Football Season Guide

After 8 consecutive seasons in J1 Sapporo suffered relegation in 2024. They finished in the penultimate spot but only 4 points away from safety. Their late push wasn’t enough. Earning only 2 wins in the opening 24 rounds proved costly in the end. Parted ways with coach Petkovic in the winter and now Daiki Iwamasa is in charge. Unlike, most other teams that suffer relegation Sapporo’s attractive contract situation, large home attendance numbers and rich owners allowed them to retain most of their star players. Only a handful of regulars left the team in the winter. There hasn’t been much activity in terms of new arrivals. However, the signing of Tomoki Takamine from the Belgian top flight clearly shows Sapporo’s ambitions to dominate in J2 throughout 2025. Takamine was also made the team’s captain. Up front Spaniard Sanchez, African Bakayoko and Korean Kim promise goals. They all arrived at Sapporo only midway through last season. Struggled to settle but now with a full pre-season behind them their presence in attack should be notable from game one. 40-year-old Takanori Sugeno could remain the main goalie. He has two very good back-ups though so it will be up to Sugeno when he decides to finally take a seat on the bench. Nakamura and Baba had issues in defence last season but now in the lower division they should be very dominant inside their own box. The latter is also a notable threat from set pieces. He had 2 goals in 2024 but also hit the woodwork 5 times. The bright Thai talent Sarachat played only 19 games in 2024 due to series of injuries. He was dazzling in J1 just a year earlier, so if the so-called ‘Thai Messi’ stays put as expected he will give the opponents in J2 all kinds of problems with his craftiness. With plenty of experienced players in their ranks. Rich J1 battle-hardening for practically all members of the squad and always imposing home fan base Sapporo should be riding high this year as they attempt to bounce back up straight away.