Based in Shimizu-ku, Shimizu S-Pulse is one of the youngest football clubs in Japan that plays in the J1 league. Founded in 1991, it is a dominant force in Japanese football and has won several laurels including the Emperor’s Cup, J.League Cup, Asian Cup Winners Cup but the J1 League trophy is still missing from its trophy cabinet. It uses the IAI Stadium Nihondaira as its home stadium and shares a fierce local rivalry with Júbilo Iwata. Notable former players include Ronaldão, Shinji Okazaki and Alessandro Santos.
