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.

Iwate play at or have played at three stadiums. The main stadium is Iwagin Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,938.

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

Previously they have played at the Iwate Morioka Stadium

Key

• Pos. = Position in league; P = Games Played; W = Games won; D = Games Drawn; L = Games Lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals Difference; Pts = Points gained
• Attendance/G = Average home league attendance
• † 2020 season attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
• Source: J.League Data Site

• Tohoku League Div. 2 North Champions
  • 2004
• Tohoku League Div. 1 Champions
  • 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013

As of 2 February 2022.[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 3 DF  JPN Issei Tone 4 DF  JPN Yusuke Muta 5 MF  JPN Keita Ishii 6 DF  JPN Kentaro Kai 7 MF  BRA Lucas Morelatto 8 MF  JPN Kosei Wakimoto 9 FW  PRK Han Yong-thae 11 FW  BRA Brenner 13 FW  JPN Yuki Shikama 14 MF  JPN Hayata Komatsu (on loan from Montedio Yamagata) 15 MF  JPN Toi Kagami 16 DF  JPN Tatsuya Tabira 17 DF  JPN Taisuke Nakamura 18 DF  JPN Tsuyoshi Miyaichi 19 GK  JPN Kenta Matsuyama 21 GK  JPN Agashi Inaba 22 MF  JPN Yohei Okuyama 23 MF  JPN Ren Yamakawa 25 FW  KOR Kim Jong-min

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 DF  PHI Paul Tabinas 27 MF  NGA Kenneth Otabor 28 MF  JPN Shunji Masuda 29 MF  KOR Jang Hyun-soo 30 MF  JPN Takuma Takeda 31 GK  JPN Nobuyuki Abe 32 FW  JPN Mamoru Kamisasanuki 33 MF  JPN Tsubasa Yuge 36 DF  JPN Masahito Onoda 37 DF  JPN Daisuke Fukagawa 38 MF  JPN Takuto Minami (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos) 39 FW  JPN Kaito Suzuki 41 GK  JPN Taishi Brandon Nozawa (on loan from FC Tokyo) 42 FW  JPN Sota Kiri 44 DF  JPN Ryo Saito 45 FW  JPN Masashi Wada 46 MF  JPN Atsutaka Nakamura 49 MF  JPN Masaomi Nakano

• 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)