Iwate Grulla Morioka

"Grulla" is the Spanish word of "crane", which was used in the mon of Nanbu clan of former Morioka han and later became the local symbol of Morioka.

Initially known as Villanova Morioka (ヴィラノーバ盛岡, Viranōba Morioka), the team was organized by alumni of Morioka Commercial High School and Morioka Chuo High School in 2000.

In 2003, a nonprofit organization Association of Setting Up a J. League Team in Morioka (Jリーグチームを盛岡に作る会, J Rīgu chīmu wo Morioka ni tsukuru kai) was founded, and the team was reorganized and changed their name to Grulla Morioka (グルージャ盛岡) in February 2004 with the intention of achieving elevation to the J. League by 2008.

Under the new organization, former JEF United and Oita Trinita player Shinichi Muto was invited to coach and captain the team with the company of players from the defunct Villanova Morioka and from J2 league. They played their first match on May 9, 2004, and it could be seen as an introduction to the local press beforehand. They won the second division Tohoku Soccer League in 2004 and moved to the first division in 2005. In the same year, they won their first league championship, which was shared with TDK S.C.

In 2013 they won the Regional Promotion Series and were promoted directly to the newly formed J3 League, skipping the Japan Football League which became the new fourth tier.

From the 2019 season, the club has adopted the new name as "Iwate Grulla Morioka".^[1] In 2021 they earned promotion to the J2 League as J3 runners-up and will make their debut in the second tier in 2022.

On 28 October 2022, Iwate Grulla Morioka acquired the J1 License, meaning that from the 2022 season, they can now be promoted to the J1 League if the club finishes in J2's Top 2.

It played in the inaugural season of J3 League in 2014 after winning the Tohoku Soccer League, one of the Japanese Regional Leagues, in 2013. Iwate played in the J3 until 2021, when was promoted to the J2 for the 2022 season. After just a season in the second division, the club was relegated back to the J3 with a bottom-league finish of 34 points won in 42 matches.

Iwate plays at (or have played) at three stadiums. Their main stadium is Iwagin Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,938.

The second stadium is the Kitakami Stadium, located in the city of Kitakami, Iwate, which has a capacity of 6,376.

They have played before at the Iwate Morioka Stadium.

Key

As of 12 April 2024^[update].^[2]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  JPN Takuo Okubo 3 DF  JPN Ryo Saito 4 DF  JPN Daisuke Fukagawa 5 DF  JPN Maaya Sako (on loan from Tokyo Verdy) 6 DF  JPN Shunki Takahashi 7 FW  JPN Shumpei Fukahori 8 MF  JPN Tsubasa Yuge 9 FW  JPN Ken Tokura 10 MF  NGA Kenneth Otabor 11 MF  JPN Sota Kiri 13 MF  JPN Daiki Kogure 14 MF  JPN Koki Matsubara 15 MF  JPN Toi Kagami 16 DF  PRK Ryu Se-gun 17 MF  JPN Ryo Niizato 18 DF  JPN Tsuyoshi Miyaichi 19 FW  JPN Miyu Sato

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  JPN Shota Shimogami 21 GK  JPN Agashi Inaba 22 DF  JPN Daigo Nishi 23 FW  JPN Koki Toyoda (on loan from Nagoya Grampus) 25 DF  JPN Yuzuki Yamato (on loan from Ventforet Kofu) 27 DF  JPN Kaio Yabunaka 29 MF  JPN Koki Mizuno 30 MF  JPN Shuto Adachi (on loan from Vissel Kobe) 31 GK  KOR Kim Sung-kon 32 FW  JPN Mamoru Kamisasanuki 33 DF  KOR Lee Byung-chan 44 DF  JPN Eiru Aratama 46 MF  JPN Atsutaka Nakamura 51 DF  JPN Kota Fukatsu 77 MF  JPN Kanta Komatsu 88 GK  KOR Kim Jae-young

• Grulla Morioka official site (in Japanese)
• GO！GO！GRULLA, a supporting TV program produced by Iwate Menkoi Television (in Japanese)
• グルージャまったり日記, fan site (in Japanese)