Cerezo Osaka

Cerezo Osaka
セレッソ大阪

Full name	Cerezo Osaka
Nickname(s)	Sakura (cherry blossoms)
Founded	1957 (1957) as Yanmar Diesel SC
Stadium	Yodoko Sakura Stadium
Capacity	24,481
Owner	Yanmar
Chairman	Hiroaki Morishima
Manager	Akio Kogiku
League	J1 League
2023	J1 League, 9th of 18
Website	cerezo.co.jp
Home colours Away colours

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. The official hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. They form a local rivalry with Suita-based Gamba Osaka.

History

Beginnings (1957–1992)

The club, originally called Yanmar Diesel, started in 1957 as the company team of Yanmar and was an original founder ("Original Eight") 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)

In 1993, the club incorporated as Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. and adopted the name Cerezo Osaka after a public contest. 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

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

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.

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. On February 22, 2020, host and TV personality Roland was appointed Cerezo's "Official CereMan".

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

Home Kits - 1st
1994 - 1996	1997 - 1998	1999 - 2003	2004 - 2005	2006 - 2007
2008 - 2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
2024 -

Away Kits - 2nd
1994 - 1996	1997 - 1998	1999 - 2002	2003 - 2004	2005
2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
2021	2022	2023	2024 -

Special Kits - 3rd
2010 88 Memorial	2011 Eight Summer	2013 Yanmar Premium Cup	2014 20th Anniversary	2015 Kincho Stadium 5th Anniversary
2016 Summer	2017 Summer	2018 ACL	2018 Limited	2019 25th Anniversary
2020 Limited	2021 ACL 1st	2021 ACL 2nd	2021 Limited	2022 Limited

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									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

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

• Japan Soccer League Division 1: 1965–1990 (as Yanmar Diesel)
• Japan Soccer League Division 2: 1991 (as Yanmar Diesel)
• Japan Football League Division 1: 1992–94 (as Yanmar Diesel until 1993; Cerezo Osaka since 1994)
• J1 League: 1995–2001
• J2 League: 2002
• J1 League: 2003–2006
• J2 League: 2007–2009
• J1 League: 2010–2014
• J2 League: 2015–2016
• J1 League: 2017–present

Current squad

As of 29 July 2024.

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

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

Club officials for 2024.

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

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

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	2–0	1st
			Kitchee	2–1	0–0
			Port	1–1	3–0
		Round of 16	Pohang Steelers	0–1

In popular culture

In the manga series Captain Tsubasa, a character named Teppei Kisugi becomes a professional football player and joins Cerezo Osaka.

External links

• Official website (in English)
• Official website (in Japanese)