# 2023 Sanfrecce Hiroshima season

The 2023 Sanfrecce Hiroshima season is their 85th season in existence and their 15th consecutive season in the J1 League. In addition to the league, the club competed in the Emperor's Cup and J. League Cup. As the third-placed team on last season's J1 League, they would have been qualified to the 2023–24 AFC Champions League play-offs. However, on 6 May, they lost their continental participation spot as Urawa Red Diamonds won the 2022 AFC Champions League.

## Players
### Current squad

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 | JPN | Takuto Hayashi |
| 2 | DF | USA | Jelani Reshaun Sumiyoshi |
| 3 | DF | JPN | Taichi Yamasaki |
| 4 | DF | JPN | Hayato Araki |
| 5 | MF | JPN | Hiroya Matsumoto |
| 6 | MF | JPN | Toshihiro Aoyama |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Gakuto Notsuda |
| 8 | MF | JPN | Takumu Kawamura |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Douglas Vieira |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Marcos Júnior |
| 11 | FW | JPN | Makoto Mitsuta |
| 13 | FW | SUI | Nassim Ben Khalifa |
| 14 | MF | BRA | Ezequiel |
| 15 | DF | JPN | Shuto Nakano |
| 16 | DF | JPN | Takaaki Shichi |
| 17 | MF | JPN | Taishi Matsumoto |
| 18 | MF | JPN | Yoshifumi Kashiwa |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | JPN | Sho Sasaki (captain) |
| 20 | FW | CYP | Pieros Sotiriou |
| 21 | GK | JPN | Yudai Tanaka |
| 22 | GK | JPN | Goro Kawanami |
| 24 | MF | JPN | Shunki Higashi |
| 25 | MF | JPN | Yusuke Chajima |
| 28 | FW | JPN | Ryo Tanada |
| 30 | MF | JPN | Kosei Shibasaki |
| 32 | MF | JPN | Sota Koshimichi |
| 33 | DF | JPN | Tsukasa Shiotani |
| 35 | MF | JPN | Yotaro Nakajima $^{Type2}$ |
| 38 | GK | JPN | Keisuke Osako |
| 51 | FW | JPN | Mutsuki Kato |
| — | GK | JPN | Koshin Yamada $^{Type2}$ |
| — | MF | JPN | Miran Ishihara $^{Type2}$ |
| — | FW | JPN | Shota Kofie $^{Type2}$ |
| — | FW | JPN | Hagumu Nakagawa $^{Type2}$ |

### 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 |
| — | MF | JPN | Kodai Dohi (at FC Imabari) |
| — | MF | JPN | Motoki Ohara (at Mito HollyHock) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | JPN | Taishi Semba (at Fagiano Okayama) |
| — | FW | JPN | Shun Ayukawa (at Oita Trinita) |

## Transfers

Transfers in :
| Join on | Pos. | Player | Moving from | Transfer type |
| Pre-season | GK | Yudai Tanaka | Blaublitz Akita | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | DF | Takaaki Shichi | Avispa Fukuoka | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | DF | Shuto Nakano | Toin University of Yokohama | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Hiroya Matsumoto | Zweigen Kanazawa | Loan return |
| Pre-season | MF | Taichi Yamasaki | Juntendo University | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Sota Koshimichi | Sanfrecce Hiroshima U18s | Promotion |
Transfers out :
| Leave on | Pos. | Player | Moving to | Transfer type |
| Pre-season | DF | Yuki Nogami | Nagoya Grampus | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | DF | Osamu Henry Iyoha | Kyoto Sanga | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | DF | Yuta Imazu | V-Varen Nagasaki | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Tomoya Fujii | Kashima Antlers | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Kodai Dohi | Ventforet Kofu | Loan transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Motoki Ohara | Mito HollyHock | Loan transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Júnior Santos | Fortaleza EC | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Ryo Nagai | Fagiano Okayama | Full transfer; Loan made permanent |

### Pre-season friendlies
## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| J1 League | 19 February | -- | Matchday 1 | 3rd | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 050.00 |
| Emperor's Cup | 7 June | -- | Third round | 3rd round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 050.00 |
| J.League Cup | 8 March | -- | Group stage | Group stage | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 59 | 37 | +22 | 050.00 |
Source: Soccerway

### J1 League

After the club surpassed many fans' expectations with their last season's performances, the club finished in the 3rd place on the 2022 J1 League. This season, their squad was barely touched, with only a few regulars leaving the team.

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Vissel Kobe (C) | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 60 | 29 | +31 | 71 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 63 | 40 | +23 | 64 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage |
| 3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 58 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Two group stage |
| 4 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 57 | |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 43 | 34 | +9 | 52 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 April 2024. Source: Soccerway

#### Matches

The opening match was released by the J.League on 23 December 2022. The full league fixtures were released on 20 January 2023.

### Emperor's Cup

As a J1 League club, it started in the 2nd round of the competition. Sanfrecce was the runner-up of the competition in the previous season.

### J.League Cup

As every other club, Sanfrecce starts the competition at the group stage. The club will play the season as the defending champions, after they won past Cerezo Osaka in the 2022 J.League Cup Final by a 2–1 win, which was earned with a last-minute comeback.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 | |
| 3 | Yokohama FC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 6 | |
| 4 | Vissel Kobe | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 6 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Yokohama FC 3, Vissel Kobe 3. Head-to-head goal differences: Yokohama FC +1, Vissel Kobe –1.

## Goalscorers

    As of 2 July 2023.
| Rank | Pos. | No. | Player | J1 League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | AFC CL | Total |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Douglas Vieira | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | MF | 8 | Takumu Kawamura | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | FW | 11 | Makoto Mitsuta | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | DF | 19 | Sho Sasaki | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | MF | 10 | Tsukasa Morishima | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | 3 | Tsukasa Shiotani | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | 25 | Yusuke Chajima | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | 13 | Nassim Ben Khalifa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | 15 | Shuto Nakano | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | 5 | Hiroya Matsumoto | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | FW | 20 | Pieros Sotiriou | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 24 | Shunki Higashi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 3 | Taichi Yamasaki | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | 30 | Kosei Shibasaki | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 20 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 36 |