- Hits: 1963
Though Oita Trinita was a part of the second wave of J.League development, joining the J2 in its inaugural (1999) season, Trinita a relatively new club, located in Northern Kyushu (western Japan). The team was founded in 1994, as Oita Football Club. Upon joining the J2 in 1999, it changed its name to Oita Trinita. The name "Trinita" is formed from "Trinity" and "Oita", and recalls the fact that the area was a center of Christian (Jesuit) missionary work in the 1600s.
Though not quite as Shakespearean as the Tokyo Verdy saga, Trinita's tale is one of pride and comeuppance. Oita enjoyed considerable success in its first decade of J.League play, climbing into the J1 and even winning a Nabisco Cup title in 2008. However, overly ambitious goals and poor financial management would destroy the foundation of a solid second-tier competitor, as a financial crisis following their relegation to J2 in 2009 forced Trinita to sell off almost all of its players. Though there was a brief revival, in 2012, by the middle of the decade the Terrible Turtles had plunged into the J3.
Fortunately, Trinita went back to its roots -- grassroots that is -- and emerged as a more competitive club. With new branding, new corporate support and a slightly less "ambitious" attitude, Trinita aproaches the 2020s with optimism. The question is no longer whether or not team management can rebuild the base that once took them to J1 glory, but whether their stadium's corporate branding will ever stay the same for more than three years in a row . . .
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