2021 Gamba Osaka season explained

Club:	Gamba Osaka
Season:	2021
Chairman:	Takashi Yamauchi
Mgrtitle:	Head coach
Manager:	Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (until 14 May)^[1] Masanobu Matsunami (from 15 May)
Stadium:	Panasonic Stadium Suita
League:	J1 League
League Result:	13th
Cup1 Result:	Quarter-finals
Cup2:	J.League Cup
Cup2 Result:	Quarter-finals
Cup3:	Japanese Super Cup
Cup3 Result:	Runner-up
League Topscorer:	Patric (13 goals)
Season Topscorer:	Patric (23 goals)
Highest Attendance:	16,699 v Shonan Bellmare 4 December 2021 (J1 League)
Lowest Attendance:	2,874 v Shonan Bellmare 22 September 2021 (Emperor's Cup)
Average Attendance:	7,255^[2]
Largest Win:	8–1 v Tampines Rovers 7 July 2021 (AFC Champions League)
Largest Loss:	0–4 v Cerezo Osaka 5 September 2021 (J.League Cup) 1–5 v Consadole Sapporo 2 October 2021 (J1 League)
Pattern La1:	_Gamba Osaka 2021 HOME FP
Pattern B1:	_Gamba Osaka 2021 HOME FP
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Pattern Sh1:	_Gamba Osaka 2021 HOME FP
Pattern So1:	_Gamba Osaka 2021 HOME FP
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Pattern La2:	_Gamba Osaka 2021 AWAY FP
Pattern B2:	_Gamba Osaka 2021 AWAY FP
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Prevseason:	2020
Nextseason:	2022

The 2021 Gamba Osaka season is the club's 41st season in existence and the eighth consecutive season in the top flight of Japanese football. In addition to the domestic league, Gamba Osaka participated in the Emperor's Cup, the J.League Cup, the AFC Champions League and the Japanese Super Cup.

Background

After finishing runners-up in both the league and the Emperor's Cup in 2020, Gamba Osaka started the season competing in the Japanese Super Cup but narrowly lost to stoppage time winning goal. Their league campaign was then heavily disrupted by an outbreak of COVID-19 in the squad. After losing their first league game of the season on 27 February, they did not play another game until 4 April.^[3] They started the league campaign extremely poorly, winning only one of their first ten games and only scoring three goals in the process. This run led to the dismissal of manager Tsuneyasu Miyamoto following their 2–1 home defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima.^[1] Head of the academy Masanobu Matsunami took over on an interim basis, until in June it was announced he would be taking over the managerial role for the remainder of the season.^[4] In spite of being in the relegation places for the first half of the season and being one of the league's lowest scorers, Gamba managed to string some results together in the second half of the season and finished in 13th place, eight points clear of relegation.^[5]

Gamba did fare slightly better in the cup competitions, reaching the quarter-finals of the Emperor's Cup before a home defeat to Urawa Red Diamonds. They also reached the quarter-finals of the J.League Cup, but this was the round they entered the competition at due to their commitments in the AFC Champions League.

Competing in the continental competition for the first time since 2017, Gamba went out at the group stage despite only losing one game out of their six matches. This included an 8–1 victory over Singapore's Tampines Rovers.

Patric was the stand-out performer for Gamba throughout the season, scoring 23 goals in all competitions, 38% of all goals that they scored. He finished joint 5th in the overall league scoring charts.^[6]

Players

Season squad

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Date of birth (age at start of season)
Goalkeepers
1	Masaaki Higashiguchi		February 27, 2021
22	Jun Ichimori		February 27, 2021
23	Mizuki Hayashi		February 27, 2021
25	Kei Ishikawa		February 27, 2021
31	Taichi Kato		February 27, 2021
Defenders
3	Gen Shoji		February 27, 2021
4	Hiroki Fujiharu		February 27, 2021
5	Genta Miura		February 27, 2021
13	Shunya Suganuma		February 27, 2021
16	Yota Sato		February 27, 2021
19	Kim Young-gwon		February 27, 2021
24	Keisuke Kurokawa		February 27, 2021
26	Ko Yanagisawa		February 27, 2021
27	Ryu Takao		February 27, 2021
40	Shin Won-ho		February 27, 2021
Midfielders
6	Ju Se-jong		February 27, 2021
8	Kosuke Onose		February 27, 2021
10	Shu Kurata		February 27, 2021
14	Yuya Fukuda		February 27, 2021
15	Yosuke Ideguchi		February 27, 2021
17	Kohei Okuno		February 27, 2021
21	Shinya Yajima		February 27, 2021
29	Yuki Yamamoto		February 27, 2021
39	Takashi Usami		February 27, 2021
41	Jiro Nakamura		February 27, 2021
Forwards
9	Leandro Pereira		February 27, 2021
11	Yuji Ono		February 27, 2021
18	Patric		February 27, 2021
20	Kazunari Ichimi		February 27, 2021
28	Wellington Silva		February 27, 2021
30	Dai Tsukamoto		February 27, 2021
32	Tiago Alves		February 27, 2021
33	Haruto Shirai		February 27, 2021
34	Shuhei Kawasaki		February 27, 2021
37	Hiroto Yamami		February 27, 2021

Transfers

Arrivals

Date	Position	Player	From	Type	Source
21 December 2020			Meiji University	Full	^[7]
4 January 2021			Renofa Yamaguchi	Return from loan	^[8]
4 January 2021			Yokohama FC	Return from loan	^[9]
6 January 2021			FC Seoul	Full	^[10]
22 January 2021			Matsumoto Yamaga	Full	^[11]
23 January 2021			Sagan Tosu	Full	^[12]
24 March 2021			Ehime FC	Loan	^[13]
25 March 2021			Fluminense	Full	^[14]
26 July 2021			Mito Hollyhock	Full	^[15]

Departures

Date	Position	Player	To	Type	Source
5 October 2020			Júbilo Iwata	Loan	^[16]
28 December 2020				Contract terminated	^[17]
4 January 2021			Shonan Bellmare	Loan extension	^[18]
4 January 2021			Albirex Niigata	Full	^[19]
4 January 2021			Yokohama FC	Full	^[20]
4 January 2021			Renofa Yamaguchi	Full	^[21]
5 January 2021			FC Ryukyu	Full	^[22]
6 January 2021			Zweigen Kanazawa	Full
6 January 2021			Tokyo Verdy	Full	^[23]
7 January 2021			V-Varen Nagasaki	End of loan	^[24]
7 January 2021			Thespakusatsu Gunma	Full	^[25]
8 January 2021			SC Sagamihara	Loan	^[26]
9 January 2021			Machida Zelvia	Full	^[27]
8 February 2021			FC Juniors OÖ	Loan	^[28]
27 April 2021			Ehime FC	Loan	^[29]
11 August 2021			Tokushima Vortis	Full	^[30]
11 August 2021			LASK	Full	^[31]
10 September 2021			Portimonense	Full	^[32]

Competitions

J1 League

See main article: 2021 J1 League.

Matches

Due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within the team after the first league game, Gamba did not play another game until the seventh game week.^[3]

Emperor's Cup

See main article: 2021 Emperor's Cup.

J.League Cup

See main article: 2021 J.League Cup.

Due to their involvement in the 2021 AFC Champions League, Gamba received a bye for the group and playoff stages of the competition. However, they were knocked out at their first hurdle, the quarter-final stage, by Osaka rivals Cerezo Osaka.

Quarter-finals

Cerezo Osaka won 4–1 on aggregate.

AFC Champions League

See main article: 2021 AFC Champions League.

Group stage

See main article: 2021 AFC Champions League group stage.

Gamba Osaka were drawn into Group H, alongside two-time winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of South Korea, Tampines Rovers of Singapore and Australia's Sydney FC.^[33] In June 2021, it was announced that all Australian teams would not be participating in the 2021 AFC Champions League due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[34] Sydney FC were replaced in Group H by Thailand's Chiangrai United.^[35]

The games in Group H all took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan between 25 June and 10 July.^[36] All matches were played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan.

Japanese Super Cup

See main article: 2021 Japanese Super Cup.

Statistics

Appearances

No.	Name	J1 League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		AFC CL		Super Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Masaaki Higashiguchi	38	0	1	0	2	0	4	0	1	0	46	0
25	Kei Ishikawa	0	0	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	5	0
Defenders
3	Gen Shoji	26+2	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	0	0	36	0
4	Hiroki Fujiharu	16+3	0	0+2	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	25	0
5	Genta Miura	25+1	0	0+1	0	2	0	4+1	0	1	0	35	0
13	Shunya Suganuma	19	1	4	0	2	0	2	0	1	0	28	1
16	Yota Sato	7+1	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	14	0
19	Kim Young-gwon	16	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	20	0
24	Keisuke Kurokawa	15+4	0	3	0	1	0	1+5	0	0	0	29	0
26	Ko Yanagisawa	7+8	0	3	1	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
27	Ryu Takao	11+8	0	1+2	0	0+1	0	1	0	0+1	0	25	0
40	Shin Won-ho	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Midfielders
6	Ju Se-jong	12+10	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
8	Kosuke Onose	22+9	0	3+1	1	1+1	0	4+1	0	1	0	43	1
10	Shu Kurata	26+11	1	0+3	1	1+2	0	3+3	1	1	0	49	3
14	Yuya Fukuda	8+6	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	16	0
15	Yosuke Ideguchi	24+5	0	2+1	1	2	0	5+1	0	1	0	41	1
17	Kohei Okuno	16+10	0	4	0	1	0	3+2	0	0	0	36	0
21	Shinya Yajima	17+9	2	0+1	0	1+2	0	4	0	1	1	34	3
29	Yuki Yamamoto	20+8	0	1+2	0	1+2	0	2+1	0	1	0	36	0
39	Takashi Usami	28+10	6	2+2	0	1+2	0	5	0	0	0	49	6
41	Jiro Nakamura	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Forwards
9	Leandro Pereira	15+9	5	0+1	0	1+2	0	2+4	2	0+1	0	34	7
11	Yuji Ono	2+5	1	1+2	0	1	0	1+2	0	0	0	13	1
18	Patric	22+11	13	2+1	3	1+1	0	3+3	6	1	1	45	23
20	Kazunari Ichimi	6+12	1	1	0	0	0	1+2	1	0+1	0	23	2
28	Wellington Silva	8+13	0	3	2	0	0	1+4	1	0	0	29	3
30	Dai Tsukamoto	4+4	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
32	Tiago Alves	6+11	2	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	21	2
33	Haruto Shirai	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
34	Shuhei Kawasaki	1+2	0	2	0	0	0	2+1	3	1	0	9	3
37	Hiroto Yamami	0+5	1	0	0	1+1	1	0	0	0	0	7	2
Players loaned or transferred out during the season
7	Juan Alano	5+7	1	2+1	0	3+1	0	0	0	0	0	19	1
18	Ayase Ueda	17+1	10	0+1	1	2+2	3	0	0	0	0	25	14
19	Itsuki Someno	0+12	1	1	1	2+6	2	0	0	0	0	21	4

Goalscorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

width=10		width=10		width=10		width=180	Player	width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50	Total
1	FW	18	align=left		13	3	0	6	1	23
2	FW	9		5	0	0	2	0	7
3	MF	39		6	0	0	0	0	6
4	MF	10		1	1	0	1	0	3
	MF	21		2	0	0	0	1	3
	FW	28		0	2	0	1	0	3
	FW	34		0	0	0	3	0	3
8	MF	20		1	0	0	1	0	2
	FW	32		2	0	0	0	0	2
	FW	37		1	0	1	0	0	2
11	MF	8		0	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	11		1	0	0	0	0	1
	DF	13		1	0	0	0	0	1
	MF	15		0	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	26		0	1	0	0	0	1
	–	–		0	0	0	1	0	1
TOTALS				33	9	1	15	2	60

Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.

width=10		width=10		width=200	Player	width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		Total
1	1		14	0	1	1	0	16
2	25		0	1	0	0	0	1
TOTALS			14	1	1	1	0	17

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: G大阪が宮本恒靖監督を解任 開幕10試合でわずか3得点…松波正信強化アカデミー部長が暫定監督に：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ . 中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ . 21 June 2023 . ja.
2. Web site: Soccer D.B. : 2021 Gamba Osaka Attendance . Soccer D.B. . 21 June 2023 . en.
3. Web site: 新型コロナ8人陽性でトップチーム活動休止中のG大阪、23日から活動再開 . サッカーキング . 20 March 2023 . ja . 22 March 2021.
4. Web site: 松波監督体制の継続を発表【Ｇ大阪】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp） . Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） . 21 June 2023 . ja . 2 June 2021.
5. Web site: Summary - J1 League - Japan - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway . uk.soccerway.com . 21 June 2023.
6. Web site: All Positions Goals All clubs MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE 2021 Player Stats . J.LEAGUE . 21 June 2023 . en.
7. Web site: Ｊリーグ加入内定選手合同記者会見のインターネット配信について ～お知らせ～ . 明治大学 . 15 June 2023 . ja.
8. Web site: 林 瑞輝 選手 期限付き移籍期間満了 ガンバ大阪に復帰のお知らせ レノファ山口FC . RENOFA YAMAGUCHI FC . 14 June 2023 . ja . 4 January 2021.
9. Web site: 横浜FC FW一美和成がG大阪に復帰 東京五輪世代のストライカー - スポニチ Sponichi Annex サッカー . スポニチ Sponichi Annex . 19 June 2023 . ja . 4 January 2021.
10. Web site: FCソウルよりMFチュ セジョンが完全移籍加入【Ｇ大阪】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp） . Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） . 15 June 2023 . ja . 6 January 2021.
11. Web site: 【G大阪】J1昨季15ゴール、FWレアンドロ・ペレイラを松本から獲得！「夢はJ1の舞台で松本山雅とアルウィンで対戦すること」 . サカノワ . 19 June 2023 . ja . 22 January 2021.
12. Web site: 「本当にビッグクラブ」鳥栖退団FWチアゴ・アウベスがG大阪に完全移籍 . ゲキサカ . 19 June 2023 . ja . 23 January 2021.
13. Web site: 加藤 大智 選手 ガンバ大阪へ期限付き移籍のお知らせ . 愛媛FC公式サイト【EHIME FC OFFICIAL SITE】 . 14 June 2023 . 24 March 2021.
14. Web site: フルミネンセFCよりFWウェリントン シルバが完全移籍加入【Ｇ大阪】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp） . Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） . 19 June 2023 . ja . 26 March 2021.
15. Web site: 水戸よりDF柳澤が完全移籍加入【Ｇ大阪】：Ｊリーグ公式サイト（J.LEAGUE.jp） . Ｊリーグ.jp（日本プロサッカーリーグ） . 19 June 2023 . ja . 26 July 2021.
16. Web site: Veteran Yasuhito Endo joins J2 Jubilo on loan from Gamba . The Japan Times . 19 June 2023 . 5 October 2020.
17. Web site: FromOne co., Ltd . G大阪、アデミウソンとの契約解除を発表…10月に酒気帯び運転、接触事故 . サッカーキング . 20 June 2023 . ja . 28 December 2020.
18. Web site: G大阪の20歳GK谷晃生は来季も湘南にレンタル!「今年こそみんなで勝利のダンスを」 . ゲキサカ . 19 June 2023 . ja . 4 January 2021.
19. Web site: ガンバ大阪から 高 宇洋 選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ . アルビレックス新潟 公式サイト｜ALBIREX NIIGATA OFFICIAL WEBSITE . 19 June 2023 . ja . 4 January 2021.
20. Web site: FW 渡邉千真選手 ガンバ大阪より完全移籍加入のお知らせ . 横浜FCオフィシャルウェブサイト . 20 June 2023 . ja . 4 January 2021.
21. Web site: 高木大輔 選手 ガンバ大阪から完全移籍加入のお知らせ レノファ山口FC . RENOFA YAMAGUCHI FC . 20 June 2023 . ja . 4 January 2021.
22. Web site: NEWS . FC琉球公式サイト FC Ryukyu Official Website . 19 June 2023 . 5 January 2021.
23. Web site: 山口竜弥選手移籍加入のお知らせ 東京ヴェルディ / Tokyo Verdy . www.verdy.co.jp . 19 June 2023 . ja . 6 January 2021.
24. Web site: 新里 亮選手　完全移籍加入のお知らせ V・ファーレン長崎 . www.v-varen.com . 19 June 2023 . 7 January 2021.
25. Web site: G大阪生え抜きのFW高木彰人が群馬に完全移籍「またガンバに戻って来れるように」 . ゲキサカ . 20 June 2023 . ja . 7 January 2021.
26. Web site: 【Ｇ大阪】ＭＦ芝本蓮がＪ２昇格の相模原へ期限付き移籍 . スポーツ報知 . 19 June 2023 . ja . 8 January 2021.
27. Web site: 「J1を目指して戦っていきたい」G大阪MF高江、レンタル中の町田に完全移籍 . ゲキサカ . 20 June 2023 . ja . 9 January 2021.
28. Web site: FC Juniors OÖ leiht Japaner Nakamura . FC Juniors OÖ . 20 June 2023 . en . 8 February 2021.
29. Web site: 唐山 翔自 選手 育成型期限付き移籍にて加入のお知らせ . 愛媛FC公式サイト【EHIME FC OFFICIAL SITE】 . 20 June 2023 . 27 April 2021.
30. Web site: 一美 和成選手 完全移籍にて加入決定のお知らせ . 徳島ヴォルティス ニュース . 20 June 2023 . 11 August 2021.
31. Web site: Habringer . Raphael . LASK verpflichtet Linksaußen Keito Nakamura . LASK . 20 June 2023 . en . 11 August 2021.
32. Web site: APRESENTAÇÃO DE KAWASAKI . www.portimonensesad.pt . 20 June 2023 . pt . 10 September 2021.
33. Web site: 2021 AFC Champions League draw produces thrilling groups . the-AFC . 8 June 2023 . en . 27 January 2021.
34. Web site: Australian clubs withdraw from 2021 Asian Champions League . AP NEWS . 8 June 2023 . en . 4 June 2021.
35. Web site: Contenders for AFC Champions League (East) Group and Playoff stages confirmed . the-AFC . en . 6 June 2021.
36. Web site: Uzbekistan to stage 2021 AFC Champions League Groups H and I . the-AFC . 8 June 2023 . en . 10 May 2021.