Vissel Kobe backroom staff
We hold the names of 39 people on Vissel Kobe's staff for 2025/26, beyond the players. Michael Skibbe manages the first team, with Tadahiro Akiba as assistant manager. Vissel Kobe's is the 5th longest staff list of the 21 J1 League clubs we hold.
Coaching staff
The manager, the assistants and the coaches at every level of the club, 18 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Skibbe | Manager | First team | 59 | Germany |  |
| Satoru Noda | Manager | Under-18s | 56 | Japan | - |
| Tadahiro Akiba | Assistant manager | First team | 49 | Japan |  |
| Akihiro Miyamoto | Coach | First team | 47 | Japan | - |
| Kunie Kitamoto | Coach | First team | 43 | Japan | |
| Mikihiko Kawaoka | Coach | First team | 48 | Japan | - |
| Takamasa Watanabe | Coach | First team | 48 | Japan | - |
| Tomo Sugawara | Coach | First team | 49 | Japan | |
| Yuji Miyahara | Coach | First team | 44 | Japan | |
| Kei Aoki | Coach | Under-18s | 38 | Japan | - |
| Kiyokazu Takeguchi | Coach | Under-18s | 38 | Japan | - |
| Kota Ogi | Coach | Under-18s | 42 | Japan | - |
| Yuta Abe | Coach | Under-18s | 50 | Japan | - |
| Hisanori Fujiwara | Goalkeeping coach | First team | 55 | Japan | - |
| Takuya Matsumoto | Goalkeeping coach | First team | 45 | Japan |  |
| Ryosuke Suehiro | Goalkeeping coach | Under-18s | 44 | Japan | - |
| Akira Umeki | Fitness coach | First team | 35 | Japan | - |
| Yosuke Shinoda | Fitness coach | First team | 53 | Japan |  |
Medical and sports science
Doctors, physios and sports scientists, 11 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsuro Shoda | Club doctor | First team | 39 | Japan | - |
| Hidehisa Masuko | Club doctor | First team | 36 | Japan | - |
| Kazunari Ishida | Club doctor | First team | 34 | Japan | - |
| Masahiko Miwa | Club doctor | First team | 36 | Japan | - |
| Ryosuke Kuroda | Club doctor | First team | 47 | Japan | - |
| Toshihiko Harada | Club doctor | First team | 43 | Japan | - |
| Tsuyoshi Kokubun | Club doctor | First team | 47 | Japan | - |
| Yoshio Shibata | Head of sports science | Club-wide | 46 | Japan | - |
| Masaaki Morita | Sports scientist | First team | 40 | Japan | - |
| Toshiki Yoshimitsu | Sports scientist | First team | 60 | Japan | V-Varen Nagasaki |
| Junki Saito | Sports scientist | Under-18s | 42 | Japan | - |
Scouting and analysis
Scouts, recruitment analysts and performance analysts, 7 people
| NAME | ROLE | TEAM | AGE | NATIONALITY | PREVIOUSLY AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinichi Kashima | Chief scout | Club-wide | 55 | Japan | - |
| Daichi Matsumoto | Performance analyst | First team | 36 | Japan | - |
| Tatsuro Takenaka | Performance analyst | First team | 33 | Japan | |
| Toshiki Yoshimura | Performance analyst | First team | 34 | Japan | - |
| Shunsuke Tanimoto | Performance analyst | Under-18s | 43 | Japan | - |
| Yasuhiko Koga | Performance analyst | Under-18s | 39 | Japan | - |
| Yuta Yamazaki | Performance analyst | Under-18s | 40 | Japan | - |
Football management
The people who run the football side, from the sporting director to the academy, 1 person
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuji Goto | Head of youth development | 45 | Japan |
Owners and directors
Who owns Vissel Kobe and sits on its board
| NAME | ROLE | AGE | NATIONALITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Mikitani | Owner | 60 | Japan |
| Taiki Tokuyama | Chair | 36 | Japan |
Backroom staff at every J1 League club
The names we hold at each club in the division, 2025/26
Vissel Kobe's list is the 5th longest of the 21, against a median of 31 across the division. FC Tokyo names the most, 50. Mito Hollyhock names the fewest, 22.
Vissel Kobe against the J1 League, department by department
Names held in each department, beside the average and the most at any one club
| DEPARTMENT | VISSEL KOBE | AVERAGE | MOST | AT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaching | 18 | 18 | 24 | FC Machida Zelvia |
| Medical and sports science | 11 | 9 | 14 | FC Machida Zelvia |
| Scouting and analysis | 7 | 3 | 9 | FC Tokyo |
| Football management | 1 | 1 | 2 | FC Tokyo |
| Owners and directors | 2 | 2 | 3 | FC Tokyo |
Backrooms the size of Vissel Kobe's, in every league
Vissel Kobe's 39 names make the joint 189th longest staff list of the 815 clubs we hold one for
| # | CLUB | LEAGUE | STAFF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 174 |  | Bundesliga | 40 |
| 174 |  | La Liga 2 | 40 |
| 189 |  | Superleague Greece | 39 |
| 189 |  | Scottish Premiership | 39 |
| 189 |  | La Liga | 39 |
| 189 |  | Süper Lig | 39 |
| 189 | KVC Westerlo | Belgian Pro League | 39 |
| 189 |  | Belgian Pro League | 39 |
| 189 |  | Danish Superliga | 39 |
| 189 |  | Championship | 39 |
| 189 | | J1 League | 39 |
| 189 |  | - | 39 |
| 189 |  | Championship | 39 |
| 200 |  | 2. Bundesliga | 38 |
| 200 |  | Saudi Pro League | 38 |
| 200 |  | 2. Bundesliga | 38 |
| 200 |  | Süper Lig | 38 |
| 200 |  | Championship | 38 |
| 200 | Molde FK | Eliteserien | 38 |
| 200 |  | Superleague Greece | 38 |
| 200 |  | Ligue 1 | 38 |
Where Vissel Kobe's former staff work now
On Vissel Kobe's staff in an earlier season and at another club in 2025/26, 7 people
| NAME | ROLE NOW | NOW AT |
|---|---|---|
| Takayuki Yoshida | Manager | |
| Kosuke Takeya | Coach |  |
| Masakazu Koda | Coach | Kyoto Sanga F.C. |
| Takeshi Ikoma | Fitness coach |  |
| Yoshinori Furube | Fitness coach | |
| Katsuhiro Suzuki | Sports scientist |  |
| Masahiro Hara | Performance analyst |  |
Frequently asked questions
Who is Vissel Kobe's manager?
Michael Skibbe is the Vissel Kobe first-team manager, aged 59. Tadahiro Akiba is the assistant manager.
Who is the goalkeeping coach at Vissel Kobe?
Hisanori Fujiwara and Takuya Matsumoto coach the Vissel Kobe first-team goalkeepers.
Who is Vissel Kobe's chief scout?
Shinichi Kashima is chief scout at Vissel Kobe.
How many backroom staff do Vissel Kobe have?
We hold the names of 39 people on Vissel Kobe's staff for 2025/26: 18 in coaching, 11 in medical and sports science, 7 in scouting and analysis, 1 in football management and 2 owners and directors. That is the 5th longest list of the 21 J1 League clubs we hold, against a median of 31. Across every league we hold, that list is the joint 189th longest of 815.
Where to next
For what Vissel Kobe pays its squad, see Vissel Kobe player wages. The first-team manager has a page of their own: Michael Skibbe. What each of these jobs pays across football is on backroom staff wages. Every club in the division is on J1 League wages.