Greek Australian coach Arthur Papas has officially been handed the reins of J1 League club Cerezo Osaka, making his return to Japanese football after four years.
Papas was announced by the club on Tuesday as its new manager, with the former Newcastle Jets coach taking over from Akio Kogiku as he strives to outperform the tenth place finish they recorded in the 2024 season.
The former Oakleigh Cannons manager is no stranger to Japanese football, having notably served as Ange Postecoglou’s assistant Head Coach at Yokohama F. Marinos (2019-2020) during which they won the club’s first league title for 15 years in 2019.
He also had a brief stint in 2021 as head coach of Kagoshima United when they were in the third division, which was cut short by the Greek Australian for personal reasons brought along by the challenges of COVID-19.
Papas expressed his honour in joining Cerezo Osaka as its new manager in the club’s announcement on Tuesday, sharing that he is “very excited to return to Japan and to Asia’s top league, the J.League”.
He stated that he is keen to meet the staff and players and get straight to work as he aims to build a team everyone can be proud of.
“I am looking forward to showing you all on the pitch that hard work, intensity, and a willingness to attack in any situation is ingrained in our team,” Papas said.
“I will work hard to bring our passionate supporters the success they deserve. I look forward to meeting all of you.”
