# Osaka Bluteon

Osaka Bluteon (大阪ブルテオン, Ōsaka Buruteon) is a men's volleyball team based in Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan. It plays in V.League Division 1. The club was founded in 1951. It is owned by the Panasonic Corporation.

## History

Osaka Bluteon was established as a volleyball club for Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic) in 1951 and from 1992 to 2024 was known as the Panasonic Panthers.
The club would become one of the participating teams of the inaugural 2024–25 season of the SV.League. It adopted its current name and branding in June 2024 ahead of their participation in the new league.

## Names

* Panasonic Panthers (1992–2024)
* Osaka Bluteon (2024–)

## Team
### Current roster

Team roster – season 2023/2024 :
| No. | Player name | Date of birth | Position |
| 1 | Kunihiro Shimizu | (1986-08-11) August 11, 1986 (age 38) | Opposite |
| 2 | Hideomi Fukatsu | (1990-06-01) June 1, 1990 (age 34) | Setter |
| 3 | Shunsuke Nakamura | (1999-03-07) March 7, 1999 (age 25) | Setter |
| 6 | Thomas Jaeschke | (1993-09-04) September 4, 1993 (age 31) | Outside Hitter |
| 7 | Yuga Tarumi | (2000-11-02) November 2, 2000 (age 24) | Outside Hitter |
| 8 | Kenyu Nakamoto | (1997-11-21) November 21, 1997 (age 27) | Outside Hitter |
| 10 | Akihiro Yamauchi(c) | (1993-11-30) November 30, 1993 (age 31) | Middle Blocker |
| 11 | Yuji Nishida | (2000-01-30) January 30, 2000 (age 24) | Opposite |
| 12 | Tomotake Ito | (1999-11-11) November 11, 1999 (age 25) | Libero |
| 13 | Tomohiro Yamamoto | (1994-11-05) November 5, 1994 (age 30) | Libero |
| 15 | Tatsunori Otsuka | (2000-11-05) November 5, 2000 (age 24) | Outside Hitter |
| 17 | Takeshi Nagano | (1985-07-11) July 11, 1985 (age 39) | Libero |
| 18 | Hiroto Nishiyama | (2003-03-04) March 4, 2003 (age 21) | Outside Hitter |
| 19 | Keitaro Nishikawa | (2000-04-14) April 14, 2000 (age 24) | Middle Blocker |
| 20 | Takahiro Shin [ja] | (1991-08-10) August 10, 1991 (age 33) | Setter |
| 21 | Yasunari Kodama | (1994-07-24) July 24, 1994 (age 30) | Middle Blocker |
| 22 | Yuichiro Komiya | (1992-11-16) November 16, 1992 (age 32) | Middle Blocker |
| 23 | Larry Evbade-Dan | (2000-08-18) August 18, 2000 (age 24) | Middle Blocker |
| Head coach: Laurent Tillie |||||

## Honours
### Japan Volleyball League/V.League/V.Premier League

* Champions (×6): 1971–72, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
* Runners-up (×7): 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2023–24
* Third place (×1) :2022-23

### Kurowashiki All Japan Volleyball Tournament

* Champions (×9): 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1981, 1998, 2009, 2014
* Runners-up (×1): 2024

### Emperor's Cup

* Champions (×3): 2011, 2012, 2023
* Runner-up (×1): 2008

### Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship

* Runner-up (×1): 2019
* Third place (×1) : 2010

## Notable players

Japan
* Takahiro Yamamoto (2001-2013)
* Tatsuya Fukuzawa (2008-2014 and 2016-2019)
* Kunihiro Shimizu (2008-Present)
* Akihiro Yamauchi (2016-present)
* Yuji Nishida (2023-Present)
Brazil
* Nalbert Bitencourt (2002-2004)
* Luiz Felipe Fonteles (2007-2008)
* Dante Amaral(2013-2014 and 2015-2016)
* Thiago Alves (2011-2012 and 2014-2015)
Poland
* Michał Kubiak (2016-2023)
Cuba
* Miguel Ángel López (2024-present)
United States
* Thomas Jaeschke (2023-present)

## League results

Champion Runner-up
| League | League | Position | Teams | Matches | Win | Lose |
| V.League | 1st (1994–95) | 7th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 |
| V.League | 2nd (1995–96) | 6th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 |
| V.League | 3rd (1996–97) | 5th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 |
| V.League | 4th (1997–98) | 3rd | 8 | 21 | 14 | 7 |
| V.League | 5th (1998–99) | 4th | 10 | 18 | 17 | 1 |
| V.League | 6th (1999-00) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 9 | 9 |
| V.League | 7th (2000–01) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 9 | 9 |
| V.League | 8th (2001–02) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 9 | 9 |
| V.League | 9th (2002–03) | 3rd | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 |
| V.League | 10th (2003–04) | 3rd | 8 | 21 | 12 | 9 |
| V.League | 11th (2004–05) | 4th | 8 | 28 | 15 | 13 |
| V.League | 12th (2005–06) | 5th | 8 | 28 | 16 | 12 |
| V・Premier | 2006–07 | 3rd | 8 | 28 | 17 | 11 |
| V・Premier | 2007–08 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 19 | 9 |
| V・Premier | 2008–09 | 3rd | 8 | 28 | 15 | 13 |
| V・Premier | 2009–10 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 20 | 4 |
| V・Premier | 2010–11 | 4th | 8 | 24 | 14 | 10 |
| V・Premier | 2011–12 | Champion | 8 | 21 | 17 | 4 |
| V・Premier | 2012–13 | Runner-Up | 8 | 28 | 20 | 8 |
| V・Premier | 2013–14 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 21 | 7 |
| V・Premier | 2014–15 | 6th | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 |
| V・Premier | 2015–16 | Runner-up | 8 | 30 | 16 | 14 |
| V・Premier | 2016–17 | 5th | 8 | 26 | 15 | 11 |
| V・Premier | 2017–18 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 23 | 5 |
| V.League Division 1 |
| V.League Division 1 | 2018–19 | Champion | 10 | 34 | 28 | 6 |
| V.League Division 1 | 2019–20 | Runner-up | 10 | 28 | 24 | 4 |
| V.League Division 1 | 2020–21 | Runner-up | 10 | 41 | 33 | 8 |
| V.League Division 1 | 2021–22 | 3rd | 10 | 36 | 25 | 11 |
| V.League Division 1 | 2022–23 | 3rd | 10 | 39 | 25 | 14 |