Osaka Bluteon
| Founded | 1951 |
|---|---|
| Ground | Panasonic Arena (Capacity: 2,500) |
| Head Coach | Tuomas Sammelvuo |
| Captain | Yuji Nishida[1] |
| League | SV.League |
| 2024–25 | 3rd place |
| Website | Club home page |
Osaka Bluteon (大阪ブルテオン, Ōsaka Buruteon) is a men's volleyball team based in Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan. It plays in SV.League. The club was founded in 1951.[2] It is owned by the Panasonic Corporation.
History
Osaka Bluteon was established as a volleyball club for Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic) in 1951 and from 1992 to 2024 was known as the Panasonic Panthers.[3]
The club participated in the inaugural 2024–25 season of the SV.League. It adopted its current name and branding in June 2024 ahead of their participation in the new league.[4]
Names
- Panasonic Panthers (1992–2024)
- Osaka Bluteon (2024–)
Team
Current roster
updated : 25 August 2025[5]
| Team roster – season 2025/26 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player name | Date of birth | Position | |||
| 1 | Kunihiro Shimizu | August 11, 1986 | Opposite | |||
| 3 | Shunsuke Nakamura | March 7, 1999 | Setter | |||
| 4 | Kotaro Kaneta | June 14, 2002 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 5 | Shoma Tomita | June 20, 1997 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 6 | Antoine Brizard | May 22, 1994 | Setter[6] | |||
| 8 | Kenyu Nakamoto | November 21, 1997 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 9 | Peng Shikun | August 26, 2000 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 10 | Akihiro Yamauchi | November 30, 1993 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 11 | Yuji Nishida (c) | January 30, 2000 | Opposite | |||
| 13 | Tomohiro Yamamoto | November 5, 1994 | Libero | |||
| 15 | Masato Kai | September 25, 2003 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 16 | Kotaro Ikeshiro | November 15, 2001 | Libero | |||
| 18 | Hiroto Nishiyama | March 4, 2003 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 19 | Keitaro Nishikawa | April 14, 2000 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 22 | Bryan Bagunas | October 10, 1997 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 23 | Larry Evbade-Dan | August 18, 2000 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 81 | Miguel Ángel López | March 25, 1997 | Outside Hitter | |||
| Head coach: Tuomas Sammelvuo[7] | ||||||
Former roster
| Team roster – season 2023/2024 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player name | Date of birth | Position | |||
| 1 | Kunihiro Shimizu | August 11, 1986 | Opposite | |||
| 2 | Hideomi Fukatsu | June 1, 1990 | Setter | |||
| 3 | Shunsuke Nakamura | March 7, 1999 | Setter | |||
| 6 | Thomas Jaeschke | September 4, 1993 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 7 | Yuga Tarumi | November 2, 2000 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 8 | Kenyu Nakamoto | November 21, 1997 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 10 | Akihiro Yamauchi (c) | November 30, 1993 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 11 | Yuji Nishida | January 30, 2000 | Opposite | |||
| 12 | Tomotake Ito | November 11, 1999 | Libero | |||
| 13 | Tomohiro Yamamoto | November 5, 1994 | Libero | |||
| 15 | Tatsunori Otsuka | November 5, 2000 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 17 | Takeshi Nagano | July 11, 1985 | Libero | |||
| 18 | Hiroto Nishiyama | March 4, 2003 | Outside Hitter | |||
| 19 | Keitaro Nishikawa | April 14, 2000 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 20 | Takahiro Shin | August 10, 1991 | Setter | |||
| 21 | Yasunari Kodama | July 24, 1994 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 22 | Yuichiro Komiya | November 16, 1992 | Middle Blocker | |||
| 23 | Larry Evbade-Dan | August 18, 2000 | Middle Blocker | |||
| Head coach: Laurent Tillie | ||||||
Honours
- Champions (×6): 1971–72, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2018–19
- Runners-up (×7): 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2023–24
- Third place (×1) :2022-23
- Champions (×9): 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1981, 1998, 2009, 2014
- Runners-up (×1): 2024[8]
- Champions (×3): 2011, 2012, 2023[9]
- Runner-up (×1): 2008
- Runner-up (×1): 2025
Notable players
- Takahiro Yamamoto (2001–2013)
- Tatsuya Fukuzawa (2008–2014 and 2016–2019)
- Kunihiro Shimizu (2008–present)
- Akihiro Yamauchi (2016–present)
- Yuji Nishida (2023–present)
- Nalbert Bitencourt (2002–2004)
- Luiz Felipe Fonteles (2007–2008)
- Dante Amaral (2013–2014 and 2015–2016)
- Thiago Alves (2011–2012 and 2014–2015)
- Antoine Brizard (2025–)
- Michał Kubiak (2016–2023)
- Miguel Ángel López (2024–present)
- Thomas Jaeschke (2023–2025)
- Peng Shikun (2025–present)
League results
Champion Runner-up
| League | Position | Teams | Matches | Win | Lose | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V.League | 1st (1994–95) | 7th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 |
| 2nd (1995–96) | 6th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 | |
| 3rd (1996–97) | 5th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 | |
| 4th (1997–98) | 3rd | 8 | 21 | 14 | 7 | |
| 5th (1998–99) | 4th | 10 | 18 | 17 | 1 | |
| 6th (1999-00) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 9 | 9 | |
| 7th (2000–01) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 9 | 9 | |
| 8th (2001–02) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 9 | 9 | |
| 9th (2002–03) | 3rd | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 | |
| 10th (2003–04) | 3rd | 8 | 21 | 12 | 9 | |
| 11th (2004–05) | 4th | 8 | 28 | 15 | 13 | |
| 12th (2005–06) | 5th | 8 | 28 | 16 | 12 | |
| V・Premier | 2006–07 | 3rd | 8 | 28 | 17 | 11 |
| 2007–08 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 19 | 9 | |
| 2008–09 | 3rd | 8 | 28 | 15 | 13 | |
| 2009–10 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 20 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | 4th | 8 | 24 | 14 | 10 | |
| 2011–12 | Champion | 8 | 21 | 17 | 4 | |
| 2012–13 | Runner-Up | 8 | 28 | 20 | 8 | |
| 2013–14 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 21 | 7 | |
| 2014–15 | 6th | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 | |
| 2015–16 | Runner-up | 8 | 30 | 16 | 14 | |
| 2016–17 | 5th | 8 | 26 | 15 | 11 | |
| 2017–18 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 23 | 5 | |
| V.League Division 1 | ||||||
| 2018–19 | Champion | 10 | 34 | 28 | 6 | |
| 2019–20 | Runner-up | 10 | 28 | 24 | 4 | |
| 2020–21 | Runner-up | 10 | 41 | 33 | 8 | |
| 2021–22 | 3rd | 10 | 36 | 25 | 11 | |
| 2022–23 | 3rd | 10 | 39 | 25 | 14 | |
| 2023–24 | Runner-up | 10 | 38 | 33 | 5 | |
| SV.League | 2024–25 | 3rd | 10 | 46 | 37 | 9 |
References
- ^ "西田 有志選手 キャプテン就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Osaka Bluteon. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ "パナソニック パンサーズについて". パナソニックのバレーボールチーム、パナソニック パンサーズ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ "パナソニック パンサーズは リブランディングの実施を決定 「チーム名称」「エンブレム」の刷新のお知らせ" [Panasonic Panthers decides to undergo a rebranding. Notice of changing team name and emblem] (in Japanese). Panasonic Panthers. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ "「新クラブ名称」「新エンブレム」発表のお知らせ" [Announcement of "New Club Name" and "New Emblem"] (in Japanese). Osaka Bluteon. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ "Osaka Bluteon -player". osaka-bluteon.com. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "Antoine Antoine Brizard joins the team". osaka-bluteon.com. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ "トーマス・サムエルボ新監督 就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Osaka Bluteon. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "第７２回 黒鷲旗全日本男女選抜バレーボール大会決勝トーナメント戦 結果" (PDF). jva.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "【バレー】西田有志が古賀紗理那と夫婦でMVP「家族で達成うれしい」パナソニック天皇杯Ｖ導く" (in Japanese). 17 December 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
External links