while to adapt to the new town, as they were relegated to the JSL Division 2 at end of the 1986. They made it back to the top flight in 1989–90, but dropped back in 1990–91 and returned again in 1991–92. As the J.League was formed while they were not strong enough, the club abandoned any attempt to once again be a founding member of the newly formed professional league. Instead, the club joined the Japan Football League Division 1 in 1992, the second tier of the Japanese football hierarchy at the time, below the J.League.

Kashiwa Reysol (1993–present)

The club changed its name to Kashiwa Reysol in 1993. Reysol added Brazil national team player Careca to their squad in the autumn of this year with the aim of winning the JFL champion and winning promotion to the J1 League. The club struggled in the 1993 season. However, with the help of Careca and Brazilian manager Zé Sérgio, they secured the 2nd place in the JFL in 1994, earning promotion to the top league. Reysol debuted in the J1 League in 1995. In 1998, they welcomed Akira Nishino, the former manager of Japan's olympic team as their new manager, along with Bulgarian national team player Hristo Stoichkov.

First major honours (1999)

In 1999, South Korean national team player, Hong Myung-bo was added to the squad. The team went on to win the J.League Cup in 1999 beating Kashima Antlers 5–4 on penalties to win their first ever major honours as Kashiwa Reysol.

However, their next manager, Englishman Steve Perryman, unsettled the team and the club struggled over the next several seasons. After finishing at the 16th place out of 18 clubs in 2005, the club lost the J.League promotion / relegation series against Ventforet Kofu, the 3rd placed team in the J2 League that year, and was relegated to the J2 League.

A new manager, Nobuhiro Ishizaki, led an almost entirely new squad in 2006 and the club secured automatic promotion to the J1 League in the last game of the season.

Rise to prominence after relegation (2009–2014)

Kashiwa Reysol was relegated again at the end of the 2009 season after sitting in the relegation zone thus playing in the J2 League. However, in the 2010 season, Kashiwa Reysol won the J2 League led by Brazilian manager Nelsinho Baptista returned to the top flight after staying one season in the second division. Kashiwa Reysol then shockingly went on to win the J1 League on their first season back in the J1 League in the 2011 season with a squad stacked with talented footballers such as Hiroki Sakai, Junya Tanaka, Jorge Wagner and Leandro Domingues, and became the first Japanese club to win the second tier and the top tier back to back. Kashiwa Reysol then qualified for the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's league champion where they went on to defeat 2010–11 OFC Champions League winner Auckland City and 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League winner Monterrey before eventually losing to the 2011 Copa Libertadores winner Santos in the semi-final. The club then played their last match for third place against 2011 AFC Champions League winner Al Sadd but lost 5–3 on penalties.

AFC Champions League debut

In 2012, Kashiwa make their debut in the AFC Champions League where they were drawn in Group H alongside Thailand club Buriram United, Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. Kashiwa went on to finished with 10 points alongside Guangzhou Evergrande but advanced to the round of 16 as runners-up due to their head to head record. In the round of 16, Kashiwa faced another Korean club Ulsan Hyundai but eventually lost 3–2 thus going out from the competition. However, Kashiwa continued their strong form in 2012 by winning the Emperor's Cup, defeating Gamba Osaka in the final with Hirofumi Watanabe scoring the only goal in the match to seal the victory for Kashiwa Reysol where the victory also qualified the club for the 2013 AFC Champions League. Kashiwa also went on to win the 2012 Japanese Super Cup.

In 2013, Kashiwa had a good run in the AFC Champions League where they were drawn in Group H alongside Chinese club Guizhou Renhe, Australian club Central Coast Mariners and Korean club Suwon Samsung Bluewings. The club went on to top the group with 14 points thus advancing to the round of 16 where they would face another Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors where Kashiwa went on to win 5–2 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals against Saudi Arabian club Al Shabab. However, both leg resulted in a 3–3 draw on aggregate but fortunately sees Kashiwa advance to the semi-finals due to the away goals rule. In the semi-finals, Kashiwa faced Guangzhou Evergrande but the club was thrashed 8–1 on aggregate thus knocking out from the tournament. Kashiwa then went on to win the season by winning the 2013 J.League Cup. Kashiwa then went on the win the Suruga Bank Championship in 2014.

Relegation and return to the top flight (2018–2021)

In 2018, Kashiwa long stay in the top division came to an end when the club finished in the relegation zone in the 2018 season, resulting in relegation to the J2 League for the first time since 2010. Kashiwa responded strongly to relegation the following season. Under Brazilian manager Nelsinho Baptista, who returned to helms the club guided them to dominated the J2 League in the 2019 season. Kashiwa then won the league title and secured immediate promotion back to the J1 League.