Yokohama F. Marinos last claimed the J1 League title as recently as 2022.
Last season, they were runners-up and, for the most part, looked the only side capable of challenging eventual winners Vissel Kobe before ultimately dropping off to finish seven points off the pace.
Just over a month ago, they were one win away from winning the AFC Champions League and being crowned champions of Asia for the first time ever.
For now, forget challenging for top honours and silverware.
At the moment, Marinos have a battle on their ends to prevent themselves from being dragged into a relegation dogfight — with their status as one of only two teams to have played in every season of Japanese football’s top flight looking increasingly in peril.
At the weekend, Marinos fell to a fourth consecutive defeat — this time, an emphatic 4-0 rout at the hands of Gamba Osaka.
The last time they suffered such a run of losses in all competition was back in August 2022 but, in the league alone, such a woeful streak has not since almost exactly 16 years ago.
Their most recent win was but a narrow 1-0 victory over bottom side Consadole Sapporo, who already look destined for the drop with just 11 points from 22 games.
With the campaign just into its second half, Marinos currently sit an unthinkable 13th on the table — 20 points off the top and just five clear off the drop zone.
Of course, that is not to say that they will certainly spend the rest of the season fighting against relegation.
Luck has eluded Marinos at times.
Against Gamba on Saturday, ex-Arsenal man Ryo Miyaichi twice saw first-half efforts come back off the post with the opposition keeper beaten all ends up.
An inch or so to the other side of the woodwork, Marinos would have turned a one-goal deficit into a 2-1 lead heading into the break. Instead, they would concede a second right on the stroke of halftime and went on to be soundly beaten.
There is still plenty of football to be played and, despite their alarming slump in form, Marinos continue to boast one of the more formidable squads in the competition.
From their usually-guaranteed starters, only centre-back Shinnosuke Hatanaka has been a notable absentee in recent times.
The Brazilian attacking trio of Anderson Lopes, Yan Matheus and Élber still looks an absolute threat, while seasoned campaigners such as Eduardo, Takuya Kida and Kota Watanabe continue to provide a solid spine.
It is perhaps a loss in squad depth that has proven an issue for Marinos, following the departure of Japan rising star Joel Chima Fujita to Belgian Pro League outfit Sint-Truiden, while reliable rotation options such as Kota Mizunuma and Jun Amano have taken turns to be unavailable.
While Lopes continues to lead the line admirably with 12 goals already this term – just three behind the competition’s top scorer in Léo Ceará of Cerezo Osaka — more could be expected from the rest of the foreign contingent.
For all their credentials, Yan has scored just thrice this season while Élber is yet to get off the mark after both combined for 15 goals in 2023, while South Korea playmaker Nam Tae-Hee has not done enough to earn a starting XI berth.
It must be acknowledged that other avenue to goals have emerged and Marinos do still boast a healthy return of 31 goals and it is, in fact, their defensive record of 35 conceded that has been the bigger issue.
There is certainly cause for concern and it will not be lost on coach Harry Kewell, who suddenly finds himself under pressure after a bright start that saw him almost lead the club to the promised land in the ACL and look on course to emulating the success enjoyed by compatriots Ange Postecoglou and Kevin Muscat — who led the club to their last two league titles in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
A sudden fall from title contenders to relegation battlers is not a completely foreign concept.
In 2019, Urawa Red Diamonds encountered a similar fall right after winning the ACL and a fifth-place finish in the J1 League, eventually avoiding a relegation playoff by a point in 14th spot.
Like Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale — champions in four of the past seven campaigns — are actually lower down the table in 15th and face a similar struggle if they are to preserve their top-flight status.
While Japanese supporters have a reputation for being far more patient and less vocal than the average fanbase, the fact that Kewell and his players received a loud chorus of boos following a home defeat to newly-promoted Tokyo Verdy only highlights just how disgruntled the Marinos faithful are becoming.
For a side expected to be among the title contenders, the frustration from the fans is understandable.
But forget about any title aspirations for the time being.
Marinos have far bigger problems to worry about, especially if they want to avoid the ignominy of relegation for the first time in the club’s history.
