# Cerezo Osaka

Cerezo Osaka (セレッソ大阪, Seresso Ōsaka) is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name Cerezo (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. The official hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. There exists a local rivalry rivalry with Suita-based Gamba Osaka.

## History
### Beginnings (1957–1992)

The club, originally called Yanmar Diesel, started in 1957 as the company team of Yanmar and was an original founder ("Original Eight") of the now-disbanded Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. With four Japanese league titles to its credit, it was a mainstay of the JSL Division 1 until 1990 when it was first relegated, and joined the former Japan Football League (JFL) in 1992.

### Privatised and registered under a new name (1993–present)

In 1993, the club incorporated as Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. and adopted the name Cerezo Osaka after a public contest. In 1994, they won the Japan Football League championship and was promoted to the J1 League in 1995. This also coincided with a run to the finals of the Emperor's Cup, which they lost to Bellmare Hiratsuka.
Cerezo has been relegated from J1 to J2 on three occasions, but are currently playing in the J1 league. The club had an impressive third-place finish in the 2017 season.

#### Taste of silverware

On 4 November 2017, Cerezo won the 2017 J.League Cup, the first major title in their club history, defeating Kawasaki Frontale 2–0.
On 1 January 2018, Cerezo won the 2017 Emperor's Cup, securing their second major title. The final match was against Yokohama F. Marinos, where Cerezo won 2–1 in extra time with Kota Mizunuma scoring the winner.
On 10 February 2018, Cerezo won the 2018 Japanese Super Cup winning 3–2 against Kawasaki Frontale.
In May 2018, the club changed its incorporated name from Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. to Cerezo Osaka Co., Ltd.
In 2022, the club got close to winning the J.League Cup for their second title, but blew a 1–0 lead to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in injury time after Hiroshima player Pieros Sotiriou scored two goals in the 96th and 101st minutes of the match to give the opponent the J.League Cup.
On 1 February 2023, Cerezo signed former Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United player, Shinji Kagawa on a two-years contract.

## Stadiums

The hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. The club plays at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium, with some bigger matches played at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai.
The club practices at Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park, Maishima Sports Island, and Amagasaki Yanmar Diesel Ground.

## Mascots

The club's mascots are a wolf named Lobby (from Spanish lobo, meaning wolf) and Madame Lobina, Lobby's mother. On February 22, 2020, host and TV personality Roland was appointed Cerezo's "Official CereMan".

## Rivalries

Cerezo's biggest rival is fellow Osaka club Gamba Osaka. The matches played between Cerezo and Gamba are referred to as the Osaka derby.

## Kits and colours

Cerezo's club colour is pink, like the cherry blossoms that the club's name is based on. Combination colours have been navy blue and black. This year, the uniform colour is pink (home) and white (away) for the outfield players and black (home), pink (away) and green for the goalkeepers.
During the Yanmar Diesel days in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, the uniform was all-red reminiscent of Deportivo Toluca.

### Colours, sponsors and kit makers

| Season(s) | Main Shirt Sponsor | Collarbone Sponsor(s) | Collarbone Sponsor(s) | Additional Sponsor(s) | Additional Sponsor(s) | Additional Sponsor(s) | Additional Sponsor(s) | Additional Sponsor(s) | Kit Manufacturer |
| 2018 | Yanmar | - | - | Nippon Ham | Singha | Kincho | Nakabayashi | - | Puma |
| 2019 | Yanmar | - | - | Nippon Ham | Singha | Sharp | Nakabayashi | - | Puma |
| 2020 | Yanmar | - | - | Nippon Ham | Singha | Sharp | Nakabayashi | - / Danish | Puma |
| 2021 | Yanmar | Yodogawa Steel Works | Yodogawa Steel Works | Nippon Ham | Singha | Sharp | Nakabayashi | - | Puma |
| 2022 | Yanmar | Yodogawa Steel Works | Nikkon Holdings | Nippon Ham | Singha | Sharp | Nakabayashi | - / Capcom | Puma |
| 2023 | Yanmar | Yodogawa Steel Works | Nikkon Holdings | Nippon Ham | Singha | Capcom | Nakabayashi | - | Puma |
| 2024 | Yanmar | Yodogawa Steel Works | Nikkon Holdings | Nippon Ham | Singha | Capcom | Nakabayashi | - | Puma |
| 2025 | Yanmar | Yodogawa Steel Works | Nikkon Holdings | Nippon Ham | Singha | Capcom | Nakabayashi | - | Mizuno |

### Kit evolution

Home Kits - 1st :
| 1994 - 1996 | 1997 - 1998 | 1999 - 2003 | 2004 - 2005 | 2006 - 2007 |
| 2008 - 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 2024 | 2025 |
Away Kits - 2nd :
| 1994 - 1996 | 1997 - 1998 | 1999 - 2002 | 2003 - 2004 | 2005 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Special Kits - 3rd :
| 2010 88 Memorial | 2011 Eight Summer | 2013 Yanmar Premium Cup | 2014 20th Anniversary | 2015 Kincho Stadium 5th Anniversary |
| 2016 Summer | 2017 Summer | 2018 ACL | 2018 Limited | 2019 25th Anniversary |
| 2020 Limited | 2021 ACL 1st | 2021 ACL 2nd | 2021 Limited | 2022 Limited |

## League and cup record

| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ACL |
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | P | W(OTW/PKW) | D | L(OTL/PKL) | F | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | J.League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ACL |
| 1995 | J1 | 14 | 8th | 52 | 25(0/0) | - | 11(0/2) | 43 | 44 | -1 | 41 | 12,097 | – | 2nd round | Did not qualify |
| 1996 | J1 | 16 | 13th | 30 | 10 | - | 20 | 38 | 56 | -18 | 30 | 8,229 | Group stage | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 1997 | J1 | 17 | 11th | 32 | 13(1/2) | - | 10(5/1) | 53 | 56 | -3 | 43 | 9,153 | Group stage | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 1998 | J1 | 18 | 9th | 34 | 14(1/0) | - | 17(1/1) | 56 | 79 | -23 | 44 | 9,864 | Group stage | 3rd round | Did not qualify |
| 1999 | J1 | 16 | 6th | 30 | 15(4/0) | - | 10(1/0) | 64 | 45 | 19 | 53 | 10,216 | 2nd round | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2000 | J1 | 16 | 5th | 30 | 14(3/0) | - | 11(2/0) | 54 | 49 | 5 | 48 | 13,548 | 2nd round | Quarter-finals | Did not qualify |
| 2001 | J1 | 16 | 16th | 30 | 5(3/0) | 2 | 18(0/0) | 41 | 70 | -29 | 21 | 11,857 | 1st round | Runners-up | Did not qualify |
| 2002 | J2 | 12 | 2nd | 44 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 93 | 53 | 40 | 87 | 7,952 | Not eligible | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2003 | J1 | 16 | 9th | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 55 | 56 | -1 | 40 | 13,854 | Group stage | Runners-up | Did not qualify |
| 2004 | J1 | 16 | 15th | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 64 | -22 | 26 | 14,323 | Group stage | 4th round | Did not qualify |
| 2005 | J1 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 48 | 40 | 8 | 59 | 17,648 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Did not qualify |
| 2006 | J1 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 44 | 70 | -26 | 27 | 13,026 | Quarter-finals | 4th round | Did not qualify |
| 2007 | J2 | 13 | 5th | 48 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 72 | 55 | 17 | 80 | 6,627 | Not eligible | 4th round | Did not qualify |
| 2008 | J2 | 15 | 4th | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 81 | 60 | 21 | 69 | 10,554 | Not eligible | 4th round | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | J2 | 18 | 2nd | 51 | 31 | 11 | 9 | 100 | 53 | 47 | 104 | 9,912 | Not eligible | 2nd round | Did not qualify |
| 2010 | J1 | 18 | 3rd | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 51 | 31 | 20 | 61 | 15,026 | Group stage | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2011 | J1 | 18 | 12th | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 67 | 53 | 14 | 43 | 14,145 | Quarter final | Semi-finals | Quarter-finals |
| 2012 | J1 | 18 | 14th | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 53 | -6 | 42 | 16,815 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Did not qualify |
| 2013 | J1 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 53 | 32 | 21 | 59 | 18,819 | Quarter-finals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2014 | J1 | 18 | 17th | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 36 | 48 | -12 | 31 | 21,627 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Round of 16 |
| 2015 | J2 | 22 | 4th | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 57 | 40 | 17 | 67 | 12,232 | Not eligible | 1st round | Did not qualify |
| 2016 | J2 | 22 | 4th | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 62 | 46 | 16 | 78 | 12,509 | Not eligible | 3rd round | Did not qualify |
| 2017 | J1 | 18 | 3rd | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 64 | 43 | 22 | 63 | 20,970 | Winner | Winner | Did not qualify |
| 2018 | J1 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 50 | 18,542 | Quarter final | Round of 16 | Group stage |
| 2019 | J1 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 29 | 14 | 59 | 21,518 | Play-offs | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2020 † | J1 | 18 | 4th | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 46 | 37 | 9 | 60 | 7,014 | Quarter final | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2021 † | J1 | 20 | 12th | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 51 | -4 | 48 | 5,351 | Runners up | Semi-finals | Round of 16 |
| 2022 | J1 | 18 | 5th | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 46 | 40 | 6 | 51 | 11,427 | Runners up | Quarter-finals | Did not qualify |
| 2023 | J1 | 18 | 9th | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 39 | 34 | 5 | 49 | 17,074 | Group stage | Round of 16 | Did not qualify |
| 2024 | J1 | 20 | 10th | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 43 | 48 | -5 | 52 | 17,903 | Playoff round | 3rd round | Did not qualify |
| 2025 | J1 | 20 | TBA | 38 | | | | | | | | | TBD | TBD | Did not qualify |

### Key

* Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
* Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
* † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendances reduced due to COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
* Source: J.League Data Site

## Honours

As both Yanmar Diesel (1957–1993) and Cerezo Osaka (1993–present)
Cerezo Osaka honours :
| Honour | No. | Years |
| Emperor's Cup | 4 | 1968, 1970, 1974, 2017 |
| Japan Soccer League Division 1 | 4 | 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980 |
| Japan Soccer League Cup | 3 | 1973 (shared), 1983, 1984 |
| All Japan Senior Football Championship | 1 | 1976 |
| Queen's Cup | 1 | 1976 |
| Japanese Super Cup | 2 | 1981, 2018 |
| Japan Football League | 1 | 1994 |
| J.League Cup | 1 | 2017 |

### League history

* Japan Soccer League Division 1: 1965–1990 (as Yanmar Diesel)
* Japan Soccer League Division 2: 1991 (as Yanmar Diesel)
* Japan Football League Division 1: 1992–94 (as Yanmar Diesel until 1993; Cerezo Osaka since 1994)
* J1 League: 1995–2001
* J2 League: 2002
* J1 League: 2003–2006
* J2 League: 2007–2009
* J1 League: 2010–2014
* J2 League: 2015–2016
* J1 League: 2017–present

## Current squad

    As of 3 March 2025.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | JPN | Koki Fukui |
| 2 | DF | JPN | Takumi Nakamura |
| 3 | DF | JPN | Ryosuke Shindo |
| 4 | MF | JPN | Yuichi Hirano |
| 5 | MF | JPN | Hinata Kida |
| 6 | DF | JPN | Kyohei Noborizato |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Satoki Uejo |
| 8 | MF | JPN | Shinji Kagawa (vice-captain) |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Rafael Ratão |
| 10 | MF | JPN | Shunta Tanaka (captain) |
| 11 | FW | BRA | Thiago Andrade |
| 13 | FW | JPN | Motohiko Nakajima |
| 14 | DF | JPN | Kakeru Funaki |
| 15 | MF | JPN | Nagi Matsumoto |
| 16 | DF | JPN | Hayato Okuda |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | JPN | Reiya Sakata |
| 21 | GK | KOR | Kim Jin-hyeon (vice-captain) |
| 22 | DF | JPN | Niko Takahashi |
| 24 | FW | THA | Jaroensak Wonggorn (on loan from BG Pathum United) |
| 25 | MF | JPN | Hiroaki Okuno |
| 29 | FW | JPN | Kengo Furuyama |
| 33 | DF | JPN | Ryuya Nishio |
| 38 | FW | JPN | Sota Kitano (vice-captain) |
| 44 | DF | JPN | Shinnosuke Hatanaka (vice-captain) |
| 45 | GK | JPN | Go Kambayashi |
| 47 | GK | JPN | Kazuma Makiguchi (on loan from Ehime FC) |
| 48 | MF | JPN | Masaya Shibayama |
| 55 | FW | BRA | Vitor Bueno |
| 77 | MF | BRA | Lucas Fernandes |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 34 | MF | JPN | Rui Osako (at SC Sagamihara) |
| — | MF | JPN | Nelson Ishiwatari (at Iwaki FC) |
| — | MF | JPN | Keita Konomi (at Giravanz Kitakyushu) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | JPN | Jun Nishikawa (at Sagan Tosu) |
| — | MF | JPN | Kosei Okazawa (at Fujieda MYFC) |
| — | FW | JPN | Shinnosuke Kinoshita (at Nankatsu SC) |

## Club officials

Club officials for 2025.
| Position | Name |
| Manager | Arthur Papas |
| Assistant manager | Raffaele Napoli |
| Coaches | Hussein Skenderovic Tsutomu Komatsu Bruno Quadros |
| Analytical coach | Shuta Tsukamoto Yuki Yoshimura |
| Goalkeeping coach | Koji Inada |
| Head of performance | Yusuke Fukuhara |
| Physical coach | Takeshi Ikoma |
| Athletic performance coach | Hikaru Fujii |
| Physiotherapists | Atsushi Kitaura Akihiro Sasaki |
| Trainers | Koji Hanaki Haruki Wada |
| Interpreters | Takanori Shirasawa Kazuyuki Ishikawa Bruno Hideo Owada |
| Chief secretary | Atsushi Imanishi |
| Team secretary | Shoki Kokawa Lee Song-in |
| Kitman | Tomoharu Nagahisa |

## Manager history

| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | Tenure |
| Manager | Nationality | From | To |
| Paulo Emilio | Brazil | 1 January 1994 | 31 December 1995 |
| Hiroshi Sowa | Japan | 1 January 1996 | 31 December 1996 |
| Levir Culpi | Brazil | 1 February 1997 | 31 December 1997 |
| Yasutaro Matsuki | Japan | 1 January 1998 | 31 December 1999 |
| René Desaeyere | Belgium | 1 February 1999 | 31 January 2000 |
| Hiroshi Soejima | Japan | 1 February 2000 | 19 August 2001 |
| João Carlos | Brazil | 20 August 2001 | 4 November 2001 |
| Akihiro Nishimura | Japan | 5 November 2001 | 6 October 2003 |
| Yuji Tsukada | Japan | 7 October 2003 | 1 January 2004 |
| Petar Nadoveza | Croatia | 2 January 2004 | 1 February 2004 |
| Fuad Muzurović | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 February 2004 | 22 March 2004 |
| Albert Pobor | Croatia | 23 March 2004 | 28 June 2004 |
| Shinji Kobayashi | Japan | 1 July 2004 | 17 April 2006 |
| Yuji Tsukada | Japan | 18 April 2006 | 31 December 2006 |
| Satoshi Tsunami | Japan | 1 January 2007 | 7 May 2007 |
| Levir Culpi | Brazil | 8 May 2007 | 31 December 2011 |
| Sérgio Soares | Brazil | 1 January 2012 | 26 August 2012 |
| Levir Culpi | Brazil | 27 August 2012 | 11 December 2013 |
| Ranko Popović | Serbia | 1 January 2014 | 9 June 2014 |
| Marco Pezzaiuoli | Germany | 16 June 2014 | 8 September 2014 |
| Yuji Okuma | Japan | 8 September 2014 | 16 December 2014 |
| Paulo Autuori | Brazil | 1 January 2015 | 17 November 2015 |
| Kiyoshi Okuma | Japan | 17 November 2015 | 31 January 2017 |
| Yoon Jong-hwan | South Korea | 1 February 2017 | 31 December 2018 |
| Miguel Ángel Lotina | Spain | 1 February 2019 | 31 January 2021 |
| Levir Culpi | Brazil | 1 February 2021 | 26 August 2021 |
| Akio Kogiku | Japan | 26 August 2021 | 11 October 2024 |
| Arthur Papas | Australia | 17 December 2024 | |

## Continental record

    As of 24 June 2021
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 2011 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Arema FC Malang | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2nd |
| 2011 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Shandong Luneng Taishan | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2nd |
| 2011 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2nd |
| 2011 | AFC Champions League | Round of 16 | Gamba Osaka | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 2011 | AFC Champions League | Quarter-finals | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 4–3 | 1–6 | 5–9 |
| 2014 | AFC Champions League | Group F | Pohang Steelers | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2nd |
| 2014 | AFC Champions League | Group F | Shandong Taishan | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2nd |
| 2014 | AFC Champions League | Group F | Buriram United | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2nd |
| 2014 | AFC Champions League | Round of 16 | Guangzhou | 1–5 | 1–0 | 2–5 |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Jeju United | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3rd |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Guangzhou | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3rd |
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Group G | Buriram United | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3rd |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Melbourne City | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group J | Guangzhou | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1st |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group J | Kitchee | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1st |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Group J | Port | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1st |
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Round of 16 | Pohang Steelers | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
* ↑ The original clubs of the Japan Soccer League in 1965 were Mitsubishi Motors, Furukawa Electric, Hitachi, Yanmar, Toyo Kogyo, Yahata Steel, Toyota Industries and Nagoya Mutual Bank.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Played at a neutral venue.

## In popular culture

In the manga series Captain Tsubasa, a character named Teppei Kisugi becomes a professional football player and joins Cerezo Osaka.