Full name Gamba Osaka Chairman Takashi Yamauchi Website Club home page Founded 1980 | Ground Capacity 39,694 Owner Panasonic | |
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Arena/Stadium Suita City Football Stadium Training ground Gamba Osaka Training Ground Profiles | ||
Gamba Osaka (ガンバ大阪, Gamba Ōsaka) is a Japanese professional association football club, currently playing in the J1 League. The team's name Gamba comes from the Italian word "gamba" meaning "leg" and the Japanese ganbaru (頑張る), meaning "to do your best" or "to stand firm". Located in Suita, Osaka, the team's home stadium is Suita City Football Stadium.
Contents
- History
- Stadium
- Rivalries
- Current squad
- Out on loan
- Under 23 Squad
- Notable players
- Award winners
- World Cup players
- Olympic players
- References
Gamba Osaka is currently the second-most accomplished J. League club, having won 8 top-tier domestic titles as well as the 2008 AFC Champions League.
History
Founded in 1980 as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (which was renamed "Panasonic Corporation" on 1 October 2008) soccer club in Nara Prefecture and a member of the Japan Soccer League. It was mostly made of remaining players and staff of the defunct Yanmar Club, the former B-team of Yanmar Diesel F.C., later to be known as Cerezo Osaka. Gamba Osaka was an original member of the J. League in 1993.
In 2005, the club claimed its first J. League championship on a dramatic final day during which any of five clubs could have claimed the championship. Gamba needed to win, and have cross town rivals Cerezo Osaka draw or lose. Gamba defeated a valiant Kawasaki Frontale 4–2, while victory was snatched from Cerezo by a last-minute FC Tokyo equalizer. In an AFC Champions League match in 2006, Gamba Osaka defeated Vietnamese side Da Nang FC in a record-equaling victory of 15–0. In the 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship final, Gamba Osaka beat MLS club Houston Dynamo 6–1 to win the tournament, in large part because of Bare who scored 4 goals in the final (5 in all at the tournament). After his brilliant display and having just scored 10 goals in 18 games for Gamba in the domestic league, he was sold to UAE club Al-Ahli for 1 billion yen.
In October 2008, Gamba for the first time in their history, reached the final of the AFC Champions League after defeating fellow Japanese league rivals Urawa Red Diamonds 4–2 on aggregate after a 1–1 draw at home in the first leg, Gamba registered one of the most historic comebacks in Champions League history when they came back from being behind 1–0 before half time to win 1–3 with all goals scored in the second half at Saitama. Gamba Osaka went on to win the 2008 AFC Champions League title after winning 5–0 on aggregate against the giant-killing Australian team Adelaide United in the Final. They became the fifth Japanese club to win the maximum Asian title, after Urawa, Júbilo Iwata, then-company-affiliated Yomiuri (now Tokyo Verdy), and Furukawa Electric (now JEF United Ichihara Chiba).
In December 2008, Gamba made it to the semi finals of the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup after beating Australian club Adelaide United 1–0. They were beaten in the semifinals by 2007–08 Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Manchester United. On 21 December 2008 they played for third place against Mexican side C.F. Pachuca with Gamba winning the match 1–0.
In December 2012, Gamba were relegated from Division 1 after losing 2–1 to Jubilo Iwata. Gamba finished 17th in the league despite scoring more goals than any other team, including Champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Ultimately, although Gamba had a positive goal difference at the end of the season, Gamba could not overcome their poor defense, which allowed the second most goals in Division 1 after Consadole Sapporo. This also made Gamba Osaka the fastest team to suffer relegation from the top division after winning the AFC Champion's League and playing in the FIFA Club World Cup, the relegation being only four years later. However, the team bounced back in the 2013 season, becoming the J2 Champion and directly promoting to Division 1 again after only one season.
In 2014, Gamba won the Division 1 title, a year after winning the second division, becoming the second club in the professional era to achieve this feat (after Kashiwa Reysol in 2011). That same year, Gamba also became the second club to win the domestic treble (after Kashima Antlers in 2000), by winning the J. League Cup and the Emperor's Cup as well.
Year 2015 saw Gamba Osaka return to the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2012, where they advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated by The Tournament Winner and 2015 FIFA Club World Cup Fourth Place Guangzhou Evergrande 1–2 on aggregate. Domestically, Gamba Osaka advanced to the final of both the J. League Cup and the J1 League Championship, losing to Kashima Antlers 0–3 and Club World Cup Third Place Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–4 respectively. Gamba Osaka successfully defended their status as Emperor's Cup winners, defeating Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1.
Stadium
Gamba Osaka used the Osaka Expo '70 Stadium in the Expo Commemoration Park as its home stadium from 1980 through 2015, which seats around 21,000.
The club began construction in December 2013 of a new soccer-specific stadium called Suita City Football Stadium in the same park, with a seating capacity of 39,694. The new stadium had its inaugural official match during the Panasonic Cup on February 14, 2016, an exhibition match during which Gamba Osaka hosted fellow J1 club Nagoya Grampus.
Rivalries
Gamba's fiercest rival are fellow locals Cerezo Osaka with whom they contest the Osaka derby.
Current squad
The Gamba Osaka squad for the 2017 J1 League season.
As of 16 January 2017.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Under-23 Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable players
In 2011, as part of the club's official celebration of their 20th anniversary, supporters cast votes to determine the greatest ever team.
Award winners
The following players have won the awards while at Gamba Osaka:
Domestic
International
World Cup players
The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup, while playing for Gamba Osaka:
Olympic players
The following players have represented their country at the Summer Olympic Games whilst playing for Gamba Osaka: