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
Head coachAkio Kogiku
LeagueJ1 League
2023J1 League, 9th 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 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.

History

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.

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 player Pieros Sotiriou scored two goals in the 96th and 101st minutes of the match to give the Violas the J.League Cup.

Stadiums

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

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

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

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

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

League and cup record

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
Key

League history

Current squad

As of 12 March 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 South Korea KOR Yang Han-been
2 DF Japan JPN Seiya Maikuma (vice-captain)
3 DF Japan JPN Ryosuke Shindo (vice-captain)
4 MF Japan JPN Yuichi Hirano
5 MF Japan JPN Hinata Kida
6 DF Japan JPN Kyohei Noborizato
7 MF Japan JPN Satoki Uejo
8 MF Japan JPN Shinji Kagawa
9 FW Brazil BRA Léo Ceará (vice-captain)
10 MF Japan JPN Shunta Tanaka
11 MF Belgium BEL Jordy Croux
13 MF Japan JPN Hiroshi Kiyotake
14 DF Japan JPN Kakeru Funaki
16 DF Japan JPN Hayato Okuda
17 MF Japan JPN Reiya Sakata
19 MF Japan JPN Hirotaka Tameda
21 GK South Korea KOR Kim Jin-hyeon
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF Japan JPN Tatsuya Yamashita (captain)
24 DF Japan JPN Koji Toriumi
25 MF Japan JPN Hiroaki Okuno
27 MF Brazil BRA Capixaba
28 DF Indonesia IDN Justin Hubner (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
31 GK Japan JPN Keisuke Shimizu
32 FW Japan JPN Shinnosuke Kinoshita
33 DF Japan JPN Ryuya Nishio (vice-captain)
34 FW Japan JPN Hiroto Yamada
35 FW Japan JPN Ryo Watanabe
38 FW Japan JPN Sota Kitano
45 GK Japan JPN Ken Isibor Type 2
47 FW Japan JPN Kengo Furuyama DSP
48 MF Japan JPN Masaya Shibayama
55 FW Brazil BRA Vitor Bueno
77 MF Brazil BRA Lucas Fernandes

Out on loan

As of 6 January 2024.[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
— MF Japan JPN Jun Nishikawa (on loan to Japan Iwaki FC)
— MF Japan JPN Kosei Okazawa (on loan to Japan FC Ryukyu)
— MF Japan JPN Motohiko Nakajima (on loan to JapanVegalta Sendai)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Japan JPN Nagi Matsumoto (on loan to JapanMontedio Yamagata)
— MF Japan JPN Nelson Ishiwatari (on loan to Japan Ehime FC)
— MF Japan JPN Rui Osako (on loan to Japan Iwaki FC)

Honours

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

League

Cups

Continental record

As of 24 June 2021
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2011 AFC Champions League Group G Indonesia Arema FC Malang 2–1 4–0 2nd
China Shandong Luneng 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 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 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 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 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.

Club officials

Position Staff
Head coach Japan Akio Kogiku
Assistant head coach Japan Daisuke Takahashi
First team coach Brazil Bruno Quadros
Japan Kota Fujimoto
Analytical coach Japan Yamato Saino
Goalkeeping coach Japan Nobuhiro Takeda
Physical coach Japan Sho Watanabe
Japan Atsuhiro Furuta
Performance coach Japan Yusuke Fukuhara
Physiotherapist Japan Atsushi Kitaura
Japan Akihiro Sasaki
Trainer Japan Koji Hanaki
Japan Haruki Wada
Interpreter Japan Jackson Yozen Tonaki
Japan Kento Koike
Japan Takanori Shirasawa
Chief manager Japan Atsushi Imanishi
Manager Japan Shoki Kokawa
South Korea Lee Sung-in
Kitman Japan Tomoharu Nagahisa

Manager history

[8]

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 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]

Notes

References

  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. ^ a b "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". www.cerezo.jp (in Japanese). Cerezo Osaka. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  8. ^ "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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