Cerezo Osaka

Template:Short description Template:Force cite load Template:Short description{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox football club with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| alt | American | body1 | body2 | body3 | capacity | caption | chairman | chrtitle | clubname | coach | coordinates | current | dissolved | founded | fullname | ground | image | image_size | kit_alt1 | kit_alt2 | kit_alt3 | league | leftarm1 | leftarm2 | leftarm3 | manager | mgrtitle | nickname | owner | owntitle | pattern_b1 | pattern_b2 | pattern_b3 | pattern_la1 | pattern_la2 | pattern_la3 | pattern_name1 | pattern_name2 | pattern_name3 | pattern_ra1 | pattern_ra2 | pattern_ra3 | pattern_sh1 | pattern_sh2 | pattern_sh3 | pattern_so1 | pattern_so2 | pattern_so3 | position | rightarm1 | rightarm2 | rightarm3 | season | short name | shorts1 | shorts2 | shorts3 | socks1 | socks2 | socks3 | stadium | title | upright | website }}{{#if:| }}{{#if:| }} Template:Nihongo 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.<ref name="Club Profile">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The official hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. There exists 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"Template:Efn) 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="stadium information">Stadium Information, Link to stadiums.</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On February 22, 2020, host and TV personality Roland was appointed Cerezo's "Official CereMan".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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
2025									Mizuno

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	Did not qualify
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	Did not qualify
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	Did not qualify
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	Did not qualify
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	Did not qualify
2023		18	9th	34	15	4	15	39	34	5	49	17,074	Group stage	Round of 16
2024		20	10th	38	13	13	12	43	48	-5	52	17,903	Playoff round	3rd round
2025		20	TBA	38									TBD	TBD

Key

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

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Club officials

Club officials for 2025. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Position	Name
Manager	Template:Flagicon Arthur Papas
Assistant manager	Template:Flagicon Raffaele Napoli
Coaches	Template:Flagicon Hussein Skenderovic Template:Flagicon Tsutomu Komatsu Template:Flagicon Bruno Quadros
Analytical coach	Template:Flagicon Shuta Tsukamoto Template:Flagicon Yuki Yoshimura
Goalkeeping coach	Template:Flagicon Koji Inada
Head of performance	Template:Flagicon Yusuke Fukuhara
Physical coach	Template:Flagicon Takeshi Ikoma
Athletic performance coach	Template:Flagicon Hikaru Fujii
Physiotherapists	Template:Flagicon Atsushi Kitaura Template:Flagicon Akihiro Sasaki
Trainers	Template:Flagicon Koji Hanaki Template:Flagicon Haruki Wada
Interpreters	Template:Flagicon Takanori Shirasawa Template:Flagicon Kazuyuki Ishikawa Template:Flagicon Bruno Hideo Owada Template:Flagicon Nattapol Phongchaisirikul
Chief secretary	Template:Flagicon Atsushi Imanishi
Team secretary	Template:Flagicon Shoki Kokawa Template:Flagicon Lee Song-in
Kitman	Template:Flagicon Tomoharu Nagahisa

Manager history

<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

Continental record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2011	AFC Champions League	Group G	Template:Flagicon Arema FC Malang	2–1	4–0	2nd
			Template:Flagicon Shandong Luneng Taishan	4–0	0–2
			Template:Flagicon Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–0	0–1
		Round of 16	Template:Flagicon Gamba Osaka	1–0
		Quarter-finals	Template:Flagicon Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	4–3	1–6	5–9
2014		Group F	Template:Flagicon Pohang Steelers	0–2	1–1	2nd
			Template:Flagicon Shandong Taishan	1–3	2–1
			Template:Flagicon Buriram United	4–0	2–2
		Round of 16	Template:Flagicon Guangzhou	1–5	1–0	2–5
2018		Group G	Template:Flagicon Jeju United	2–1	1–0	3rd
			Template:Flagicon Guangzhou	0–0	1–3
			Template:Flagicon Buriram United	2–2	0–2
2021		Play-off round	Template:Flagicon Melbourne City	colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" Template:N/a
		Group J	Template:Flagicon Guangzhou	5–0Template:Efn	2–0Template:Efn	1st
			Template:Flagicon Kitchee	2–1Template:Efn	0–0Template:Efn
			Template:Flagicon Port	1–1Template:Efn	3–0Template:Efn
		Round of 16	Template:Flagicon 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang
• Template:Official website Template:In lang