The 2022 season was Shimizu S-Pulse's 29th season in the J1 League. It also was their 6th consecutive season in the J1, since coming back to the J1 in 2017.
Overview It was another season where difficulties and struggles hit Shimizu S-Pulse back and forth during the year. Under Hiraoka's management, Shimizu's lack of matches won and players not on their best form were a determining factor for their average-to-poor performances in each of the 3 competitions they played in.
Prior to the start of the season, Shimizu had made 5 signings, while at the same time gradually announcing 10 departures from the team. Se-hun's arrival from K League 1 powerhouse Ulsan Hyundai completed Shimizu's 6 signings at the start of the year. These signings included 2 J1 League players, a J2 League player, a recently graduated high school student, Japan's starting goalkeeper, and a promising South Korean talent. Still, they couldn't figure out a way to be increasingly benefit from the transfer management throughout the season. Spilling away 3 defenders and making no replacements in the sector also gave Hiraoka headaches with the starting XI, as the team had in total 6 available defenders. Several times through the season – including its start – Teruki Hara had to be played at the defense, despite being a midfielder. Full-backs Katayama and Yamahara frequently played in different positions, with Yamahara playing on both sides of the pitch, as a full-back on the left and on the right. The same applied to Katayama, who additionally played a few times as a center-back.
Some players in special surprisingly didn't keep their good form this season. The more evident examples were Matsuoka and Oh Se-hun. Matsuoka, who played a large number of matches in the previous season at club and national team level, surprisingly saw little game time under his management. Shimizu S-Pulse rarely made use of the squad rotation despite having more than 15 available options for both the midfield and attack. The situation was influenced by the players' not-so-good-form on most of the season. Oh Se-hun was other player who couldn't live up to the expectations. After debuting on 6 April, he scored a goal on his second match for the club, run out of form, and little game time was given onwards.
Some players in special were, however, highly utilized by both managers, with Shuichi Gonda, Reon Yamahara, Eiichi Katayama, Ryohei Shirasaki, Thiago Santana and Teruki Hara playing the most minutes among the Shimizu's players throughout the season, including the starting XI.
At the very start of the season Shimizu had a tiny unbeaten streak at the J1 League, with no loss in their first 2 matches. However, their league situation as firmly more delicated as the time passed, winning only 1 of their next 15 matches at the competition, from March to May. It wasn't much different from their J.League Cup campaign, failing to progress from the group stage, despite being unbeaten in the first 3 matches. Giving Tokushima Vortis their lone win at the group by a three-goal defeat influenced the Shizuoka side's hopes of clearing the group stage to turn into dust. Being it the last straw, Hiroaki Hiraoka was sacked. Shimizu saw reinforcements being made during the mid-season. Former Japan international footballers Koya Kitagawa and Takashi Inui were signed to the club, alongside Yago Pikachu, who was signed from Fortaleza, playing as a starter in most of the matches with the club in the Brasileirão and in the Libertadores. Despite no defensive signings (Pikachu can play as a right-back, but is primarily a midfielder), after hiring Brazilian manager Zé Ricardo, the club saw an improvement in performances and results since his signing. Under Hiraoka, only 2 wins were earned in 16 J1 matches, while under mid-season hired Zé Ricardo, they were able to win 4 matches, draw 3, and lose 3, out of his first 10 matches at the club.
However, on the last few rounds of the J1 League, a poor form hit Shimizu. As the league became more and more competitive for the teams in relegation danger, Shimizu got trapped in a heavy turmoil of uncertainties about their stay in J1 League, as few points separated the team at the bottom of the league and the 14th-placed team, to compare. On the last round of the season, Shimizu stayed for some minutes in the relegation play-offs zone. They were winning Sapporo by 3-2, with Kyoto Sanga drawing 0-0 against Júbilo, so Shimizu only needed to score more one goal, to match Kyoto's goal difference to finally be ahead of them in the standings, or to hope Kyoto Sanga conceded a goal. However, they conceded two goals, one at the 86th minute, and one at the added time. This 4-3 defeat away at Sapporo Dome led Shimizu S-Pulse to be relegated to the J2 League, returning to the second division after six seasons in the top-flight.
Squad Players' age displayed in this section dates to the start of the season.
No. Pos. Nat. Player Date of birth (age) Fully signed in Signed from / Last club Goalkeepers 1 GK Takuo Ōkubo 2019 Sagan Tosu 21 GK Shuichi Gonda 2022 Portimonense 25 GK Kengo Nagai 2021 Giravanz Kitakyushu 31 GK Togo Umeda 2020 Shimizu S-Pulse U-18 41 GK Fugetsu Kitamura Not fully signed Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2 Defenders 2 DF Yugo Tatsuta 2017 Shimizu S-Pulse U-18 4 DF Teruki Hara 2021 Sagan Tosu 5 DF Valdo 2020 Ceará 7 DF Eiichi Katayama 2020 Cerezo Osaka 29 DF Reon Yamahara 2022 University of Tsukuba 34 DF Taketo Ochiai 2023 Hosei University DSP 38 DF Akira Ibayashi 2021 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 50 DF Yoshinori Suzuki 2021 Oita Trinita Midfielders 3 MF Ronaldo 2021 Flamengo 6 MF Ryo Takeuchi 2013 Giravanz Kitakyushu 8 MF Daiki Matsuoka 2021 Sagan Tosu 11 MF Katsuhiro Nakayama 2021 Yokohama FC 13 MF Kota Miyamoto 2020 FC Gifu 15 MF Takeru Kishimoto 2022 Tokushima Vortis 16 MF Kenta Nishizawa 2019 University of Tsukuba 17 MF Yuta Kamiya 2022 Kashiwa Reysol 18 MF Ryōhei Shirasaki 2022 Kashima Antlers 22 MF Renato Augusto 2019 Palmeiras 23 MF Yuito Suzuki 2020 Funabashi Municipal High School 27 MF Yago Pikachu 2022 Fortaleza 32 MF Benjamin Kololli 2021 Zürich 33 MF Takashi Inui 2022 Unattached 34 MF Yuta Taki 2017 Shimizu S-Pulse U-18 37 MF Daigo Takahashi 2018 Kamimura Gakuen High School 42 MF Aoi Ando Not fully signed Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2 43 MF Riku Yamada Not fully signed Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2 44 MF Ryunosuke Yada Not fully signed Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2 Forwards 9 FW Thiago Santana 2021 Santa Clara 10 FW Carlinhos Júnior 2020 Lugano 14 FW Yusuke Goto 2020 Oita Trinita 20 FW Oh Se-hun 2022 Ulsan Hyundai 35 FW Sena Saito 2023 Ryutsu Keizai UniversityDSP 45 FW Koya Kitagawa 2022 Rapid Wien
Transfers
Arrivals/loans in Pos. Nat. Player Date Type Signed from / Last club MF Nagi Kawatani 23 October 2021 Full transfer Shizuoka Gakuen High School MF Yuta Kamiya 22 December 2021 Full transfer Kashiwa Reysol GK Shuichi Gonda 23 December 2021 Full transfer Portimonense MF Takeru Kishimoto 25 December 2021 Full transfer Tokushima Vortis MF Ryōhei Shirasaki 27 December 2021 Full transfer Kashima Antlers MF Daigo Takahashi 30 December 2021 Back from loan Giravanz Kitakyushu MF Hikaru Naruoka 30 December 2021 Back from loan SC Sagamihara FW Ibrahim Junior Kuribara 7 January 2022 Back from loan Suzuka Point Getters FW Oh Se-hun 24 February 2022 Full transfer Ulsan Hyundai GK Togo Umeda 10 June 2022 Back from loan Fagiano Okayama FW Koya Kitagawa 19 June 2022 Full transfer Rapid Wien MF Yago Pikachu 17 July 2022 Full transfer Fortaleza MF Takashi Inui 22 July 2022 Full transfer Cerezo Osaka FW Takumi Kato 6 October 2022 Back from loan SC Sagamihara Source: J.League
Departures/Loans out Pos. Nat. Player Date Type Loaned to/Transferred to GK Toru Takagiwa 17 December 2021 Full transfer Tokyo Verdy MF Keita Nakamura 23 December 2021 Full transfer Kashiwa Reysol MF Shota Kaneko 24 December 2021 Full transfer Júbilo Iwata MF Hideki Ishige 27 December 2021 Full transfer Gamba Osaka MF Yosuke Kawai 27 December 2021 Full transfer Fagiano Okayama DF Ryo Okui 28 December 2021 Full transfer V-Varen Nagasaki DF Elsinho 30 December 2021 Contract expiration Unattached DF Erick Noriega 30 December 2021 Full transfer SV 19 Straelen MF Noriaki Fujimoto 9 January 2022 Full transfer Vissel Kobe FW Hiroshi Ibusuki 14 January 2022 Full transfer Adelaide United FW Kanta Chiba 23 May 2022 Loan transfer FC Imabari MF Takumi Kato 31 May 2022 Loan transfer SC Sagamihara FW Akira Silvano Disaro 11 July 2022 Loan transfer Montedio Yamagata FW Ibrahim Junior Kuribara 19 July 2022 Loan transfer Fukushima United DF Shuta Kikuchi 22 July 2022 Loan transfer FC Imabari FW Riyo Kawamoto 1 August 2022 Loan transfer Thespakusatsu Gunma MF Nagi Kawatani 2 August 2022 Loan transfer Iwaki FC MF Hikaru Naruoka 22 August 2022 Loan transfer Renofa Yamaguchi Source: J.League
Competitions played in
J1 League
J1 League Results
Source: J.League
J. League Cup
J.League Cup Results
Emperor's Cup
Emperor's Cup Results
Overall record This table shows their basic statistics throughout the season. In a troublesome season in result and performance terms, Shimizu couldn't make a solid run in neither of the three competitions it played in.
Appearances and goals No.Pos.NameJ1 LeagueJ.League CupEmperor's CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GK Takuo Okubo0+105000602DF Yugo Tatsuta24+202+20203203MF Ronaldo11+8100001914DF Teruki Hara21+402+11102915DF Valdo7+112000836MF Ryo Takeuchi7+4030201607DF Eiichi Katayama24+822+10003528MF Daiki Matsuoka10+12030002509FW Thiago Santana27142+1022321610MF Carlinhos Júnior16+630+300025311MF Katsuhiro Nakayama13+523+201224413MF Kota Miyamoto16+402+101024014MF Yusuke Goto7+80101+1018015DF Takeru Kishimoto1+904+111016116MF Kenta Nishizawa7+321+101+1014217FW Yuta Kamiya14+714+210+2029218MF Ryohei Shirasaki3142+100+1035419FW Akira Silvano Disaro0+3010236320FW Oh Se-hun2+1111+100+1016121GK Shuichi Gonda330101035022MF Renato Augusto0000000023FW Yuito Suzuki16+431+300024324DF Shuta Kikuchi0030306025GK Kengo Nagai0000101026MF Yuta Taki0+903+110+2015127MF Yago Pikachu8+40000012029DF Reon Yamahara30+324+101039230FW Kanta Chiba001+10002031GK Togo Umeda0000000032MF Benjamin Kololli3+1732+111024433MF Takashi Inui12+34000015434DF Taketo Ochiai0000000035FW Sena Saito0000000036MF Ibrahim Junior Kuribara0+200+210+105137FW Daigo Takahashi1+513+100010138DF Akira Ibayashi2+2030108039MF Nagi Kawatani000+100+102040MF Hikaru Naruoka002+10104041GK Fugetsu Kitamura0000000042MF Aoi Ando0000000043MF Riku Yamada0000000044MF Ryunosuke Yada0000000045FW Koya Kitagawa4+61000010150DF Yoshinori Suzuki3312+1010371–FW Takumi Kato00000000
References