Montedio Yamagata

Name origin

Montedio is a coined word combining the Italian word for "mountain" (Monte) and the word for "God" (Dio).

History

The club based in Tsuruoka was founded in 1984 as NEC Yamagata Soccer Club. It gained the promotion to the Japan Football League (former) in 1994. After renaming itself as Montedio Yamagata in 1996, it has been playing in J. League Division 2 since its inaugural 1999 season.

On 30 November 2008, they were promoted to J. League Division 1 for the first time. They achieved their highest league placing of 13th in 2010. However, in 2011, two strong loan players from Kashima Antlers were recalled. This weakened the squad which also suffered many injuries through the year and Montedio were relegated back to J.League Division 2 at the end of 2011. At the end of the season, the manager, Shinji Kobayashi, stepped down even though many fans glorified his accomplishment for the past 4 years.

Yamagata returned to the J1 after spending three seasons in the J2 by winning the J1/J2 promotion playoff final in 2014. They returned to the J2 for the 2016 season, having spent only one season at the J1. The club is currently playing their 10th consecutive season in the J2 in 2025.

Stadium

Since joining the J.League, Yamagata Prefectural Sports Park Athletics Stadium (currently known as for sponsorship reasons ND Soft Stadium Yamagata, ND Star) has been used as their home stadium.

The new stadium, with a planned capacity of 20,000 people—similar to the current ND Stadium—will feature stands designed for cold regions and a full roof for spectators, in line with the J.League club license. Tendo Mayor Shinji Yamamoto has expressed plans to secure a new parking lot to replace the current one, which will serve as the construction site. Yamagata Prefecture Governor Mieko Yoshimura stated that the prefecture intends to cooperate with land use based on the mayor's plans.

Record as J.League member

;Key

• Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; 'Pts = Points gained
• Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
• † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
• Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

Current squad

As of 31 August 2025. – Do NOT add new players before their signing is officially announced by the club through their website, including medical and signing the contract. A transfer fee agreed doesn't mean the player will sign. – Do NOT remove players before their exit is officially announced by the club. – Do NOT add or change squad numbers until it is official on the Montedio Yamagata website – Only add numberless players that are likely to become part of the first team – Pre-season numbers can be added temporarily with A REFERENCE – This is Wikipedia, not a football newspaper. Anything unconfirmed and unsourced will be removed on sight

Out on loan

Club officials

Club officials for 2025 season

Managerial history

General managers

• JPN Shigetoshi Nakaigawa – 1986–1997, 2007–2019

Kit evolution

Rivalries

Ōu Honsen (Dewa derby)

Main article: Ōu Honsen

NEC Yamagata and TDK first met in 1990 in old Tohoku regional football league. The two clubs have been based in former Dewa Province, and their rivalry is renamed as Ōu Honsen (奥羽本戦) after the Japan Railways Ōu Main Line (奥羽本線) in 2021.

• Battle of Ōshū

References

References

1. link. [[J. League]]
2. (24 October 2015). "山形のJ2降格が決定、4年ぶりJ1もここまでわずか4勝…1年で逆戻り".
3. "J2 Yamagata New Stadium Moves Forward to Start Operations in 2025".
4. "選手・スタッフ".
5. "Club officials for 2025 season".
6. "WATANABE Susumu Notice of Termination of Coach Contract".
7. "Announcement of the appointment of Mr. Akinobu Yokouchi".
8. "中井川茂敏｜株式会社フェザンレーヴ".
9. (1 May 2019). "【山形】元ＧＭ・中井川取締役が退任 チーム愛語る「自分の子供のようなもの」".
10. "東北日本海側の最強を決める戦い「奥羽本戦」".