is a Japanese professional football club based in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. The club currently plays in the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the ...

, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. The official hometowns of the club are Osaka and

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and in ...

. They form a local

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

with

Suita is a city located in northern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 378,322 and a population density of 9,880 persons per km². The total area is 36.11 km². The city was founded on April 1 ...

-based

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to ...

History

Beginning of the club (1957–1992)

The club, originally called Yanmar Diesel, started in 1957 as the

company team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, const ...

and was an original founder ("Original Eight") of the now-disbanded

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional J ...

(JSL) in 1965. With four Japanese league titles to its credit, it was a mainstay of the JSL Division 1 until

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

when it was first relegated, and joined the former Japan Football League (JFL) in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

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 The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership amo ...

championship and was promoted to the

in 1995. This also coincided with a run to the finals of the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, ...

, which they lost to

Bellmare Hiratsuka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsu ...

. 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 2017 J.League Cup (2017 Jリーグカップ), or officially the 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup (2017 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ), was the 42nd edition of the most prestigious Japanese association football, football league cup tournamen ...

, the first major title in their club history, defeating

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara W ...

2–0. On 1 January 2018, Cerezo won the

2017 Emperor's Cup The was the 2017 edition of the annual Japanese national cup tournament, which began on 22 April 2017 and ended with the finals on 1 January 2018. Cerezo Osaka won the tournament for the first time as a J.League club. It had won the cup 43 yea ...

, securing their second major title. The final match was against

Yokohama F. Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times an ...

, where Cerezo won 2–1 in extra time with

Kota Mizunuma is a Japanese association football player currently playing for Yokohama F. Marinos and the Japan national team. His father, Takashi, was also a professional footballer. National team career In August 2007, Mizunuma was elected Japan U-17 na ...

scoring the winner. On 10 February 2018, Cerezo won the 2018 Japanese

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the ' curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the pre ...

winning 3–2 against

. 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 Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the co ...

in injury time after Hiroshima player

Pieros Sotiriou Pieros Sotiriou ( el, Πιέρος Σωτηρίου; born on January 13, 1993) is a Greek Cypriot professional footballer who plays as a striker for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan and the Cyprus national team. Sotiriou joined FC Copenhagen in ...

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 Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional foot ...

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

player,

Shinji Kagawa Shinji Kagawa ( ja, 香川真司 ''Kagawa Shinji'' ; born 17 March 1989) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian First Division A club Sint-Truiden and the Japan national team. He is widely regarded as one o ...

on a two-years contract.

Stadiums

The hometowns of the club are

and

. The club plays at the

Yodoko Sakura Stadium , named for J. League football games, Japan Rugby League One rugby football games, and X-League American football games from 2021, is a football and rugby union stadium located in Nagai Park, Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan. The 25,000 seat ...

, with some bigger matches played at the

Yanmar Stadium Nagai , known as the Yanmar Stadium Nagai ( ja, ヤンマースタジアム長居) for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Osaka, Japan. It is the home ground of J. League club Cerezo Osaka. The stadium has a seating capacity of 47,000. History When ...

.Stadium Information
Link to stadiums. The club practices at Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park, Maishima Sports Island, and

Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223812 households, and a population de ...

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 A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

and TV personality

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

was appointed Cerezo's "Official CereMan".

Rivalries

Cerezo's biggest rival is fellow Osaka club

. The matches played between Cerezo and Gamba are referred to as the

Osaka derby The Osaka derby is a commonly occurring football fixture in Japan, which takes place between teams from Osaka Prefecture. Currently the derby is contested by Cerezo Osaka (based in Osaka) and Gamba Osaka (based in Suita). History In the 19 ...

Kits and colours

Cerezo's club colour is

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

, 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 Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega is ...

Colours, sponsors and kit makers

Kit evolution

League and cup record

;Key

Honours

''As both Yanmar Diesel (1957–1993) and Cerezo Osaka (1993–present)''

League history

Division 1: 1965–1990 (as Yanmar Diesel) *

Division 2: 1991 (as Yanmar Diesel) *

Division 1: 1992–94 (as Yanmar Diesel until 1993; Cerezo Osaka since 1994) *

: 1995–2001 *

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Ya ...

: 2002 *

: 2003–2006 *

: 2007–2009 *

: 2010–2014 *

: 2015–2016 *

: 2017–present

Current squad

Out on loan

Club officials

Manager history

Continental record

In popular culture

In the popular

Captain Tsubasa is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yōichi Takahashi. The series mainly revolves around the sport of association football focusing on Tsubasa Oozora and his relationship with his friends, rivalries with ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

, a character named Teppei Kisugi becomes a professional football player and joins Cerezo Osaka.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{commons category, Cerezo Osaka J.League clubs Japan Soccer League clubs Football clubs in Osaka Association football clubs established in 1957 Emperor's Cup winners Japanese League Cup winners 1957 establishments in Japan Japan Football League (1992–1998) clubs