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Cerezo Osaka
セレッソ大阪
Cerezo Osaka logo.svg
Full name Cerezo Osaka
Nickname(s) Sakura (cherry blossoms)
Founded 1957; 68 years ago (1957) as Yanmar Diesel SC
Stadium Yodoko Sakura Stadium
Stadium
capacity		 24,481
Owner Yanmar
Chairman Hiroaki Morishima
Manager Arthur Papas
League J1 League
2022 J1 League, 5th of 18

Cerezo Osaka (セレッソ大阪, Seresso Ōsaka) is a professional football team from Osaka, Japan. They play in the J1 League, which is the highest level of football in the country. Their name, Cerezo, means cherry blossom in Spanish, and it's also the official flower of Osaka city. The team's home cities are Osaka and Sakai. They have a big local rivalry with Gamba Osaka, another team from Osaka.

History of Cerezo Osaka

Early Days as Yanmar Diesel (1957–1992)

The club started in 1957 as a company team called Yanmar Diesel. They were one of the first teams in the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965.

Yanmar Diesel won four Japanese league titles. They stayed in JSL Division 1 until 1990. After that, they joined the former Japan Football League (JFL) in 1992.

Becoming Cerezo Osaka (1993–Present)

In 1993, the club changed its name to Cerezo Osaka after a public contest. In 1994, they won the Japan Football League championship. This win helped them move up to the J1 League in 1995. That same year, they reached the finals of the Emperor's Cup, but lost to Bellmare Hiratsuka.

Cerezo has moved between the J1 League and the J2 League a few times. However, they are currently playing in the J1 League. In the 2017 season, they finished in an impressive third place.

Winning Trophies

Cerezo Osaka won their first major title on November 4, 2017. They defeated Kawasaki Frontale 2–0 to win the 2017 J.League Cup.

On January 1, 2018, Cerezo won their second major title, the 2017 Emperor's Cup. They beat Yokohama F. Marinos 2–1 in extra time. Kota Mizunuma scored the winning goal.

Just over a month later, on February 10, 2018, Cerezo won the 2018 Japanese Super Cup. They won 3–2 against Kawasaki Frontale again.

In May 2018, the club officially changed its company name to Cerezo Osaka Co., Ltd.

In 2022, Cerezo almost won the J.League Cup again. They were leading 1–0 against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. But Hiroshima's player Pieros Sotiriou scored two goals in injury time. This meant Cerezo lost the cup.

On February 1, 2023, Cerezo signed Shinji Kagawa. He is a famous player who used to play for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.

Stadiums

Cerezo Osaka's main home stadium is the Yodoko Sakura Stadium. Some bigger matches are played at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai.

The team practices at several locations. These include Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park and Maishima Sports Island.

Mascots

Cerezo Osaka has two wolf mascots. The male wolf is named Lobby, which comes from the Spanish word lobo meaning wolf. The female wolf is Madame Lobina, who is Lobby's mother.

Rivalries

Cerezo Osaka has a big rivalry with Gamba Osaka. They are both football clubs from Osaka. Matches between these two teams are called the Osaka derby.

Kits and Colours

Cerezo's main club colour is pink. This colour represents the cherry blossoms that their name is based on. They also use navy blue and black.

Currently, the home uniform is pink, and the away uniform is white. Goalkeepers wear black, pink, or green uniforms.

In the past, during the Yanmar Diesel days (late 1970s to mid-1980s), the uniform was all-red.

Colours, Sponsors, and Kit Makers

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

League and Cup Performance

This table shows how Cerezo Osaka has performed in league and cup competitions over the years.

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

Club Honours

Cerezo Osaka has won several titles throughout its history, both as Yanmar Diesel and as Cerezo Osaka.

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

Current Team Squad

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Kōki Fukui
2 Japan DF Takumi Nakamura
3 Japan DF Ryōsuke Shindō
4 Japan MF Yūichi Hirano
5 Japan MF Hinata Kida
6 Japan DF Kyōhei Noborizato
7 Japan MF Satoki Uejō
8 Japan MF Shinji Kagawa (vice-captain)
9 Brazil FW Rafael Ratão
10 Japan MF Shunta Tanaka (captain)
11 Brazil FW Thiago Andrade
13 Japan FW Motohiko Nakajima
16 Japan DF Hayato Okuda
17 Japan MF Reiya Sakata
19 Japan MF Shion Honma (on loan from Urawa Red Diamonds)
21 South Korea GK Kim Jin-hyeon (vice-captain)
No. Position Player
22 Japan DF Niko Takahashi
27 Malaysia DF Dion Cools
29 Japan FW Kengo Furuyama
33 Japan DF Ryūya Nishio
35 Japan MF Kyohei Yoshino
39 Japan FW Wigi Kanemoto DSP
42 Japan FW Ryota Onoda Type 2
43 Japan DF Chimezie Kai Ezemokwe Type 2
44 Japan DF Shinnosuke Hatanaka (vice-captain)
45 Japan GK Go Kambayashi
46 Japan GK Ken Isibor Type 2
47 Japan GK Kazuma Makiguchi (on loan from Ehime FC)
48 Japan MF Masaya Shibayama
55 Brazil FW Vitor Bueno
77 Brazil MF Lucas Fernandes

Players on Loan

These players are currently playing for other teams on a temporary basis.

No. Position Player
15 Japan MF Nagi Matsumoto (at Sagan Tosu)
34 Japan MF Rui Ōsako (at SC Sagamihara)
Japan MF Nelson Ishiwatari (at Iwaki FC)
Japan MF Keita Konomi (at Giravanz Kitakyushu)
No. Position Player
Japan MF Jun Nishikawa (at Sagan Tosu)
Japan MF Kōsei Okazawa (at Fujieda MYFC)
Japan FW Shinnosuke Kinoshita (at Nankatsu SC)

Club Officials

Here are the club officials for 2025.

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

Manager History

This table lists the managers who have led Cerezo Osaka over the years.

Manager Nationality Tenure
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 Football Record

This section shows how Cerezo Osaka has performed in the AFC Champions League, which is a major football competition for clubs in Asia.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2011 AFC Champions League Group G Indonesia Arema FC Malang 2–1 4–0 2nd
China Shandong Luneng Taishan 4–0 0–2
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–0 0–1
Round of 16 Japan Gamba Osaka 1–0
Quarter-finals South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 4–3 1–6 5–9
2014 Group F South Korea Pohang Steelers 0–2 1–1 2nd
China Shandong Taishan 1–3 2–1
Thailand Buriram United 4–0 2–2
Round of 16 China Guangzhou 1–5 1–0 2–5
2018 Group G South Korea Jeju United 2–1 1–0 3rd
China Guangzhou 0–0 1–3
Thailand Buriram United 2–2 0–2
2021 Play-off round Australia Melbourne City Cancelled
Group J China Guangzhou 5–0 2–0 1st
Hong Kong Kitchee 2–1 0–0
Thailand Port 1–1 3–0
Round of 16 South Korea Pohang Steelers 0–1

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cerezo Osaka para niños

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