Cerezo Osaka

Cerezo Osaka are one of Japanese football's most distinctive clubs, instantly recognisable for their cherry blossom pink kits and representing the proud football culture of Osaka, Japan's second city. Founded in 1957 as a company team for Yanmar Diesel and rebranded as Cerezo (the Spanish word for cherry tree) in 1994, the club has become a fixture in the J1 League and produced some of Japan's finest players, including Shinji Kagawa and Hiroshi Kiyotake. Their biggest year came in 2017 when they swept both the J.League Cup and the Emperor's Cup in the same season. Founded in 1957 (as Yanmar Diesel), Cerezo Osaka play at Yanmar Stadium Nagai (capacity around 50,000) in Osaka, Japan. They compete in the J1 League. Key honours include the J.League Cup (2017) and the Emperor's Cup (2017). Nicknamed the Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), they wear pink and navy blue. Cerezo Osaka's pink kits are among the most distinctive in Asian football, inspired by the cherry blossoms that give the club its name and identity. The pink home shirt worn during their remarkable 2017 double-winning season, when they swept the J.League Cup and Emperor's Cup in the same calendar year, is the defining kit of the modern Cerezo era. The progression from the Yanmar Diesel era kits through to the current pink and navy design tells the story of a club that has grown from a company team into one of Osaka's proudest sporting institutions.