Cerezo Osaka

 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 tree) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. The official hometowns for the club are Osaka and Sakai.
History.
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.
In 1993, the club incorporated as Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. and adopted the name Cerezo after a public contest. In 1994, they won the JFL 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 relegated from J1 to J2 three times, but are currently playing in the J1 league. The club had an impressive third-place finish in the 2017 season.
On 4 November 2017 they won the J.League YBC Levain Cup, the first major title for Cerezo Osaka. The final match was against Kawasaki Frontale.
On 1 January 2018, Cerezo Osaka won the Emperor's Cup, securing their second major title. The final match was against Yokohama F. Marinos.
On 10 February 2018, they won the Xerox Super Cup, playing against Kawasaki Frontale.
In May 2018, the club changed its incorporated name from Osaka Football Club Co., Ltd. to Cerezo Osaka Co., Ltd.
Grounds.
The hometowns for the club are Osaka and Sakai. The club plays at Kincho Stadium, with some bigger games played at Yanmar Stadium Nagai.
The club practices at Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park, Maishima Sports Island, and Amagasaki Yanmar Diesel Ground.
Mascots.
The main club's mascot is a wolf, named Lobby. The other club's mascot is Madame Lobina, Lobby's mother. On February 22nd, 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 against Gamba are referred to as the Osaka derby.
Kit and Colours.
Cerezo's club colour is pink, like the cherry blossom flowers that the 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 field players, black (home) and pink (away) or green for the goal keepers.
During the Yanmar Diesel days in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, the uniform was all-red reminiscent of Deportivo Toluca.
Record as J.League member.
League history
Players.
Out on loan.
"February 9th, 2021".
In popular culture.
In the popular Captain Tsubasa manga, a character named Teppei Kisugi becomes a professional football player and joins Cerezo Osaka.