Gamba
Osaka
Overview
Gamba
Osaka was one of the original teams that founded
the J.League, but until recently, the team was
not a real contender. Since the turn of the
century, though, the team has become a top challenger,
despite the fact that they have yet to win a
title. With three matches left in the 2000 season,
Gamba looked like they were on track to snatch
the second stage title. But the team folded
in the stretch, and finished in fourth place.
Similarly, Gamba were in a challenging position
midway through the first stage in 2002, but
a failure to perform down the stretch caused
them to fall short once again. Although the
team has an excellent youth programme, a lack
of real fan support in the local area has made
it difficult for the team to acquire the top-level
talent that they need to make that last step
from contender to champion.
Gamba
originated in 1980 as the company team of Matsushita
Electric. By 1986, Matsushita football club
had worked its way up into the first division
of the JSL, and at the end of the 1980s the
team reached a plateau of success, winning the
Emperor's Cup and finishing high in the league
rankings. This performance won the club a spot
in the J.League for its inagural season, in
1993.
In the first few years of J.League play, Gamba
languished near the bottom of the table. However,
in 1997 the presence of Patrick Mboma gave the
team a huge boost, and the team as a whole began
to show signs of improvement. Unfortunately,
Mboma did not have enough of a supporting cast
to carry the team into contention for a title,
and his departure in 1998 sent the team back
into the lower reaches of the league table.
Though
Gamba has developed a formidable defence in
recent years, the team languished because of
its lack of scoring punch. In 2000 the team
signed Croatian younster Nino Bule and former
Consadole Sapporo striker Kota Yoshihara, and
this was partly responsible for their near-success
at the end of that season. Hopes for continued
success were dashed in the 2001 season, however.
Once again the teamshowed that , though defensively
strong enough to give opponents a tough match,
they lacked the scoring punch to make it into
the top ranks of league contenders.
In
2002, Gamba made several additions to the lineup
that helped solve their scoring problem, including
Brazilian midfield general Marcelinho Carioca
and striker Magrao. Based on their performance
early in the season, they look like a team with
promise despite the fact that they failed to
win any silverware. Their third-place finish
over the course of the 2002 season should earn
them the reputation as a leading contender in
2003. The real concern lies in their local fan
base, however. Gamba have never managed to develop
the level of fan support enjoyed by the top
league contenders. Without a strong cash flow
from ticket receipts, Gamba simply cannot afford
to acquire the players needed to win a title.
The team released Marcelinho Carioca at the
end of the 2002 season, and replaced him with
Paraguayan Francisco Arce, viewed by many as
one of the best players in all of South America.
Though there have been rumours that captain
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto will leave the team for the
Bundesliga in June, the team still should be
viewed as a serious contender in 2003.
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Gamba
Osaka
Info
Stadium:
Banpaku Stadium
Honours:
Emperors
Cup Champions: 2003
QUICK
FACT
When
it entered the J.League, the club adopted
the name "Gamba", which is a
shortened version of the Japanese word
"Gambare" or "fight!"
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