# 2022 Shimizu S-Pulse season

The 2022 season was Shimizu S-Pulse's 29th season in the J1 League. It also was their 6th consecutive season in the J1, since coming back to the J1 in 2017.

## Overview

It was another season where difficulties and struggles hit Shimizu S-Pulse back and forth during the year. Under Hiraoka's management, Shimizu's lack of matches won and players not on their best form were a determining factor for their average-to-poor performances in each of the 3 competitions they played in.
Prior to the start of the season, Shimizu had made 5 signings, while at the same time gradually announcing 10 departures from the team. Se-hun's arrival from K League 1 powerhouse Ulsan Hyundai completed Shimizu's 6 signings at the start of the year. These signings included 2 J1 League players, a J2 League player, a recently-graduated High School student, Japan's starting goalkeeper, and a promising South Korean talent. Still, they couldn't figure out a way to be increasingly benefit from the transfer management throughout the season. Spilling away 3 defenders and making no replacements in the sector also gave Hiraoka headaches with the starting XI, as the team had in total 6 available defenders. Several times through the season –including its start– Teruki Hara had to be played at the defense, despite being a midfielder. Full-backs Katayama and Yamahara frequently played in different positions, with Yamahara playing on both sides of the pitch, as a full-back on the left and on the right. The same applied to Katayama, who additionally played a few times as a center-back.
Some players in special surprisingly didn't keep their good form this season. The more evident examples were Matsuoka and Oh Se-hun. Matsuoka, who played a large amount of matches in the previous season at club and national team level, surprisingly saw little game time under his management. Shimizu S-Pulse rarely made use of the squad rotation despite having more than 15 available options for both the midfield and attack. The situation was influenced by the players' not-so-good-form on most of the season. Oh Se-hun was other player who couldn't live up to the expectations. After debuting on 6 April, he scored a goal on his second match for the club, run out of form, and little game time was given onwards.
Some players in special were, however, highly utilized by both managers, with Shuichi Gonda, Reon Yamahara, Eiichi Katayama, Ryohei Shirasaki, Thiago Santana and Teruki Hara playing the most minutes among the Shimizu's players throughout the season, including the starting XI.
At the very start of the season Shimizu had a tiny unbeaten streak at the J1 League, with no loss in their first 2 matches. However, their league situation as firmly more delicated as the time passed, winning only 1 of their next 15 matches at the competition, from March to May. It wasn't much different from their J.League Cup campaign, failing to progress from the group stage, despite being unbeaten in the first 3 matches. Giving Tokushima Vortis their lone win at the group by a three-goal defeat influenced the Shizuoka side's hopes of clearing the group stage to turn into dust. Being it the last straw, Hiroaki Hiraoka was sacked. Shimizu saw reinforcements being made during the mid-season. Former Japan international footballers Koya Kitagawa and Takashi Inui were signed to the club, alongside Yago Pikachu, who was signed from Fortaleza, playing as a starter in most of the matches with the club in the Brasileirão and in the Libertadores. Despite no defensive signings (Pikachu can play as a right-back, but is primarily a midfielder), after hiring Brazilian manager Zé Ricardo, the club saw an improvement in performances and results since his signing. Under Hiraoka, only 2 wins were earned in 16 J1 matches, while under mid-season hired Zé Ricardo, they were able to win 4 matches, draw 3, and lose 3, out of his first 10 matches at the club.
However, on the last few rounds of the J1 League, a poor form hit Shimizu. As the league became more and more competitive for the teams in relegation danger, Shimizu got trapped in a heavy turmoil of uncertainties about their stay in J1 League, as few points separated the team at the bottom of the league and the 14th-placed team, to compare. On the last round of the season, Shimizu stayed for some minutes in the relegation play-offs zone. They were winning Sapporo by 3-2, with Kyoto Sanga drawing 0-0 against Júbilo, so Shimizu only needed to score more one goal, to match Kyoto's goal difference to finally be ahead of them in the standings, or to hope Kyoto Sanga conceded a goal. However, they conceded two goals, one at the 86th minute, and one at the added time. This 4-3 defeat away at Sapporo Dome led Shimizu S-Pulse to be relegated to the J2 League, returning to the second division after six seasons in the top-flight.

## Squad

Players' age displayed in this section dates to the start of the season.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Fully signed in | Signed from / Last club |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | GK | Takuo Ōkubo | (1989-09-18)18 September 1989 (aged 32) | 2019 | Sagan Tosu |
| 21 | GK | Shuichi Gonda | (1989-03-03)3 March 1989 (aged 32) | 2022 | Portimonense |
| 25 | GK | Kengo Nagai | (1994-11-06)6 November 1994 (aged 27) | 2021 | Giravanz Kitakyushu |
| 31 | GK | Togo Umeda | (2000-07-03)3 July 2000 (aged 21) | 2020 | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18 |
| 41 | GK | Fugetsu Kitamura | (2005-12-06)6 December 2005 (aged 16) | Not fully signed | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18$^{Type2}$ |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | DF | Yugo Tatsuta | (1998-06-21)21 June 1998 (aged 23) | 2017 | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18 |
| 4 | DF | Teruki Hara | (1998-07-30)30 July 1998 (aged 23) | 2021 | Sagan Tosu |
| 5 | DF | Valdo | (1992-02-10)10 February 1992 (aged 30) | 2020 | Ceará |
| 7 | DF | Eiichi Katayama | (1991-11-30)30 November 1991 (aged 30) | 2020 | Cerezo Osaka |
| 29 | DF | Reon Yamahara | (1999-06-08)8 June 1999 (aged 22) | 2022 | University of Tsukuba |
| 34 | DF | Taketo Ochiai | (2000-04-27)27 April 2000 (aged 21) | 2023 | Hosei University |
| 38 | DF | Akira Ibayashi | (1990-09-05)5 September 1990 (aged 31) | 2021 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| 50 | DF | Yoshinori Suzuki | (1992-09-11)11 September 1992 (aged 29) | 2021 | Oita Trinita |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 3 | MF | Ronaldo | (1996-10-23)23 October 1996 (aged 25) | 2021 | Flamengo |
| 6 | MF | Ryo Takeuchi | (1991-03-08)8 March 1991 (aged 30) | 2013 | Giravanz Kitakyushu |
| 8 | MF | Daiki Matsuoka | (2001-06-01)1 June 2001 (aged 20) | 2021 | Sagan Tosu |
| 11 | MF | Katsuhiro Nakayama | (1996-07-17)17 July 1996 (aged 25) | 2021 | Yokohama FC |
| 13 | MF | Kota Miyamoto | (1996-06-19)19 June 1996 (aged 25) | 2020 | FC Gifu |
| 15 | MF | Takeru Kishimoto | (1997-07-16)16 July 1997 (aged 24) | 2022 | Tokushima Vortis |
| 16 | MF | Kenta Nishizawa | (1996-09-06)6 September 1996 (aged 25) | 2019 | University of Tsukuba |
| 17 | MF | Yuta Kamiya | (1997-04-24)24 April 1997 (aged 24) | 2022 | Kashiwa Reysol |
| 18 | MF | Ryōhei Shirasaki | (1993-05-18)18 May 1993 (aged 28) | 2022 | Kashima Antlers |
| 22 | MF | Renato Augusto | (1992-01-29)29 January 1992 (aged 30) | 2019 | Palmeiras |
| 23 | MF | Yuito Suzuki | (2001-10-25)25 October 2001 (aged 20) | 2020 | Funabashi Municipal High School |
| 27 | MF | Yago Pikachu | (1992-06-05)5 June 1992 (aged 29) | 2022 | Fortaleza |
| 32 | MF | Benjamin Kololli | (1992-05-15)15 May 1992 (aged 29) | 2021 | Zürich |
| 33 | MF | Takashi Inui | (1988-06-02)2 June 1988 (aged 33) | 2022 | Unattached |
| 34 | MF | Yuta Taki | (1999-08-29)29 August 1999 (aged 22) | 2017 | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18 |
| 37 | MF | Daigo Takahashi | (1999-04-17)17 April 1999 (aged 22) | 2018 | Kamimura Gakuen High School |
| 42 | MF | Aoi Ando | (2005-01-04)4 January 2005 (aged 17) | Not fully signed | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18$^{Type2}$ |
| 43 | MF | Riku Yamada | (2004-05-15)15 May 2004 (aged 17) | Not fully signed | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18$^{Type2}$ |
| 44 | MF | Ryunosuke Yada | (2006-09-30)30 September 2006 (aged 15) | Not fully signed | Shimizu S-Pulse U-18$^{Type2}$ |
| Forwards |||||||
| 9 | FW | Thiago Santana | (1993-02-04)4 February 1993 (aged 29) | 2021 | Santa Clara |
| 10 | FW | Carlinhos Júnior | (1994-08-08)8 August 1994 (aged 27) | 2020 | Lugano |
| 14 | FW | Yusuke Goto | (1993-04-23)23 April 1993 (aged 28) | 2020 | Oita Trinita |
| 20 | FW | Oh Se-hun | (1999-01-15)15 January 1999 (aged 23) | 2022 | Ulsan Hyundai |
| 35 | FW | Sena Saito | (2000-11-21)21 November 2000 (aged 21) | 2023 | Ryutsu Keizai University |
| 45 | FW | Koya Kitagawa | (1996-07-26)26 July 1996 (aged 25) | 2022 | Rapid Wien |

## Transfers
### Arrivals/loans in

| Pos. | Player | Date | Type | Signed from / Last club |
| MF | Nagi Kawatani | 23 October 2021 | Full transfer | Shizuoka Gakuen High School |
| MF | Yuta Kamiya | 22 December 2021 | Full transfer | Kashiwa Reysol |
| GK | Shuichi Gonda | 23 December 2021 | Full transfer | Portimonense |
| MF | Takeru Kishimoto | 25 December 2021 | Full transfer | Tokushima Vortis |
| MF | Ryōhei Shirasaki | 27 December 2021 | Full transfer | Kashima Antlers |
| MF | Daigo Takahashi | 30 December 2021 | Back from loan | Giravanz Kitakyushu |
| MF | Hikaru Naruoka | 30 December 2021 | Back from loan | SC Sagamihara |
| FW | Ibrahim Junior Kuribara | 7 January 2022 | Back from loan | Suzuka Point Getters |
| FW | Oh Se-hun | 24 February 2022 | Full transfer | Ulsan Hyundai |
| GK | Togo Umeda | 10 June 2022 | Back from loan | Fagiano Okayama |
| FW | Koya Kitagawa | 19 June 2022 | Full transfer | Rapid Wien |
| MF | Yago Pikachu | 17 July 2022 | Full transfer | Fortaleza |
| MF | Takashi Inui | 22 July 2022 | Full transfer | Cerezo Osaka |
| FW | Takumi Kato | 6 October 2022 | Back from loan | SC Sagamihara |
Source: J.League

### Departures/Loans out

| Pos. | Player | Date | Type | Loaned to/Transferred to |
| GK | Toru Takagiwa | 17 December 2021 | Full transfer | Tokyo Verdy |
| MF | Keita Nakamura | 23 December 2021 | Full transfer | Kashiwa Reysol |
| MF | Shota Kaneko | 24 December 2021 | Full transfer | Júbilo Iwata |
| MF | Hideki Ishige | 27 December 2021 | Full transfer | Gamba Osaka |
| MF | Yosuke Kawai | 27 December 2021 | Full transfer | Fagiano Okayama |
| DF | Ryo Okui | 28 December 2021 | Full transfer | V-Varen Nagasaki |
| DF | Elsinho | 30 December 2021 | Contract expiration | Unattached |
| DF | Erick Noriega | 30 December 2021 | Full transfer | SV 19 Straelen |
| MF | Noriaki Fujimoto | 9 January 2022 | Full transfer | Vissel Kobe |
| FW | Hiroshi Ibusuki | 14 January 2022 | Full transfer | Adelaide United |
| FW | Kanta Chiba | 23 May 2022 | Loan transfer | FC Imabari |
| MF | Takumi Kato | 31 May 2022 | Loan transfer | SC Sagamihara |
| FW | Akira Silvano Disaro | 11 July 2022 | Loan transfer | Montedio Yamagata |
| FW | Ibrahim Junior Kuribara | 19 July 2022 | Loan transfer | Fukushima United |
| DF | Shuta Kikuchi | 22 July 2022 | Loan transfer | FC Imabari |
| FW | Riyo Kawamoto | 1 August 2022 | Loan transfer | Thespakusatsu Gunma |
| MF | Nagi Kawatani | 2 August 2022 | Loan transfer | Iwaki FC |
| MF | Hikaru Naruoka | 22 August 2022 | Loan transfer | Renofa Yamaguchi |
Source: J.League

## Competitions played in
### J1 League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 14 | Avispa Fukuoka | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 38 | |
| 15 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 37 | |
| 16 | Kyoto Sanga (O) | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 30 | 38 | −8 | 36 | Qualification for relegation playoffs |
| 17 | Shimizu S-Pulse (R) | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 33 | Relegation to the J2 League |
| 18 | Júbilo Iwata (R) | 34 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 32 | 57 | −25 | 30 | Relegation to the J2 League |

#### J1 League Results

Source: J.League

### J. League Cup

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 12 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 2 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 10 | Advance to play-off stage |
| 3 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 8 | |
| 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 4 | |

#### J.League Cup Results
### Overall record

This table shows their basic statistics throughout the season. In a troublesome season in result and performance terms, Shimizu couldn't make a solid run in neither of the three competitions it played in.
| 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 2022 | 5 November 2022 | Matchday 1 | 17th | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 020.59 |
| Emperor's Cup | 1 June 2022 | 22 June 2022 | Second round | Third round | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 050.00 |
| J.League Cup | 23 February 2022 | 18 May 2022 | Group stage | Group stage | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 033.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 023.81 |
Last updated: 5 November 2022 Source: Soccerway

## Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos. | Name | J1 League | J1 League | J.League Cup | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | Emperor's Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Takuo Okubo | 0+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Yugo Tatsuta | 24+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 3 | MF | Ronaldo | 11+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Teruki Hara | 21+4 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Valdo | 7+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | Ryo Takeuchi | 7+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Eiichi Katayama | 24+8 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Daiki Matsuoka | 10+12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Thiago Santana | 27 | 14 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 16 |
| 10 | MF | Carlinhos Júnior | 16+6 | 3 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 |
| 11 | MF | Katsuhiro Nakayama | 13+5 | 2 | 3+2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 4 |
| 13 | MF | Kota Miyamoto | 16+4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Yusuke Goto | 7+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Takeru Kishimoto | 1+9 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | Kenta Nishizawa | 7+3 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| 17 | FW | Yuta Kamiya | 14+7 | 1 | 4+2 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| 18 | MF | Ryohei Shirasaki | 31 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 35 | 4 |
| 19 | FW | Akira Silvano Disaro | 0+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 20 | FW | Oh Se-hun | 2+11 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 21 | GK | Shuichi Gonda | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Renato Augusto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Yuito Suzuki | 16+4 | 3 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 |
| 24 | DF | Shuta Kikuchi | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Kengo Nagai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Yuta Taki | 0+9 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 27 | MF | Yago Pikachu | 8+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Reon Yamahara | 30+3 | 2 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 2 |
| 30 | FW | Kanta Chiba | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Togo Umeda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | Benjamin Kololli | 3+17 | 3 | 2+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 4 |
| 33 | MF | Takashi Inui | 12+3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
| 34 | DF | Taketo Ochiai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | Sena Saito | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | Ibrahim Junior Kuribara | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 37 | FW | Daigo Takahashi | 1+5 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 38 | DF | Akira Ibayashi | 2+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | Nagi Kawatani | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | Hikaru Naruoka | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | GK | Fugetsu Kitamura | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | Aoi Ando | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | Riku Yamada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | Ryunosuke Yada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | Koya Kitagawa | 4+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 50 | DF | Yoshinori Suzuki | 33 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| – | FW | Takumi Kato | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |