Cerezo Osaka
セレッソ大阪
Full nameCerezo Osaka
Nickname(s)Sakura (cherry blossoms)
Founded1957; 64 years ago (1957) (as Yanmar Diesel SC)
GroundYanmar Stadium Nagai
Yodoko Sakura Stadium
Capacity47,853 (Yanmar)
18,007 (Yodoko)
OwnerYanmar
ChairmanHiroaki Morishima
ManagerAkio Kogiku
LeagueJ1 League
2020J1 League, 4th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

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 tree) is also the flower of the city of Osaka.[1] The official hometowns for the club are Osaka and Sakai.

History

Old crest
Old crest

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.

In 1993, the club incorporated as Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. and adopted the name Cerezo after a public contest.[2] In 1994, they won the JFL 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 relegated from J1 to J2 three times, but are currently playing in the J1 league. The club had an impressive third-place finish in the 2017 season.

On 4 November 2017 they won the J.League YBC Levain Cup, the first major title for Cerezo Osaka. The final match was against Kawasaki Frontale.

On 1 January 2018, Cerezo Osaka won the Emperor's Cup, securing their second major title. The final match was against Yokohama F. Marinos.

On 10 February 2018, they won the Xerox Super Cup, playing against Kawasaki Frontale.

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

Grounds

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

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

Mascots

The main club's mascot is a wolf, named Lobby. The other club's mascot is Madame Lobina, Lobby's mother.[4] On February 22, 2020, host and TV personality Roland was appointed Cerezo's "Official CereMan".[5]

Rivalries

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

Kits and colours

Cerezo's club colour is pink, like the cherry blossom flowers that the 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 field players, black (home) and pink (away) or green for the goal keepers.

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

Colours, sponsors and manufacturers

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

Kit evolution

Record as J.League member

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 4th round
1997 17 11th 32 13 (1 / 2) - 10 (5 / 1) 53 56 -3 43 9,153 Group stage 4th round –
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 4th round –
2000 16 5th 30 14 (3 / 0) - 11 (2 / 0) 54 49 5 48 13,548 2nd round Quarter-final –
2001 16 16th 30 5 (3 / 0) 2 18 (0 / 0) 41 70 -29 21 11,857 1st round Final –
2002 J2 12 2nd 44 25 12 7 93 53 40 87 7,952 – 4th round –
2003 J1 16 9th 30 12 4 14 55 56 -1 40 13,854 Group stage Final –
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-final Semi-final –
2006 18 17th 34 6 9 19 44 70 -26 27 13,026 Quarter-final 4th round –
2007 J2 13 5th 48 24 8 16 72 55 17 80 6,627 – 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 4th round –
2011 18 12th 34 11 10 13 67 53 14 43 14,145 Quarter-final Semi-final Quarter-final
2012 18 14th 34 11 9 14 47 53 -6 42 16,815 Quarter-final Quarter-final –
2013 18 4th 34 16 11 7 53 32 21 59 18,819 Quarter-final 4th round –
2014 18 17th 34 7 10 17 36 48 -12 31 21,627 Quarter-final Quarter-final Round of 16
2015 J2 22 4th 42 18 13 11 57 40 17 67 12,232 – 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 4th round Group stage
2019 18 5th 34 18 5 11 39 29 14 59 21,518 Play-offs 4th round –
2020 † 18 4th 34 18 6 10 46 37 9 60 7,014 Quarter-final Did not qualify –
2021 20 38
Key


League history

Players

Current squad

As of 24 September 2021[6]

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 Vietnam VIE Đặng Văn Lâm
2 DF Japan JPN Riku Matsuda
3 DF Japan JPN Ryosuke Shindo
4 MF Japan JPN Riki Harakawa
5 MF Japan JPN Naoyuki Fujita
6 DF Brazil BRA Tiago Pagnussat
9 FW Australia AUS Adam Taggart
10 MF Japan JPN Hiroshi Kiyotake
13 FW Japan JPN Toshiyuki Takagi
14 DF Japan JPN Yusuke Maruhashi
15 DF Japan JPN Ayumu Seko
16 DF Japan JPN Naoto Arai
17 MF Japan JPN Tatsuhiro Sakamoto
18 MF Japan JPN Jun Nishikawa
19 MF Japan JPN Hirotaka Tameda
20 FW Japan JPN Yoshito Ōkubo
21 GK South Korea KOR Kim Jin-hyeon
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 FW Japan JPN Riki Matsuda
23 FW Japan JPN Takashi Inui
24 DF Japan JPN Koji Toriumi
25 MF Japan JPN Hiroaki Okuno
26 DF Japan JPN Yuta Koike
28 FW Japan JPN Motohiko Nakajima
29 FW Japan JPN Mutsuki Kato
30 MF Japan JPN Hinata Kida
32 FW Japan JPN Yuta Toyokawa
33 DF Japan JPN Ryuya Nishio
34 FW Japan JPN Hiroto Yamada
37 MF Japan JPN Haruki Arai (on loan from FC Tiamo Hirakata)
38 MF Japan JPN Kosei Okazaki
48 GK Japan JPN Ryusei Haruna
49 GK Japan JPN Ryoga Shimonaka
50 GK Japan JPN Kenya Matsui

Out on loan

As of 5 September 2021[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Japan JPN Takumi Nagaishi (on loan to Avispa Fukuoka)
— GK Japan JPN Shu Mogi (on loan to Machida Zelvia)
— DF Japan JPN Reiya Morishita (on loan to Machida Zelvia)
— DF Japan JPN Honoya Shoji (on loan to Zweigen Kanazawa)
— DF Japan JPN Tatsuya Tabira (on loan to Iwate Grulla Morioka)
— DF Japan JPN Kakeru Funaki (on loan to SC Sagamihara)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Japan JPN Daichi Akiyama (on loan to Gainare Tottori)
— MF Japan JPN Nagi Matsumoto (on loan to Tochigi SC)
— MF Japan JPN Takaya Yoshinare (on loan to Kamatamare Sanuki)
— MF Japan JPN Towa Yamane (on loan to Mito HollyHock)
— FW Japan JPN Shota Fujio (on loan to Mito HollyHock)
— FW Japan JPN Ryuji Sawakami (on loan to SC Sagamihara)

Honours

Yanmar Diesel

Winners (4): 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980
Winners (3): 1973 (shared), 1983, 1984
Winners (3): 1968, 1970, 1974

Cerezo Osaka

Winners (1): 1994 (as the company team)
Winners (1): 2017
Runners-up (1): 2021
Winners (1): 2017
Runners-up (3): 1994, 2001, 2003
Winners (1): 2018
Runners-up (1): 2018

Continental record

As of 24 June 2021
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2011 AFC Champions League Group G Indonesia Arema 2–1 4–0 2nd
China Shandong Taishan 4–0 0–2
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–0 0–1
Round of 16 Japan Gamba Osaka 1–0
Quarter-finals South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4–3 1–6 5–9
2014 AFC Champions League Group F South Korea Pohang Steelers 0–2 1–1 2nd
China Shandong Taishan 1–3 2–1
Thailand Buriram United 4–0 2–2
Round of 16 China Guangzhou 1–5 1–0 2–5
2018 AFC Champions League Group G South Korea Jeju United 2–1 1–0 3rd
China Guangzhou 0–0 1–3
Thailand Buriram United 2–2 0–2
2021 AFC Champions League Play-off round Australia Melbourne City Cancelled
Group J China Guangzhou 5–0[b] 2–0[b] 1st
Hong Kong Kitchee 2–1[b] 0–0[b]
Thailand Port 1–1[b] 3–0[b]
Round of 16 South Korea Pohang Steelers
  1. ^ The Original Eight of the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965 were Mitsubishi, Furukawa, Hitachi, Yanmar, Toyo Industries, Yahata Steel, Toyota Industries and Nagoya Mutual Bank.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Played at a neutral venue.

Managers

[7]

Manager Nationality Tenure
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 — present

In popular culture

In the popular Captain Tsubasa manga, a character named Teppei Kisugi becomes a professional football player and joins Cerezo Osaka.[citation needed]

Former players

See also: Category:Cerezo Osaka players and Category:J.League players

Notes

References

  1. ^ Club Guide Profile, Link to official club's profile site.
  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. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "ローランド、セレッソ大阪「公認セレ男」に就任！！".
  6. ^ a b "トップチーム選手" (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Club history". セレッソ大阪 沿革. Retrieved 10 January 2018.

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