# 2008 Urawa Red Diamonds season

During the 2008 season, Urawa Red Diamonds competed in the J. League 1, the top tier of Japanese football, in which they finished 7th. The club also competed in two domestic cup competitions, the Emperor's Cup and the J. League Cup, being eliminated in the fifth round of the former, and at the group stage in the latter competition.
Manager Holger Osieck was sacked two matches into Urawa's J1 League campaign on 16 March 2008, and was succeeded by Gert Engels.

## Competitions

| Competitions | Position |
| J. League 1 | 7th / 18 clubs |
| Emperor's Cup | 5th Round |
| J. League Cup | GL-A 4th / 4 clubs |

### J. League 1
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 55 | |
| 6 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 55 | |
| 7 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 53 | |
| 8 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 50 | Qualification for 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage |
| 9 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 32 | +11 | 48 | |
* ↑ Qualified as the winner of 2008 Emperor's Cup.

#### Results

J.League Division 1 results :
| Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Attendance |
| 8 March 2008 | 14:05 | Yokohama F. Marinos | A | 0–1 | 61,246 |
| 15 March 2008 | 14:04 | Nagoya Grampus | H | 0–2 | 54,482 |
| 30 March 2008 | 16:03 | Albirex Niigata | H | 3–0 | 46,962 |
| 2 April 2008 | 19:03 | Shimizu S-Pulse | A | 2–1 | 15,223 |
| 5 April 2008 | 13:04 | Júbilo Iwata | A | 2–1 | 27,866 |
| 13 April 2008 | 16:04 | Kashima Antlers | H | 2–0 | 54,450 |
| 20 April 2008 | 14:01 | Omiya Ardija | H | 0–0 | 50,997 |
| 26 April 2008 | 16:04 | Kyoto Sanga | A | 4–0 | 19,680 |
| 29 April 2008 | 16:00 | Consadole Sapporo | H | 4–2 | 48,031 |
| 3 May 2008 | 19:04 | Vissel Kobe | A | 1–1 | 23,088 |
| 6 May 2008 | 16:00 | JEF United Chiba | H | 3–0 | 52,008 |
| 10 May 2008 | 14:05 | Kawasaki Frontale | A | 1–0 | 20,335 |
| 17 May 2008 | 14:04 | Gamba Osaka | H | 2–3 | 57,050 |
| 28 June 2008 | 19:03 | Kashiwa Reysol | A | 1–2 | 36,785 |
| 5 July 2008 | 19:04 | FC Tokyo | H | 2–0 | 49,218 |
| 12 July 2008 | 18:05 | Oita Trinita | A | 0–2 | 28,214 |
| 17 July 2008 | 19:31 | Tokyo Verdy | H | 3–2 | 35,080 |
| 21 July 2008 | 18:01 | Kawasaki Frontale | H | 1–3 | 51,168 |
| 27 July 2008 | 18:34 | Kashima Antlers | A | 1–1 | 36,412 |
| 9 August 2008 | 19:34 | Kashiwa Reysol | H | 2–2 | 46,981 |
| 16 August 2008 | 18:34 | FC Tokyo | A | 1–0 | 37,154 |
| 23 August 2008 | 18:34 | Júbilo Iwata | H | 3–1 | 45,253 |
| 27 August 2008 | 19:03 | Tokyo Verdy | A | 1–1 | 26,275 |
| 13 September 2008 | 14:04 | Oita Trinita | H | 0–0 | 45,831 |
| 21 September 2008 | 18:00 | Omiya Ardija | A | 1–0 | 11,530 |
| 28 September 2008 | 19:03 | Nagoya Grampus | A | 1–1 | 19,811 |
| 1 October 2008 | 19:01 | Kyoto Sanga | H | 2–2 | 16,225 |
| 5 October 2008 | 14:05 | JEF United Chiba | A | 2–3 | 16,718 |
| 18 October 2008 | 15:01 | Vissel Kobe | H | 0–1 | 47,325 |
| 26 October 2008 | 14:04 | Albirex Niigata | A | 1–0 | 40,359 |
| 8 November 2008 | 14:04 | Consadole Sapporo | A | 2–1 | 28,901 |
| 23 November 2008 | 13:01 | Shimizu S-Pulse | H | 1–2 | 54,709 |
| 29 November 2008 | 14:03 | Gamba Osaka | A | 0–1 | 19,605 |
| 6 December 2008 | 14:31 | Yokohama F. Marinos | H | 1–6 | 53,583 |

### Emperor's Cup

Emperor's Cup results :
| Round | Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Ref. |
| Fourth round | 3 November 2008 | 13:00 | Ehime FC | H | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Ponte 95' | |
| Fifth round | 15 November 2008 | 13:00 | Yokohama F. Marinos | N | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–6 p) | Escudero 43', Horinouchi 46' | |

### J. League Cup

| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 15 |
| Vissel Kobe | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Kyoto Sanga FC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 6 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | −8 | 2 |
J. League Cup results :
| Match | Date | Time | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance |
| GL-A-1 | 20 March 2008 | 16:00 | Vissel Kobe | H | 0–1 | 33,392 |
| GL-A-2 | 23 March 2008 | 17:00 | Kyoto Sanga | A | 3–3 | 13,332 |
| GL-A-3 | 16 April 2008 | 19:00 | Kyoto Sanga | H | 1–1 | 15,973 |
| GL-A-4 | 25 May 2008 | 19:00 | Nagoya Grampus | A | 2–4 | 21,015 |
| GL-A-5 | 31 May 2008 | 19:00 | Vissel Kobe | A | 1–2 | 17,453 |
| GL-A-6 | 8 June 2008 | 15:00 | Nagoya Grampus | H | 1–5 | 35,417 |

## Player statistics

| No. | Pos. | Player | D.o.B. (Age) | Height / Weight | J. League 1 | J. League 1 | Emperor's Cup | Emperor's Cup | J. League Cup | J. League Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Player | D.o.B. (Age) | Height / Weight | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Norihiro Yamagishi | (1978-05-17)17 May 1978 (aged 29) | cm / kg | 1 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 2 | DF | Keisuke Tsuboi | (1979-09-16)16 September 1979 (aged 28) | cm / kg | 21 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 3 | MF | Hajime Hosogai | (1986-06-10)10 June 1986 (aged 21) | cm / kg | 26 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 4 | DF | Marcus Tulio Tanaka | (1981-04-24)24 April 1981 (aged 26) | cm / kg | 31 | 11 | | | | | | |
| 6 | DF | Nobuhisa Yamada | (1975-09-10)10 September 1975 (aged 32) | cm / kg | 28 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | FW | Naohiro Takahara | (1979-06-04)4 June 1979 (aged 28) | cm / kg | 27 | 6 | | | | | | |
| 8 | MF | Alessandro Santos | (1977-07-20)20 July 1977 (aged 30) | cm / kg | 1 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 9 | FW | Yuichiro Nagai | (1979-02-14)14 February 1979 (aged 29) | cm / kg | 26 | 5 | | | | | | |
| 10 | MF | Robson Ponte | (1976-11-06)6 November 1976 (aged 31) | cm / kg | 16 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 11 | FW | Tatsuya Tanaka | (1982-11-27)27 November 1982 (aged 25) | cm / kg | 15 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 12 | DF | Shunsuke Tsutsumi | (1987-06-08)8 June 1987 (aged 20) | cm / kg | 18 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 13 | MF | Keita Suzuki | (1981-07-08)8 July 1981 (aged 26) | cm / kg | 23 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 14 | DF | Tadaaki Hirakawa | (1979-05-01)1 May 1979 (aged 28) | cm / kg | 31 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 15 | FW | Sergio Escudero | (1988-09-01)1 September 1988 (aged 19) | cm / kg | 13 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 16 | MF | Takahito Soma | (1981-12-10)10 December 1981 (aged 26) | cm / kg | 27 | 3 | | | | | | |
| 17 | FW | Edmilson | (1982-09-15)15 September 1982 (aged 25) | cm / kg | 31 | 11 | | | | | | |
| 18 | FW | Junki Koike | (1987-05-11)11 May 1987 (aged 20) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 19 | DF | Hideki Uchidate | (1974-01-15)15 January 1974 (aged 34) | cm / kg | 3 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 20 | DF | Satoshi Horinouchi | (1979-10-26)26 October 1979 (aged 28) | cm / kg | 28 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 21 | MF | Tsukasa Umesaki | (1987-02-23)23 February 1987 (aged 21) | cm / kg | 22 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 22 | MF | Yuki Abe | (1981-09-06)6 September 1981 (aged 26) | cm / kg | 33 | 6 | | | | | | |
| 23 | GK | Ryōta Tsuzuki | (1978-04-18)18 April 1978 (aged 29) | cm / kg | 33 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 24 | DF | Kazuya Sakamoto | (1987-09-02)2 September 1987 (aged 20) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 25 | DF | Tetsushi Kondo | (1986-11-04)4 November 1986 (aged 21) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 26 | FW | Hiroyuki Takasaki | (1986-03-17)17 March 1986 (aged 21) | cm / kg | 2 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 27 | DF | Yoshiya Nishizawa | (1987-06-13)13 June 1987 (aged 20) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 28 | GK | Nobuhiro Kato | (1984-12-11)11 December 1984 (aged 23) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 29 | GK | Koki Otani | (1989-04-08)8 April 1989 (aged 18) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 30 | FW | Masayuki Okano | (1972-07-25)25 July 1972 (aged 35) | cm / kg | 4 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 31 | DF | Masato Hashimoto | (1989-10-12)12 October 1989 (aged 18) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 32 | MF | Yusuke Hayashi | (1990-01-23)23 January 1990 (aged 18) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 34 | MF | Naoki Yamada | (1990-07-04)4 July 1990 (aged 17) | cm / kg | 1 | 0 | | | | | | |
| 35 | FW | Genki Haraguchi | (1991-05-09)9 May 1991 (aged 16) | cm / kg | 0 | 0 | | | | | | |