# 2023 Gamba Osaka season

The 2023 Gamba Osaka season was the club's 43rd season in existence and the tenth consecutive season in the top flight of Japanese football. The club finished the 2023 J1 League in 16th place, one place lower than the previous season and again narrowly avoiding relegation. They also competed in the Emperor's Cup where they were knocked out in the second round by JFL club Kochi United and the J.League Cup where they reached the quarter-finals. No team conceded more league goals than Gamba and they finished with the second-worst goal difference, only marginally better than relegated Yokohama FC.

## Players
### Season squad

| Squad no. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age at start of season) |
| Goalkeepers |||||
| 1 | Masaaki Higashiguchi | GK | (1986-05-12)12 May 1986 (aged 36) |
| 25 | Kei Ishikawa | GK | (1992-09-30)30 September 1992 (aged 30) |
| 99 | Kosei Tani | GK | (2000-11-22)22 November 2000 (aged 22) |
| - | Zhang Aolin $^{Type2}$ | GK | (2005-05-25)25 May 2005 (aged 17) |
| Defenders |||||
| 2 | Shota Fukuoka | CB | (1995-10-24)24 October 1995 (aged 27) |
| 3 | Riku Handa | RB | (2002-01-01)1 January 2002 (aged 21) |
| 4 | Hiroki Fujiharu | LB | (1988-11-24)24 November 1988 (aged 34) |
| 5 | Genta Miura | CB | (1995-03-01)1 March 1995 (aged 27) |
| 13 | Ryu Takao | RB / CB | (1996-11-09)9 November 1996 (aged 26) |
| 16 | Yota Sato | CB | (1998-09-10)10 September 1998 (aged 24) |
| 19 | Ibuki Konno | DF | (2001-05-10)10 May 2001 (aged 21) |
| 20 | Kwon Kyung-won | CB | (1992-01-31)31 January 1992 (aged 31) |
| 24 | Keisuke Kurokawa | LB / LM | (1997-04-13)13 April 1997 (aged 25) |
| 26 | Ko Yanagisawa | RB | (1996-06-28)28 June 1996 (aged 26) |
| 34 | Yusei Egawa | CB | (2000-10-24)24 October 2000 (aged 22) |
| Midfielders |||||
| 7 | Takashi Usami (c) | AM / SS / FW | (1992-05-06)6 May 1992 (aged 30) |
| 8 | Ryotaro Meshino | LW / AM | (1998-06-08)8 June 1998 (aged 24) |
| 10 | Shu Kurata | LM / RM | (1988-11-26)26 November 1988 (aged 34) |
| 14 | Yuya Fukuda | LM / RM | (1999-04-04)4 April 1999 (aged 23) |
| 18 | Neta Lavi | DM / CM | (1996-08-25)25 August 1996 (aged 26) |
| 21 | Dai Tsukamoto | LM / FW | (2001-06-23)23 June 2001 (aged 21) |
| 23 | Dawhan | DM / CM | (1996-06-03)3 June 1996 (aged 26) |
| 27 | Rin Mito | LM | (2002-02-12)12 February 2002 (aged 21) |
| 28 | Naohiro Sugiyama | RW / AM | (1998-09-07)7 September 1998 (aged 24) |
| 29 | Yuki Yamamoto | CM | (1997-11-06)6 November 1997 (aged 25) |
| 41 | Jiro Nakamura | RM / AM | (2003-08-22)22 August 2003 (aged 19) |
| 47 | Juan Alano | RM / AM | (1996-09-02)2 September 1996 (aged 26) |
| 48 | Hideki Ishige | AM / RM / LM | (1994-09-21)21 September 1994 (aged 28) |
| - | Daiki Miyagawa $^{Type2}$ | MF | (2006-03-24)24 March 2006 (aged 16) |
| Forwards |||||
| 9 | Musashi Suzuki | FW | (1994-02-11)11 February 1994 (aged 29) |
| 11 | Issam Jebali | FW | (1991-12-25)25 December 1991 (aged 31) |
| 37 | Hiroto Yamami | FW / LW | (1999-08-16)16 August 1999 (aged 23) |
Last updated: 10 March 2023. Source: Gamba Osaka website

### Transfers

Transfers in :
| Join on | Pos. | Player | Moving from | Transfer type |
| Pre-season | GK | Kosei Tani | Shonan Bellmare | Loan return |
| Pre-season | DF | Riku Handa | Montedio Yamagata | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | DF | Yusei Egawa | V-Varen Nagasaki | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | DF | Yota Sato | Vegalta Sendai | Loan return |
| Pre-season | DF | Ibuki Konno | Hosei University | Loan transfer; DSP |
| Pre-season | MF | Neta Lavi | Maccabi Haifa | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Naohiro Sugiyama | Roasso Kumamoto | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Dawhan | Santa Rita | Loan transfer; Loan made permanent |
| Pre-season | MF | Rin Mito | Kwansei Gakuin University | Loan transfer; DSP |
| Pre-season | MF | Dai Tsukamoto | Zweigen Kanazawa | Loan return |
| Pre-season | FW | Issam Jebali | Odense Boldklub | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Harumi Minamino | Gamba Osaka U18s | Promotion |
Transfers out :
| Leave on | Pos. | Player | Moving to | Transfer type |
| 1 Jul | MF | Rihito Yamamoto | Sint-Truiden | Loan transfer |
| 10 Mar | MF | Kohei Okuno | Shonan Bellmare | Loan transfer |
| Pre-season | GK | Taichi Kato | – | Contract expiration |
| Pre-season | DF | Gen Shoji | Kashima Antlers | Full transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Kosuke Onose | Shonan Bellmare | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Ren Shibamoto | Tiamo Hirakata | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Ju Se-jong | Daejeon Hana Citizen | Full transfer; Loan made permanent |
| Pre-season | MF | Ryuta Takahashi | Nara Club | Loan transfer |
| Pre-season | MF | Mitsuki Saito | Shonan Bellmare | Loan expiration |
| Pre-season | FW | Wellington Silva | Cuiabá | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Leandro Pereira | Persepolis | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Patric | Kyoto Sanga | Free transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Isa Sakamoto | Fagiano Okayama | Loan transfer |
| Pre-season | FW | Harumi Minamino | Tegevajaro Miyazaki | Loan transfer |

## Competitions
### J1 League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 14 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 38 | |
| 15 | Shonan Bellmare | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 40 | 56 | −16 | 34 | |
| 16 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 38 | 61 | −23 | 34 | |
| 17 | Kashiwa Reysol | 34 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 33 | |
| 18 | Yokohama FC (R) | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 29 | Relegation to the J2 League |

#### Matches
### Emperor's Cup

Gamba started the competition in the second round, as every J1 and J2 League club earned a bye from prefectural qualification.

### J.League Cup

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Gamba Osaka | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | FC Tokyo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Kyoto Sanga | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 9 | |
| 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 5 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Gamba Osaka 3, FC Tokyo 3. Head-to-head goal differences: Gamba Osaka +2, FC Tokyo –2.

#### Quarter-finals

Urawa Red Diamonds won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Goalscorers

| Rank | Pos. | No. | Player | J1 League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | 23 | Dawhan | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 1 | MF | 47 | Juan Alano | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | FW | 7 | Takashi Usami | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | FW | 11 | Issam Jebali | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | MF | 8 | Ryotaro Meshino | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | MF | 48 | Hideki Ishige | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | 14 | Yuya Fukuda | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | DF | 3 | Riku Handa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | 5 | Genta Miura | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | 24 | Keisuke Kurokawa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 28 | Naohiro Sugiyama | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | FW | 9 | Musashi Suzuki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | 10 | Shu Kurata | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 20 | Kwon Kyung-won | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FW | 37 | Hiroto Yamami | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 38 | 1 | 8 | 47 |
Last updated: 3 December 2023. Source: jleague.co