Cerezo Osaka (セレッソ大阪, Seresso Ōsaka) is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name Cerezo (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka.[1] The official hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. They form a local rivalry with Suita-based Gamba Osaka.

Cerezo Osaka
セレッソ大阪
Full nameCerezo Osaka
Nickname(s)Sakura (cherry blossoms)
Founded1957; 67 years ago (1957) as Yanmar Diesel SC
StadiumYodoko Sakura Stadium
Capacity24,481
OwnerYanmar
ChairmanHiroaki Morishima
ManagerAkio Kogiku
LeagueJ1 League
2023J1 League, 9th of 18
Websitecerezo.co.jp
Current season

History

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Beginnings (1957–1992)

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The club, originally called Yanmar Diesel, started in 1957 as the company team of Yanmar and was an original founder ("Original Eight"[a]) of the now-disbanded Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. With four Japanese league titles to its credit, it was a mainstay of the JSL Division 1 until 1990 when it was first relegated, and joined the former Japan Football League (JFL) in 1992.

Privatised and registered under a new name (1993–present)

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In 1993, the club incorporated as Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. and adopted the name Cerezo Osaka after a public contest.[2] In 1994, they won the Japan Football League championship and was promoted to the J1 League in 1995. This also coincided with a run to the finals of the Emperor's Cup, which they lost to Bellmare Hiratsuka.

Cerezo has been relegated from J1 to J2 on three occasions, but are currently playing in the J1 league. The club had an impressive third-place finish in the 2017 season.

Taste of silverware

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On 4 November 2017, Cerezo won the 2017 J.League Cup, the first major title in their club history, defeating Kawasaki Frontale 2–0.

On 1 January 2018, Cerezo won the 2017 Emperor's Cup, securing their second major title. The final match was against Yokohama F. Marinos, where Cerezo won 2–1 in extra time with Kota Mizunuma scoring the winner.

On 10 February 2018, Cerezo won the 2018 Japanese Super Cup winning 3–2 against Kawasaki Frontale.

In May 2018, the club changed its incorporated name from Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. to Cerezo Osaka Co., Ltd.

In 2022, the club got close to winning the J.League Cup for their second title, but blew a 1–0 lead to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in injury time after Hiroshima player Pieros Sotiriou scored two goals in the 96th and 101st minutes of the match to give the opponent the J.League Cup.

On 1 February 2023, Cerezo signed former Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United player, Shinji Kagawa on a two-years contract.

Stadiums

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The hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. The club plays at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium, with some bigger matches played at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai.[3]

The club practices at Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park, Maishima Sports Island, and Amagasaki Yanmar Diesel Ground.

Mascots

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The club's mascots are a wolf named Lobby (from Spanish lobo, meaning wolf) and Madame Lobina, Lobby's mother.[4] On February 22, 2020, host and TV personality Roland was appointed Cerezo's "Official CereMan".[5]

Rivalries

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Cerezo's biggest rival is fellow Osaka club Gamba Osaka. The matches played between Cerezo and Gamba are referred to as the Osaka derby.

Kits and colours

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Cerezo's club colour is pink, like the cherry blossoms that the club's name is based on. Combination colours have been navy blue and black. This year, the uniform colour is pink (home) and white (away) for the outfield players and black (home), pink (away) and green for the goalkeepers.

During the Yanmar Diesel days in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, the uniform was all-red reminiscent of Deportivo Toluca.

Colours, sponsors and kit makers

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Season(s) Main Shirt Sponsor Collarbone Sponsor(s) Additional Sponsor(s) Kit Manufacturer
2018 Yanmar - - Nippon Ham Singha Kincho Nakabayashi - Puma
2019 Sharp
2020 - /
Danish
2021 Yodogawa Steel Works -
2022 Yodogawa Steel Works Nikkon Holdings - /
Capcom
2023 Capcom -
2024

Kit evolution

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League and cup record

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Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated
League J.League
Cup
Emperor's
Cup
ACL
Season Div. Teams Pos. P W(OTW/PKW) D L(OTL/PKL) F A GD Pts Attendance/G
1995 J1 14 8th 52 25(0/0) - 11(0/2) 43 44 -1 41 12,097 2nd round
1996 16 13th 30 10 - 20 38 56 -18 30 8,229 Group stage Round of 16
1997 17 11th 32 13(1/2) - 10(5/1) 53 56 -3 43 9,153 Group stage Round of 16
1998 18 9th 34 14(1/0) - 17(1/1) 56 79 -23 44 9,864 Group stage 3rd round
1999 16 6th 30 15(4/0) - 10(1/0) 64 45 19 53 10,216 2nd round Round of 16
2000 16 5th 30 14(3/0) - 11(2/0) 54 49 5 48 13,548 2nd round Quarter-finals
2001 16 16th 30 5(3/0) 2 18(0/0) 41 70 -29 21 11,857 1st round Runners-up
2002 J2 12 2nd 44 25 12 7 93 53 40 87 7,952 Not eligible Round of 16
2003 J1 16 9th 30 12 4 14 55 56 -1 40 13,854 Group stage Runners-up
2004 16 15th 30 6 8 16 42 64 -22 26 14,323 Group stage 4th round
2005 18 5th 34 16 11 7 48 40 8 59 17,648 Quarter-finals Semi-finals
2006 18 17th 34 6 9 19 44 70 -26 27 13,026 Quarter-finals 4th round
2007 J2 13 5th 48 24 8 16 72 55 17 80 6,627 Not eligible 4th round
2008 15 4th 42 21 6 15 81 60 21 69 10,554 4th round
2009 18 2nd 51 31 11 9 100 53 47 104 9,912 2nd round
2010 J1 18 3rd 34 17 10 7 51 31 20 61 15,026 Group stage Round of 16
2011 18 12th 34 11 10 13 67 53 14 43 14,145 Quarter final Semi-finals Quarter-finals
2012 18 14th 34 11 9 14 47 53 -6 42 16,815 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals
2013 18 4th 34 16 11 7 53 32 21 59 18,819 Quarter-finals Round of 16
2014 18 17th 34 7 10 17 36 48 -12 31 21,627 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals Round of 16
2015 J2 22 4th 42 18 13 11 57 40 17 67 12,232 Not eligible 1st round
2016 22 4th 42 23 9 10 62 46 16 78 12,509 3rd round
2017 J1 18 3rd 34 19 6 9 64 43 22 63 20,970 Winner Winner
2018 18 7th 34 13 11 10 39 38 1 50 18,542 Quarter final Round of 16 Group stage
2019 18 5th 34 18 5 11 39 29 14 59 21,518 Play-offs Round of 16
2020 18 4th 34 18 6 10 46 37 9 60 7,014 Quarter final Did not qualify
2021 20 12th 38 13 9 16 47 51 -4 48 5,351 Runners up Semi-finals Round of 16
2022 18 5th 34 13 12 9 46 40 6 51 11,427 Runners up Quarter-finals
2023 18 9th 34 15 4 15 39 34 5 49 17,074 Group stage Round of 16
2024 20 TBA 38 Playoff round 3rd round
Key
  • Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
  • Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
  • 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
  • Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

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As both Yanmar Diesel (1957–1993) and Cerezo Osaka (1993–present)

Cerezo Osaka honours
Honour No. Years
Emperor's Cup 4 1968, 1970, 1974, 2017
Japan Soccer League Division 1 4 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980
Japan Soccer League Cup 3 1973 (shared), 1983, 1984
All Japan Senior Football Championship 1 1976
Queen's Cup 1 1976
Japanese Super Cup 2 1981, 2018
Japan Football League 1 1994
J.League Cup 1 2017

League history

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Current squad

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As of 29 July 2024.[6][7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   KOR Yang Han-been
3 DF   JPN Ryosuke Shindo (vice-captain)
4 MF   JPN Yuichi Hirano
5 MF   JPN Hinata Kida
6 DF   JPN Kyohei Noborizato
7 MF   JPN Satoki Uejo
8 MF   JPN Shinji Kagawa
9 FW   BRA Léo Ceará (vice-captain)
10 MF   JPN Shunta Tanaka
14 DF   JPN Kakeru Funaki
16 DF   JPN Hayato Okuda
17 MF   JPN Reiya Sakata
19 MF   JPN Hirotaka Tameda
21 GK   KOR Kim Jin-hyeon
22 DF   JPN Niko Takahashi
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF   JPN Tatsuya Yamashita (captain)
24 DF   JPN Koji Toriumi
25 MF   JPN Hiroaki Okuno
27 MF   BRA Capixaba
29 FW   JPN Ryogo Yamasaki
31 GK   JPN Keisuke Shimizu
33 DF   JPN Ryuya Nishio (vice-captain)
34 FW   JPN Hiroto Yamada
38 FW   JPN Sota Kitano
45 GK   JPN Ken Isibor Type 2
47 FW   JPN Kengo Furuyama DSP
48 MF   JPN Masaya Shibayama
55 MF   BRA Vitor Bueno
77 MF   BRA Lucas Fernandes

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF   JPN Hiroshi Kiyotake (at Sagan Tosu)
32 FW   JPN Shinnosuke Kinoshita (at Gainare Tottori)
35 FW   JPN Ryo Watanabe (at Júbilo Iwata)
MF   JPN Jun Nishikawa (at Iwaki FC)
MF   JPN Kosei Okazawa (at FC Ryukyu)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   JPN Motohiko Nakajima (at Vegalta Sendai)
MF   JPN Nagi Matsumoto (at Montedio Yamagata)
MF   JPN Nelson Ishiwatari (at Ehime FC)
MF   JPN Rui Osako (at Iwaki FC)

Club officials

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Club officials for 2024. [8]

Position Staff
Manager   Akio Kogiku
Coaches   Daisuke Takahashi
  Bruno Quadros
  Mitsumasa Kosugi
  Kota Fujimoto
Analytical coach   Yamato Saino
Goalkeeping coach   Nobuhiro Takeda
Physical coaches   Sho Watanabe
  Atsuhiro Furuta
Fitness coach   Koji Hanaki
  Haruki Wada
Performance coach   Yusuke Fukuhara
Physiotherapists   Atsushi Kitaura
  Akihiro Sasaki
Interpreters   Jackson Yozen Tonaki
  Kento Koike
  Takanori Shirasawa
Chief secretary   Atsushi Imanishi
Team secretary   Shoki Kokawa
  Lee Sung-in
Kitman   Tomoharu Nagahisa

Manager history

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[9]

Manager Nationality Tenure
From To
Paulo Emilio   Brazil 1 January 1994 31 December 1995
Hiroshi Sowa   Japan 1 January 1996 31 December 1996
Levir Culpi   Brazil 1 February 1997 31 December 1997
Yasutaro Matsuki   Japan 1 January 1998 31 December 1999
René Desaeyere   Belgium 1 February 1999 31 January 2000
Hiroshi Soejima   Japan 1 February 2000 19 August 2001
João Carlos   Brazil 20 August 2001 4 November 2001
Akihiro Nishimura   Japan 5 November 2001 6 October 2003
Yuji Tsukada   Japan 7 October 2003 1 January 2004
Petar Nadoveza   Croatia 2 January 2004 1 February 2004
Fuad Muzurović   Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 February 2004 22 March 2004
Albert Pobor   Croatia 23 March 2004 28 June 2004
Shinji Kobayashi   Japan 1 July 2004 17 April 2006
Yuji Tsukada   Japan 18 April 2006 31 December 2006
Satoshi Tsunami   Japan 1 January 2007 7 May 2007
Levir Culpi   Brazil 8 May 2007 31 December 2011
Sérgio Soares   Brazil 1 January 2012 26 August 2012
Levir Culpi   Brazil 27 August 2012 11 December 2013
Ranko Popović   Serbia 1 January 2014 9 June 2014
Marco Pezzaiuoli   Germany 16 June 2014 8 September 2014
Yuji Okuma   Japan 8 September 2014 16 December 2014
Paulo Autuori   Brazil 1 January 2015 17 November 2015
Kiyoshi Okuma   Japan 17 November 2015 31 January 2017
Yoon Jong-hwan   South Korea 1 February 2017 31 December 2018
Miguel Ángel Lotina   Spain 1 February 2019 31 January 2021
Levir Culpi   Brazil 1 February 2021 26 August 2021
Akio Kogiku   Japan 26 August 2021 11 October 2024

Continental record

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As of 24 June 2021
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2011 AFC Champions League Group G   Arema FC Malang 2–1 4–0 2nd
  Shandong Luneng Taishan 4–0 0–2
  Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–0 0–1
Round of 16   Gamba Osaka 1–0
Quarter-finals   Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4–3 1–6 5–9
2014 Group F   Pohang Steelers 0–2 1–1 2nd
  Shandong Taishan 1–3 2–1
  Buriram United 4–0 2–2
Round of 16   Guangzhou 1–5 1–0 2–5
2018 Group G   Jeju United 2–1 1–0 3rd
  Guangzhou 0–0 1–3
  Buriram United 2–2 0–2
2021 Play-off round   Melbourne City Cancelled
Group J   Guangzhou 5–0[b] 2–0[b] 1st
  Kitchee 2–1[b] 0–0[b]
  Port 1–1[b] 3–0[b]
Round of 16   Pohang Steelers 0–1
  1. ^ The original clubs of the Japan Soccer League in 1965 were Mitsubishi Motors, Furukawa Electric, Hitachi, Yanmar, Toyo Kogyo, Yahata Steel, Toyota Industries and Nagoya Mutual Bank.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Played at a neutral venue.
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In the manga series Captain Tsubasa, a character named Teppei Kisugi becomes a professional football player and joins Cerezo Osaka.[citation needed]

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Club Guide Profile". Archived from the original on 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2015-01-30.
  2. ^ "Cerezo Osaka Profile". Cerezo Osaka official website. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  3. ^ Stadium Information, Link to stadiums.
  4. ^ セレッソ大阪とは (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "ローランド、セレッソ大阪「公認セレ男」に就任!!". 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  6. ^ "トップチーム選手" (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  7. ^ 2024シーズン キャプテン、副キャプテンについて. cerezo.jp (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Club staff for 2024 season". cerezo.jp. Cerezo Osaka FC. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Club history". セレッソ大阪 沿革. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
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