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 blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. The official hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. They form a local rivalry with Suita-based Gamba Osaka. 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. 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 in injury time after player Pieros Sotiriou scored two goals in the 96th and 101st minutes of the match to give the Violas the J.League Cup. Stadiums The hometowns of the club are Osaka and Sakai. The club plays at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium, with some bigger matches played at the Yanmar Stadium Nagai. The club practices at Minami Tsumori Sakura Sports Park, Maishima Sports Island and Amagasaki Yanmar Diesel Ground. Mascots The club's mascots are a wolf named Lobby (from Spanish lobo,