Cerezo Osaka facts for kids
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| Full name | Cerezo Osaka | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Sakura (cherry blossoms) | ||
| Founded | 1957 as Yanmar Diesel SC | ||
| Stadium | Yodoko Sakura Stadium | ||
| Stadium capacity |
24,481 | ||
| Owner | Yanmar | ||
| Chairman | Hiroaki Morishima | ||
| Manager | Akio Kogiku | ||
| League | J1 League | ||
| 2022 | J1 League, 5th of 18 | ||
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Cerezo Osaka (セレッソ大阪, Seresso Ōsaka) is a professional football club from Osaka, Japan. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top football league in Japan. The name Cerezo means "cherry blossom" in Spanish. The cherry blossom is also the official flower of Osaka city. The club's main homes are Osaka and Sakai. They have a big local competition, called a derby, with Gamba Osaka, another team from the Osaka area.
Contents
Club History
How it All Started (1957–1992)
The club began in 1957 as a team for the company Yanmar. It was first called Yanmar Diesel. They were one of the first eight teams in the Japan Soccer League (JSL) in 1965. Yanmar Diesel won the Japanese league title four times. They were a strong team in the JSL Division 1 until 1990. After that, they moved to a new league called the 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 also reached the finals of the Emperor's Cup, but they lost the match.
Cerezo Osaka has moved between the J1 League and the J2 three 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 trophy on November 4, 2017. They won the 2017 J.League Cup by beating Kawasaki Frontale 2–0.
On January 1, 2018, Cerezo won their second major trophy, the 2017 Emperor's Cup. They won the final match against 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 beat Kawasaki Frontale again, this time 3–2.
In 2022, Cerezo Osaka almost won the J.League Cup again. They were leading 1–0 against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. But Hiroshima scored two goals in the last minutes of the game and won the cup.
On February 1, 2023, Cerezo signed Shinji Kagawa. He is a famous player who used to play for big clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.
Home Stadiums
Cerezo Osaka plays their home games in Osaka and Sakai. Their main stadium is the Yodoko Sakura Stadium. For some bigger matches, they also play at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai.
The team practices at several places, including Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park.
Team Mascots
The club has two mascots: a wolf named Lobby (from the Spanish word lobo, meaning wolf) and Madame Lobina, who is Lobby's mother.
Big Rivalries
Cerezo Osaka's biggest rival is another team from Osaka, Gamba Osaka. When these two teams play each other, it's called the Osaka derby. It's always a very exciting match!
Team Colours and Kits
Cerezo Osaka's main club colour is pink. This colour represents the cherry blossoms that the club's 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.
In the past, when the club was Yanmar Diesel, their uniform was all-red.
Kit Sponsors and Makers
| Season(s) | Main Shirt Sponsor | Collarbone Sponsor(s) | Additional Sponsor(s) | Kit Manufacturer | |||||
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| 2018 | Yanmar | - | - | Nippon Ham | Singha | Kincho | Nakabayashi | - | Puma |
| 2019 | Sharp | ||||||||
| 2020 | - / Danish |
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| 2021 | Yodogawa Steel Works | - | |||||||
| 2022 | Yodogawa Steel Works | Nikkon Holdings | - / Capcom |
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| 2023 | Capcom | - | |||||||
| 2024 | |||||||||
Kit Evolution
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| Special Kits - 3rd | ||||
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    88 Memorial |
    Eight Summer |
   Yanmar Premium Cup |
    20th Anniversary |
     Kincho Stadium 5th Anniversary |
    Summer |
     Summer |
   ACL |
    Limited |
   25th Anniversary |
 Limited |
   ACL 1st |
   ACL 2nd |
   Limited |
   Limited |
Club Honours
Cerezo Osaka has won several important titles throughout its history. This includes wins as Yanmar Diesel and as Cerezo Osaka.
- Emperor's Cup: 4 times (1968, 1970, 1974, 2017)
- Japan Soccer League Division 1: 4 times (1971, 1974, 1975, 1980)
- Japan Soccer League Cup: 3 times (1973 (shared), 1983, 1984)
- All Japan Senior Football Championship: 1 time (1976)
- Queen's Cup: 1 time (1976)
- Japanese Super Cup: 2 times (1981, 2018)
- Japan Football League: 1 time (1994)
- J.League Cup: 1 time (2017)
League History
Cerezo Osaka has played in different leagues over the years:
- 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 Team Players
Here are the players currently on the Cerezo Osaka team.
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Players on Loan
Some players from Cerezo Osaka are currently playing for other teams for a short time. This is called being "on loan".
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Club Staff
These are the main staff members for Cerezo Osaka in 2024.
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Akio Kogiku |
| Coaches | Daisuke Takahashi Bruno Quadros Mitsumasa Kosugi Kota Fujimoto |
| Analytical coach | Yamato Saino |
| Goalkeeping coach | Nobuhiro Takeda |
| Physical coaches | Sho Watanabe Atsuhiro Furuta |
| Fitness coach | Koji Hanaki Haruki Wada |
| Performance coach | Yusuke Fukuhara |
| Physiotherapists | Atsushi Kitaura Akihiro Sasaki |
| Interpreters | Jackson Yozen Tonaki Kento Koike Takanori Shirasawa |
| Chief secretary | Atsushi Imanishi |
| Team secretary | Shoki Kokawa Lee Sung-in |
| Kitman | Tomoharu Nagahisa |
Team Managers Over Time
Here is a list of the managers who have led the Cerezo Osaka team.
| Manager | Nationality | Time as Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
See also
In Spanish: Cerezo Osaka para niños
